Employee potential unlocking, and what are you waiting for?

Every employee comes with their own skill set, mindset, and specific interests. Most of them are hired for that specific mix they bring into the company. If the hiring was done properly, then there shouldn’t be a mismatch between individual and company expectations, but that is only one of the pieces of this puzzle. We have evolved much from the old industrial theories of workplace specializations. The workforce nowadays requires diversified jobs that have them feeling fulfilled and that provide constant career development. The concept of life-long learning is long gone from being just a concept, it is our “now” and we should all be thankful for living in the age when knowledge is offered on a silver platter for those who are never satisfied with stagnation. This is where the term "employee potential" comes into the equation.

But how do we accomplish that in a workplace, where (after all) people are hired to do their jobs and provide income by doing so?

Knowing yourself (and your company)

The first step should always be a proper analysis. What do we as a company need? What does our employee want? What does the employee need to achieve that goal? The most complicated of the elements is divulging what every person wants and needs in order to step up and up the game a notch. Is it a wider knowledge of the subject the employee already specifies in? Or is it a new skill that is complementary to the current skillset? Or is it something totally different, that would change the workplace dynamics and ad a splash of something new to the job? These are all the questions that need to be answered on your quest to unlock the employee potential.

Actions

The second stop on this road is applying what we learned from the analysis. If we know, or we think we know, what is the best direction to go in, we go backwards if we don’t do something about it. A company sometimes has to be brave and provide the said employee with the opportunity to test their affinities even if that means investing considerable time and resources into the learning process. Why is that so? If we don’t do that, we will have a content employee, but not a fulfilled one. That does not sound so tragic, but if you take long-term motivation into consideration, it does light that little signal lamp in our minds that keeping the status quo is not the smartest thing to keep for a long time. So we try and rely on our analysis that we have made the right call.

Assessment

We do not stop at implementing our growth roadmap. We set provisional milestones and assess and reassess the achievements. Even though every individual process is different, there are points to be assessed in every case: is the employee feeling good about the new challenge? Is there a measurable value that is added to the company? If not, why? If yes - what can we do more? 

Common mistakes

It is not unusual to find out that the whole process was in vain. And even though the investment didn’t pay off, people keep pushing themselves (or the respective employees) just to receive the “reward” of their mission fulfilled. It is crucial at this stage not to enter a trap, but to assess whether the whole process takes more time than expected or if it has gone in the wrong direction. One of the mistakes leading to the disappointment is if the whole conundrum was done and it turns out that the new skills or knowledge or responsibilities were just not right or it was not the right time for the change. Never mind, the experience is there and that’s what we learn from the most. It is also very important to know when to give up one effort and try from scratch. Again.

Keep trying - it’s worth it!

The first try didn’t go so well. So what? Keep thinking and rethinking every person and how they help you reshape your business. We live in a world where trends change on daily basis, where innovation from the other side of the world can affect your local business, and where we have to keep up in order to prosper. We are all witnessing how technologies change, how today's knowledge is never enough for tomorrow's problems. It is not only that we have to invest in our people to keep them fulfilled and satisfied. We also have to think ahead and empower our companies to stay above the others in every situation that the future brings. Having a personal approach to professional growth may seem a tiresome and time-consuming process. It is not. It is as rewarding to the company as it is for the employee. 

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After all, if we don’t build on our present, what will our future hold? Are you willing to take a risk to be trampled over by time and innovation? In the world of today, the only constant is change.