What are your employees’ personal career goals and how can you help them achieve those goals within the workplace?

Why would you put time and energy into helping your employees accomplish their personal career goals? Afterall, your employees were hired to complete the job description you hired them for – and that’s mutually understood. However, your employees likely accepted your job offer as a stepping stone to reach their own career goals. To them, working for you may be one step in their overall career journey.

Having employees with ambitions and goals outside of your employment isn’t a bad thing. Although the fear of investing in your employees then having them leave is understandable, the prospect of motivated employees bettering themselves and willingly learning new skills is a win-win: Your company can benefit from new skillsets and outlook, while your employees feel more satisfied and accomplished at work.

How can you support and nourish the growth and accomplishments of your employees?

Schedule a 1:1

Set time aside to have an open-ended conversation with your employees. Find out if they’re satisfied at work. Ask them what their personal goals are and if there’s anything you can do to get them closer to their goal within the realm of their current work. For example, if your accountant has a goal of becoming CFO one day, assign tasks that elevate current skillsets that can assist the aspiring-CFO in ultimately reaching that goal.

Follow Up

Ask your employees if they’re getting the challenges and learning opportunities they need. You may find that they desire to step up further and add a new goal to their learning journey. Be open to their ideas and suggestions. If your employees want to take on a project of their own that would benefit themselves as well as the company, consider it! Rewarding creativity will keep minds active and brimming with solutions to company obstacles.

In the end, showing support for your employees’ personal goals shows that you care about them as people. It’s investing into them not just for the sake of your company, but for the sake of helping them reach whatever aspirations they have set for themselves. This will inevitably lead to happier employees and a thriving company!