Employees want to excel at their work, but they're depending on their employer to support them
More than half of employees say they need more opportunities to improve their skills, according to the Society of Human Resource Management, and 94% would stay at their company longer if they
Instead of just focusing on a year-end review, goal setting should be a consistent process, done hand-in-hand with a manager, explains Sarah Doody, career strategist and founder of Career Strategy Lab, a career coaching platform. Using a "career compass," employees can create both short and long-term goals, and check in frequently to gauge progress and readjust, she says.
"This also allows managers to really identify who on the team they want to be investing more in," Doody says. "They're more likely to be responding to opportunities for growth and more responsibility."
Read more about the process of building a career compass:
While career progression is important, ensuring workers feel supported — and not overworked — in their new roles is also an essential part of the employee experience. According to Capterra, 71% of middle managers feel overwhelmed, stressed or burned out at work, and over 40% of managers with less than two years of experience are looking for new jobs. Additionally, only 37% of middle managers received training after they were hired or promoted, and 74% never or rarely received ongoing training.
"Our obsession with performance metrics funnels individual contributors into managerial roles," says Brian Westfall, principal HR analyst at Capterra. "Even though companies are in cost-cutting efficiency mode right now, they shouldn't take resources off middle management development. Really support middle managers so that companies can sustain success for the future."
Read more about a better way to manage your managers:
What that training looks like will vary by industry and company resources, but for female employees in particular, mentorship can be a career game-changer, and advance a company's DEI strategies, too. An effective mentor acts like a sounding board for their mentees, and holds them accountable for reaching certain goals, making it easier for mentees to stay focused and motivated.
"Anytime you have an underrepresented group, it's even more important to have mentorships to support the few that are there," says Mara Derderian, a financial and risk management professor at Bryant University. "It's human nature to look for mentors who look like you; someone I could emulate and want to be like."
Read more about the impact of mentorship in the finance industry and beyond:
Want to see who's doing it right? Comparably analyzed anonymous surveys from HR employees across 70,000 companies, pinpointing which are receiving the best compensation, professional opportunities, work-life balance, benefits and more, as well as which companies have strong, properly resourced HR departments. AT&T, HubSpot and ADP all made Comparably's list.
Read on for the full list from Comparably:
