You may have heard of Facebook’s philosophy “Move Fast and Break Things.” Essentially, the philosophy is about testing boundaries and the importance of continuous innovation in order to grow and reach your maximum potential. Have you ever thought about how you can utilize this concept in your company? Let’s emphasize how you should apply this concept to employee development, because personal and professional growth is crucial to employee engagement.
Employees crave challenging and meaningful work. They want to learn, grow and contribute to their companies. This is why it is important for employers to help develop their employees’ skill sets and allow them the autonomy to make decisions that affect their work. Not only will it keep employees happy in their jobs and increase retention, but it also builds a skilled team of people who have the ability to perform multiple job functions.
Here are three easy ways that managers can support their employees’ personal and professional development:
1. New projects or responsibilities
Give employees the chance to take the initiative to develop their own opportunities. Allow them to “break things” and learn from those mistakes. It provides a great opportunity for learning, innovation, and professional growth
2. Knowledge sharing
Organize monthly meetings where you teach courses for employees to learn a new skill, and allow them to provide input on the topics. The training could be geared toward hard skills, like advanced Excel tips, or soft skills, like interpersonal communication. Employees will appreciate the opportunity to learn new programs and diversify their capabilities. It is a great opportunity to present new challenges to employees and give them a “trial-and-error” phase for learning a new skill or reaching outside of their current comfort zone, department, or area of expertise.
3. Attend industry conferences/events
Allow employees to attend industry events to learn best practices that they can apply in their own job. Industries are constantly evolving and business moves at a fast pace, so employees need to keep up with the latest research, knowledge, tools, etc. to stay relevant and at the top of their game. These events will boost professional growth and help them gain the necessary tools to be successful.
Prioritize professional growth
How does your company promote personal and professional growth for employees? Take our top tips and start prioritizing professional growth. To learn more about how to provide a meaningful employee experience, download our white paper, “Empowerment and Trust: The Keys to Employee Engagement.”
