A company can generate increased employee loyalty by always looking first to promoting from within, rather than hiring from the outside. The advantages are clear: when employees realize that they are valued, and that they have long-term potential for advancement within their company, their loyalty and commitment will be strengthened.
In many small businesses, a few key employees keep the ball rolling. These individuals are usually highly dedicated, intelligent and experts at their jobs. But human nature is such that few people remain comfortable doing the same thing repeatedly. Dedicated employees often feel the need to expand their scope of responsibility. They want to learn new skills. And they want to feel that they are growing. One of the best ways to meet these needs is to give employees the opportunity to move upward in the company, achieving greater respect, increased salary and expanded responsibility.
Consider these tips before placing a want ad:
When a new position opens up, always evaluate in-house talent first before looking outside. Seldom will a current employee fully possess the experience and qualifications that could be found in a new hire. But by closely examining the abilities and desire of current employees, you may find someone who can be trained easily for the new position. This will save you time and money — and you’ll end up with an employee who already knows the ins and outs of the company. When you can promote in this way, you’ll create an exceptionally dedicated employee — and send a ripple of dedication through all other employees as well.
Establish pre-designated career paths. When employees know from their first days of interviewing with the company that they can achieve their career goals without changing jobs, you’ll have loyal workers.
When searching for people to promote, take suggestions from other employees. You may not be able to spot the hidden talent under your nose, but employees in the trenches know who has what it takes to move upward in the company.
Create relationships with trade groups, seminar companies, local schools and colleges, and other educational organizations to provide ongoing training for your employees. Offer to pay, or at least partially pay, for this training. Successful small businesses usually have employees who are able to multi-task.
If you contract work to outside vendors, see if these tasks can be assigned to current employees. This will help them expand their responsibilities, and could provide an avenue for in-house career advancement.
During routine employee performance evaluations, ask employees if they are interested in taking on additional responsibility. Doing this makes it easy for employees to discuss their goals.
Stick with your career-path commitments. If you waver, hiring from outside when a qualified employee was already on staff, you’ll undo all your efforts along this line. Exceptions are, of course, when a highly specialized or top executive position needs to be filled. Even so, explanations should be given to current employees so they understand and accept the decision to hire from outside.
Regards,
Pinal Mehta
