How to Manage the Career Trajectory of Your Best Employees

One of the keys to growing your business and achieving financial success is attracting and retaining talent that will help you reach your business goals. Establishing a team that can successfully deliver services to your clients increases the likelihood that those clients will remain or return. With that said, it's essential that you keep your top talent at your company. You can accomplish this by learning how to effectively manage your staff's career growth, as it's likely that the high performers you have on your team will quickly outgrow their positions.

At Summit, we have succeeded at keeping employees who consistently contribute to our business achievements on board by carefully managing how we hire and promote our team members. Below are a few tips on how your company can do the same.

Think outside of your career roadmap.

Most organizations have a document detailing the company's roles, as well as the qualifications and expertise staff members must have to be considered for a promotion. These documents are helpful because they increase transparency around paths to promotion, as well as detail responsibilities and expectations associated with each role listed. However, some employees don't have the interest or skill set that aligns neatly with the one, linear pathway highlighted on most career roadmaps that typically leads to a management role.

Suppose you're interested in keeping a team member on staff who shines in their current role but may not have the skill set or interest in becoming a manager. In that case, we suggest determining an alternative path forward. You may move them into a role that requires more responsibility but still closely aligns with their area of expertise and plays to their strengths. Whatever the position is, make sure you inform the employee how they will continue to help advance your company while moving forward professionally in a direction that's right for them.
Ensure your employees have the appropriate skill set for the job.
It's more common than most think for people to receive promotions only to get into their new position and fail. Failing in a new role often happens because the person did not receive the training needed to excel. With that in mind, when considering someone for a promotion, it's imperative that you look beyond how well a team member is currently performing and identify what skill gaps exist between their current role and the role you're considering them for. From there, provide the professional development they need. If you don't, you risk having to let go of someone who was once a valuable member of your staff or having them quit altogether out of frustration with their new role.
Pay people what they're worth in their position.
During the Great Resignation, which took place during the pandemic and saw people voluntarily leaving their jobs in record numbers, it was almost commonplace to offer candidates more money than the job they were interviewing for demanded because companies were desperate to fill open positions. Unfortunately, this led to greater pay inequity at companies where long-time employees in similar roles were still being paid what was appropriate for the job. This approach of paying newer employees more is a disincentive for loyal employees who don't make as much. In doing so, employers risk driving once loyal employees toward positions at other companies offering higher salaries.

If you're a business owner who took this approach while hiring during the Great Resignation, we recommend evaluating the salaries at your company to determine if those pay inequities exist. If they do, work on addressing them to ensure that the pay at your company is equitable.

Retaining and cultivating top talent doesn't have to be a challenge. Consider following the tips above to ensure your dream team stays intact. By keeping a team of top performers on board, you will have a much better chance at growing your business and your bottom line.