Saransh Inc.

How managers can help employees to set career goals

Graphical representation of a manager helping an employee achieve his personal goals

It is often said, “Employees don’t leave organizations, they leave bad managers.” The fact is that a manager is not only responsible to get the work done from the employees to achieve organizational goals, but is also responsible for every individual team member’s career graph. It is the balance that he or she brings within an employee’s personal growth and organizational value, that determines the worth of a manager. Though it isn’t that hard to achieve this balance, most managers are unable to do it either because they are too focused on only the aspect of company success, or because they are unaware of how to do it.

With this in mind, our Saransh staffing experts have a few guiding tips for managers, using which, they can help their company perform well, while ensuring personal growth of each team member.

Align them with the company’s vision statement

Identification is the first step to determine if the employee is in the right place to begin with. It is of utmost importance to identify whether the organization’s goals and an employee’s personal goals are in sync with each other. If the two goals are not in sync, then no matter how good an employee is in his/her work, there will always be a performance gap between what is expected from the employee and what is received. As a manager, one needs to identify if the employee fit’s the organization’s big picture. This is done by aligning the employee with the company’s vision and making them aware of the company’s expectations from them.

Help them to understand their strengths and weaknesses

As a manager, one has to be well aware of the strengths and weaknesses of every individual team member. This is an exploratory process, where both, the manager and the employee, have to work together to understand the employee’s strengths and weakness. This can either be seen through performance appraisals, verbal interactions, collaborative work on projects or simple observations. The more that an employee is aware of their positives and negatives, the easier it is for them to aim for achievable goals.

Encourage them to participate more and provide more opportunities

If an employee already has a set goal in mind for themselves, then a manager can help create more opportunities for them to explore different ways in which they can get closer to their goals. An employee who finds more opportunities to achieve their own goals through their work will be more passionate and dedicated towards their job. However, no employee would talk about their aspirations with their manager, without being asked. As an employee’s manager, one has to interact and communicate with them to understand their goals.

 Appreciate their work and guide them to learn from mistakes

Motivation plays a very big role in an employee’s performance. When a manager openly acknowledges his team member’s work and helps them to overcome their shortcomings, it motivates an employee to work harder. It is also an indication for the employee to know that they are on the right track. This can help them to get a clear picture as to what they want from the organization, as well as to judge if their work is in accordance with what they want to achieve as their personal goals. Every employee will have his or her own motivation. It is up to the manager to figure out what works for each of them separately.

Going above and beyond office work and helping employees to create a bright future for themselves is a mark of a great manager. Though it is not a necessity that managers must help their team members to achieve their personal goals, it is something that will create an impact on the employee’s mind. Initiatives like these are the reason employees dedicatedly work with companies and work passionately for the team.

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