Key takeaways

If you have an underperforming employee, make sure they have all the training they need to do their job even if they’ve been doing it for a while.

Create a career development plan with each of your employees which digs into their passions and aspirations.

In the current job market where dissatisfied workers can’t just resign and go on to the next role when they want a new challenge, businesses may have employees on their payroll who feel like hostages in their current positions, according to two career experts.

These employees will bide their time and then make their escape when the time is right and more jobs are advertised, warn Sharon Spence and Suzie Marsden, founders of career consultancy amp’d.

L to R, Sharon Spence and Suzie Marsden (1).jpg

The consultants, who coach business owners, have recently released research from Clarity Insights which found that participants overwhelmingly rated their organisations poorly on career development, citing a lack of tools, frameworks, coaching or mentoring to support growth.

The research found that:

nearly 4 in 10 New Zealand employees lack clarity about their next career step in their current organisation.
disengaged employees have a major impact on productivity.
the cost of a disengaged employee can be 18% of their annual salary and can reduce team productivity by up to 34%, according to earlier studies.

“After a bruising year of restructuring, employee engagement will have taken a hammering and organisations need to turn their attention to initiatives to rebuild culture, positivity and forward momentum for their people,” says Sharon.

Before playing the blame game, look to yourself first

A business owner may have views about their underperforming staff but they should look at what they’ve contributed first, say the amp’d consultants.

One manager who they worked with recently joined a small business in the transport sector. The business owner pointed out an underperforming employee who he suggested the manager might want to get rid of.

“But with an open mind and some good questions, the business manager found that the employee had in fact never been given the appropriate training and, after a time, had become too embarrassed to ask for it,” says Sharon.

Once that employee got the training he needed, he had a complete turnaround.

“Sometimes it’s as simple as that,” she adds.

The amp’d co-founder believes that if business owners truly care about productivity, they have to ensure that workers remain engaged in not only the roles they’re doing today, but where those roles could lead them in the future.

Businesses need to evaluate how they can support employee growth, whether that is through mentoring programmes, career coaching or structured development frameworks, she says. If they do this, they will be the employer of choice.

Making career opportunities more visible

Tanya Kaihe (Ngāpuhi), CEO/ Amorangi of Māori employment and career development specialists Hāpai Tūhono, says the power of a good career intervention or activation should not be underestimated.

Career development is about making opportunities more visible and mapping out a pathway for talent, says Tanya, whose organisation is developing micro-credentials and qualifications to upskill the sector.

There might be a person in the business who is interested in stepping up to help coach staff, she says.

“Find someone who understands the importance of career development and loves talking to people, who enjoys seeing them progress and flourish,” advises Tanya.

For business leaders coaching staff, they need to take in the person's personal and cultural aspirations, says the CEO of Hāpai Tūhono.

“And they mustn’t stereotype people because they seem to outwardly suit a certain job,” she adds.

For the full article go here on Stuff.

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Physical vs Digital

When dissatisfied workers can't resign and become employee hostages