5 steps successful business leaders take to avoid losing their employees

Employees are interested in professional development, and organizations want to hire and develop employees who can take on leadership roles. But what should organizations do to ensure career development?

In a report , published by the US magazine "Entrepreneur", author Erica Lance lists the most important specific steps employers can take to build their leadership path, while presenting the right opportunities to increase employee engagement and enhance and sustain productivity.

The importance of training

And the author explains that half of the employees surveyed by Gartner research indicated the importance of offering real opportunities for personal growth, something that employers might benefit from as well.

The American Association for Training and Development asserts that when organizations provide comprehensive training, they receive a 24 percent higher profit margin compared to those who spend less time on training and development activities.

These efforts can also help build the kind of leadership pluralism that many companies today, along with their customers and employees, value.

When organizations provide comprehensive training, they get a profit margin

24% higher than those who spend less time

In training and development activities

Here are some of the ways organizations can invest in having professional development pave the way for more leadership diversity:

1. Help managers develop coaching skills

Don't assume that all your managers are adept and comfortable with coaching employees and helping them grow into senior positions. In fact, not many managers embrace this strategy, but you can help provide tools, training, and resources to help them perform this very important role.

As part of this training, teach managers how to work with employees to develop personal development plans as part of the performance management process.

2. Encouraging the refinement and enhancement of skills

Not every employee will be interested in moving up the career ladder, as most organizations have very limited opportunities for those who might be interested in rising to higher positions. This does not mean that they cannot or should not pursue opportunities to learn new skills that may prepare them for other side or lower positions within the organization.

In today's fast-paced and constantly changing work environment, new skills are needed in organizations of all types, and skills enhancement can provide significant value to meeting employee development needs such as preparing them to transition into other roles.

Many companies are already aware of this. The LinkedIn Workforce Education 2021 Report indicated that 59% of respondents said that initiatives to enhance and reshape skills were their top priorities in 2021.

3. Providing leadership opportunities

Leadership opportunities should not be limited to the skills of supervising or managing others. The ability to lead a committee, task force, or project team can provide a valuable leadership opportunity for employees, while providing a way to assess employees' competencies and the potential to work in more formal leadership roles.

4. Improving the role of career development coaches

Managers and supervisors are not the only members of your team who can play a role in coaching employees in their career choices and preparing for new roles. HR leaders and your employees can also play an important role in this process, as can the learning and development team, and having dedicated career coaches can provide employees A valuable resource for both employees and managers, and working in this role can provide outstanding career development for employees, helping them develop a key management skill.

5. Offer to pay tuition fees and certificates

If you haven't already, consider offering reimbursement for tuition and certifications to allow employees to attend college classes or other training programs they might be interested in, and organizations can get tax deductions from payments made, making this beneficial for everyone in more ways than one.