Are You Developing Your Staff?

Staff development is an essential part of every manager's job, and yet many managers overlook it, prioritizing profit and productivity. What's important to remember is that staff development leads to workers who can relieve you of some responsibility. This reduces your stress, leaving you with more energy for department management. Here are three key areas to focus on for better staff development.

Delegate with Growth in Mind

The easiest way to delegate tasks is to assign employees the jobs for which they are particularly competent, but this model doesn't usually lead to much growth. Instead, think of delegation as a chance to set up learning opportunities. Focus on your employees' potential. What strengths have you noticed? Try delegating some of your tasks to those who seem eager to learn, even if they aren't yet competent in those areas. Be ready to answer questions, but avoid micromanaging. Most employees crave real responsibility and want to know that their work is valued and really makes a difference to the organization.

Think of yourself as a coach, and provide tools for your workers to check their own progress. Balance this with occasional face-to-face check-ins to discuss issues and provide guidance as necessary. With the right staff development, you may find that some of your workers are better at some of your previous tasks than you were.

Hand Over Meetings

Meetings are a great way to provide time for your whole team to discuss issues, brainstorm and come up with plans to overcome roadblocks, but they take a lot of effort to plan and facilitate. Delegating both the planning and the facilitating is a great staff development tool that also saves you time and helps improve your outcomes. Start by evaluating your staff's potential. Choose an employee with great people and organizational skills. You want someone who is good at soliciting different points of view and able to move things along and adhere to time deadlines. For optimum growth, have the chosen staff member plan and facilitate a series of meetings. This gives you a chance to provide feedback while letting the new meeting leader learn from any mistakes. You get the advantage of being able to observe and participate in meetings from a new perspective.

Encourage Expertise

Subject area expertise is becoming increasingly necessary in all industries, and one person is not going to be able to be knowledgeable in every subject. This type of staff development starts by paying attention to your employees' interests. Look for individuals who are passionate about particular niches in your industry. Encourage growth in those areas by providing educational materials, training, and tasks that build on their base knowledge. Be sure to reach out to others and use subject area experts when you need more information. Delegate tasks that require digging deeper into the field. With the right encouragement, you will benefit from more knowledgeable employees, and your employees get the pleasure of working in those areas they enjoy.

Don't make the mistake of overlooking staff development because you think you don't have enough time. Providing opportunities for your staff to grow makes it easier to delegate more of your responsibilities, giving you more time for essential management tasks.

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