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Learning spent on formal training programmes, which is good, but employees may be looking for more informal opportunities for growth. These can include having a mentor at the company, time on the job to pursue new interests, assignments, or tasks that are challenging, visibility to internal job openings, and a formal career path process. In addition to specific tactics to drive growth and development, you may want to focus on managing the employee role within the reality of the organisation structure and growth. It's always a good idea to let employees know where they stand and set realistic expectations for meeting their career objectives. This is especially true for your high-performing, promotion-ready employees when there are currently limited promotion opportunities. It is also important to develop a plan for keeping employees who are not interested in any position changes. Managers can ask these questions of direct reports to begin a new growth process: 1. In general, do you think that most people are satisfied with their opportunities for career growth and development within our organisation? If no, why not? 2. What additional career growth or development opportunities would you like in order to maximise your potential? 3. When was the last time you were provided the opportunity to receive additional, job-related training? Some specific ideas for how to increase a team member's perceptions about your interest in their career growth and development include: 1. Make professional development the topic of one of your meetings with your direct reports, and discuss the following issues: • What knowledge, skills, and abilities are most critical to their job? • What are the development gaps between current and desired skills? 2. Schedule career conferences with each employee. Discuss short- and long-term goals, potential obstacles to success, and the resources needed. Assist the employee to visualise his/her career three and five years from now, and identify the skills and opportunities needed to advance. 3. Ask your employees to set up quarterly progress meetings with you to keep updated on their goals and how you can support them in their development. Additionally, you may want to focus on managing the employee role within the reality of your organisation's structure and growth. Growth becomes relatively easy when the organisation itself is expanding rapidly and opening up new job positions. It can be a real challenge in a small organisation that isn't growing, or even worse, in an organisation that is experience downsizing. Let employees know where they stand and set realistic expectations for meeting their career objectives. A Call to Engage The downward trend in job satisfaction is not a recent phenomenon; it's not tied to the Great Recession of the last few years. Satisfaction has been dropping for more than two decades across all ages, income levels, and job types. It has reached a crisis point that is stressing families and companies alike. The engagement crisis can neither be solved by individuals nor organisations alone. Synergy occurs when the worker and the employer come together in pursuit of engagement. Company leaders must focus on creating an environment that fosters growth, recognition, and trust. Individual workers must be mindful of their careers, partner with their managers, and demand full engagement in their lives. The "we" mindset recognises that it is a shared responsibility with mutual benefits. When we encounter someone who is disengaged at work, we are saddened not over the loss of a single soul, but by the loss of greater potential, the loss to a team, and the impact it has on their family. And when we encounter someone completely engaged in their work, when we hear the infectious enthusiasm in their voice, we are filled with joy, knowing their sense of happiness and the impact they are having on all around them. Your kids, your spouse, your friends, your colleagues—all of us— we need you to find meaning and be engaged at work. you to be committed to the engagement and alignment of the workers on your team. We need each other to reach our shared goals. We need to harmonise our lives and our work. We. Kevin Kruse is the co-author, with Rudy Karsan, of bestseller, , from which he adapted the preceding. Download a free chapter at www.KevinKruse.com. need SUMMER 2011 | www.hroglobal.com [43] We Engagement W e: How to Increase Performance and Profits Through Full The New Y ork T imes

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