While some employees may be content where they are, your best and brightest are usually looking for opportunities that allow them to grow their skills and further their careers. By investing in these ambitious workers, you not only keep them engaged on the job, but you also make them more capable, something that creates a win-win scenario for everyone involved.

Helping your employees grow this spring sets them on a pathway for greater success. Plus, you can address existing skill gaps, improve the cumulative potential of your team, and benefit from their additional knowledge. If you are ready to give them opportunities to grow professionally, here are some tips to get you started.

Craft Formal Development Plans

One of the first steps you should take to make professional development a priority is to create formal plans for each of your team members. Meet with them so that you can learn more about their goals and aspirations. Then, identify pathways that could help them move forward towards those objectives in a way that also benefits the company.

Each plan needs to be customized to the employee, as not everyone has the same skills, preferences, or goals. Plus, it allows you to factor in skill diversification, making the team more robust and capable when viewed as a whole.

Create a Mentorship Program

Often, some of your more senior employees have valuable skills and expertise they could share with younger workers. With a formal mentorship program, you can match mentors and mentees based on business areas, professional development goals, or cross-training options that would benefit all involved.

Along with making the relationship formal, you also have to give the mentor and mentee ample time to meet and exchange knowledge. Simply expecting them to make the time isn’t going to be sufficient, particularly if they have full workloads. Instead, you need to give them the space to meet regularly while at work, adjusting their duties or deadlines to make the arrangement possible.

Present Them With Challenges

Theoretical knowledge is only so helpful in the business world. If you want your team to develop practical skills, you need to give them chances to use what they’ve learned.

Consider which upcoming tasks and projects may challenge your employees, assigning team members based on who can benefit from the experience and the chance to put their skills to the test.

While you don’t have to forgo including experienced staff members as well, coupling them with some of those who haven’t had an opportunity to work with a particular technology, approach or concept can bring new ideas to the table and make skill growth possible.

By following the tips above, you can create opportunities that will allow your employees to learn and grow this spring and beyond. If you’d like to learn more, the professionals at CPS Recruitment can help. Contact us to speak with one of our knowledgeable staff members today and see how our professional development expertise can benefit you.