So you’ve landed your 9-5 job and things look pretty positive on every 1st of the month. But, then comes midweek and the mid-month slump where monotony hits you really bad. You are constantly using your instant messaging application with your teammates to crack jokes or catch frequent tea breaks. You get the drift right? The point is that the only way to grow in a demanding yet monotonous space such as tech is to actually have a growth strategy that keeps you striving to do better. Your best bet to help you on this journey is your employer. A lot of companies are inculcating a growth mindset for their tech employees through different activities. If you are also on the lookout for steps to help your employees grow, then here is what you can do:
Steps to Take:
While individual preferences vary, here are some steps that companies can take to ensure a positive approach towards growth strategy amongst their employees:
1. Encourage Them to Indulge in Seminars and Outbound Conferences
“Great minds think alike”. This particular saying is even more true when it comes to connecting with individuals who are in the same boat. While colleagues can help accentuate the current performance of an employee, meeting people from the same field can actually widen their horizons. Gaining expertise in topics of their interest is surely a plus point. During this time, where physical interaction and movement is not always possible- we can definitely use technology to our aid. Sign up your employees for insightful conferences and help them to go to seminars that result in learning and growth.
2. Sponsor Certification Courses for Them
A lot of companies also sponsor certification courses as well as send their best resources on sabbaticals to ensure continual upskilling. One of the prime advantages of a growth strategy like this is that there are plenty of courses that you can sign up your employees for! In fact, during COVID- the topmost educational institutes like Harvard and Stanford are offering the best of their courses at great prices. So, you can definitely work towards sponsoring certification courses for them and do an employee selection program where you can send a select group of individuals divided on your budget. But a continual program like this can help with consistent growth and inculcate values towards doing better.
3. Organize Internal Hackathons
While this may be a little too coding-centric, but you get the drift right? Depending on which field your tech employees cater to, you can set up a competition like this. There is always an excitement to participate and compete with your close colleagues. You will notice a different kind of fervor during spans of these activities. Basically, it’s more or less like a team-building activity where employees can learn from each other and also propel their skills. You can also ask for app developments, ethical hacking and much more that are in line with the services and products that your company offers and reward the winners- so that your employees have something to look forward to.
4. Invest in New Technology
While your budget may not always allow this, keep yourself abreast with the latest technology to ensure that your employees are constantly looking forward to learning something new. Now, for instance, let’s take the field of UI/UX design. Photoshop was all the rage, then came InDesign and a lot more software that kept offering an enhanced version of their predecessor. Also, the convenience of your employees with the highest possible productivity is your ideal goal. So, always ensure that you keep growing and innovating with new technology.
5. Always Motivate Innovation
When it comes to tech, we constantly hear of innovations. So, it’s best to embody this amongst your employees as well. Reward innovation and look at ways to help your employees think out of the box. This can be done through monthly gratifications for innovations that will constantly help individuals to walk ahead in life. Also, seeing colleagues grow gives a push to other individuals to do better and help themselves expand their portfolio too.
6. Keep a Clear Communication
While companies can take all the efforts in the world to keep their employees happy; but the real growth is a two-way street. An initiative needs to be taken on an individual basis to actually grow properly. So, it’s best to keep a clear communication in terms of where do the interests of your employees lie; where they can do better and also accordingly you can help them offer viable opportunities. Additionally, you can have a feedback culture inculcated in your company where positive criticism and motivation are packed to ensure a growth mindset properly.
Having a plan which combines your personal and professional growth always works wonders. You can definitely inculcate the aforementioned steps in your growth strategy to get going and growing in your field. We also recommend having team building activities or one on one sessions with experts intermittently to help understand the needs of your employees better. For companies, these steps will definitely help hone your skilled employees and ensure more productivity. Secure team communication and collaboration with instant messaging, calling and group chats with Oneteam.