Talented professionals want to work for a company that will help them to build skills and knowledge and further their careers. A recent research study indicated that 76% of employees are looking for opportunities to expand their careers, and only 29% of employees are very satisfied with current career advancement opportunities. Managers should support their employees, highlight the importance of career advancement and offer ways they can help achieve those goals. If they don’t, there is a risk of undermining morale and productivity by leaving talented workers feeling like they aren’t valued. 

Interest in Employee Career Goals
Frequent communication with your workers is a well-known key to ensuring the success of your team. Regular team meetings and one-on-one interactions help each team member and the overall department maintain performance and achieve goals. Learning career aspirations and expectations help your staff feel valued, ensuring productivity remains and devotion to their job is present. 74% of workers say that a lack of employee development opportunities is preventing them from reaching their full potential, so managers should help their employees outline a potential career path so they can better visualize their future at the company. Clear, direct and consistent communication from the boss about career advancement steps can help workers feel more engaged.

Training and Development
Job training and continuing education help to fuel employee career growth. According to Zippia’s 2023 employment research study, 92% of employees stated training programs have a positive effect on their engagement and overall performance. There are plenty of online resources available to have workers hone current skills, as well as new ones that could help them achieve their career goals and take on more responsibility. If an employee shows interest in a role or specific responsibilities, give them opportunities to learn and apply so they are able to utilize it properly in the future. 

The study continued to highlight the benefits of supporting career development and advancement not only from an employee’s perspective but also from the company’s. Companies with comprehensive training programs have 218% higher income per employee, and those with engaged employees are 17% more productive than those without.

Mentoring and Job Shadowing
Implementing and maintaining a mentoring program and job shadowing opportunities allows current employees to learn new skills and technologies specific to the job and the company while allowing workers to swap knowledge. 

Work-Life Balance
Over time, work-life balance has become highly important to workers and managers. Spending the majority of time working can exhaust employees, as 66% of full-time employees agree and say they don’t strongly believe they have a work-life balance (Gitnux, Work-Life Balance Statistics 2023: The Big Picture). Taking a proactive approach can help prevent stress from rising and leading to employee burnout. 

Succession Planning Programs
Succession planning can demonstrate to high-potential employees that you not only want to invest in their professional development but also see them evolving into future leaders for the business. Creating a succession plan for high-performing team members can be a selling point when hiring new recruits, and motivating other members within your team to improve and learn new skills that could be applied to higher roles within the organization. 

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