blog-template_08Hiring a new employee is an exciting time for any business owner, especially if the need for more staff has been necessitated by unexpectedly rapid growth. That new employee sitting at their new desk is more than just a name on the payroll. That person symbolizes the realization of a dream that you’ve probably had for a long time, and the possibility of more growth to come in the future.

However, here at the Professional Development Center of Glendale Community College, we’ve found that far too many employers are happy to leave the relationship at this plateau: hire, train, expect that the employee will remain with you forever.

In today’s fast-paced, high-turnover work environment, employers can no longer expect that their workers will stick around for 10, 20, or even 30 years. Workers are interested in shaping careers, not stagnating in jobs, and ironically, the best way to keep them around is to provide them with plenty of development opportunities.

blog-template_02Development Opportunities Are Frequently Neglected

Managers, and more specifically business owners, tend to focus on the here and now needs of their employees. Need an ergonomic keyboard? You’ve got it. Need to attend a conference to potentially land a new client? Done. Development opportunities, on the other hand, don’t provide the same immediate payback, which means they tend to be neglected by leadership who are just trying to keep the doors open in uncertain times. Unfortunately, this leads to the loss of many talented workers.

“Dissatisfaction with some employee-development efforts appears to fuel many early exits.  We asked young managers what their employers do to help them grow in their jobs and what they’d like their employers to do, and found some large gaps. Workers reported that companies generally satisfy their needs for on-the-job development and that they value these opportunities, which include high-visibility positions and significant increases in responsibility.   But they’re not getting much in the way of formal development, such as training, mentoring and coaching – things they also value highly,” write Monika Hamori, Jie Cao and Burak Koyuncu, in the Harvard Business Review.

Development Opportunities  At Glendale Community College

If you’ve previously thought that you simply don’t have the time or resources to provide your employees with development opportunities, know that Glendale Community College in Montrose is here to help. We offer customized training classes for companies and employees in a variety of disciplines, including APICS, computer skills, engineering and design, leadership, operations management, management and team skills, manufacturing skills, and more. These short-term, easily accessible classes provide the opportunity for employees to fine-tune their knowledge and skills, better preparing them for career advancement.

How To Support Performance Development After Classes Are Over

Contact the Performance Development Center at Glendale Community College in Montrose for more information about how we can customize our manufacturing, engineering, machining, and other courses for the continuous improvement of your employees. But rest assured, your job doesn’t end there! It’s very important for supervisors and business owners to support performance development by:

  • Discussing what employees learned in classes
  • Supporting the integration of class ideas into work responsibilities
  • Providing timely feedback on changes/improvements in performance
  • Identify and take advantage of cross training opportunities
  • Give honest recognition for work achievements
  • Model the need for continuous learning

Remember, if you feel that you may have been promoted into management without all of the skills you need to properly encourage your employees, we have development opportunities for you as well! Check out our leadership and management skills building courses that can help to prepare you to train up the next generation of talented workers in your industry. Enroll today.