Recruiters want your top people. And they know how to win them over.
They invite your best and brightest to break free of their current positions and conjure up visions of the work they’d love to be doing.
Harvard Management Update spoke to talent-management and retention experts for their advice for managers who want to let their direct reports know that their career aspirations are heard and valued.
Overcome the fear factor
Why do managers have such a hard time discussing career development? Usually, it’s ‘‘the fear factor”, says Maggie Sullivan, executive vice-president of a human resources consultancy in New Jersey.
Help them chart their career path
Before you initiate the first conversation, consider that many employees are not completely sure of what they want, says Timothy Butler, author of Getting Unstuck: How Dead Ends Become New Paths (Harvard Business School Press, 2007) and director of career development programmes at Harvard . If you’re talking to a particularly talented and versatile member of your team, y ou can help her identify the most promising possibilities by asking questions such as:
n What assignments have you found most engaging?
Which of your accomplishments in the last six months made you proudest?
n What makes for a great day at work?
Make a plan
After you and an employee have identified one or two career targets, your conversations should focus on how to get him there.
Keep talking
Once you and your star employee have a plan, keep the conversation going.
Be frank and specific
Career development discussions can be uncomfortable when the manager points out the employee’s weaker areas. To keep the discussion focused and positive, cite specific examples.
Anne Field is a business writer based in New York — © (2008) New York Times
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