Your staff are one of your most valuable assets.

We all know how hard it is to find good employees. And without thoughtful staff development, it will be hard to retain those employees as well. Many books and articles have been written on this topic, but here are a few thoughts to help you create a talent development strategy.

Clarify the goals of your company and your growth trajectory. To determine how to develop your staff, it will be critical to know where your company is going. What are your goals for your business this coming year and how are you expecting the business to grow and evolve?

Determine what roles and skills you will need as the company grows. As your business continues to grow and develop, the roles on the team and the skills needed for success in those roles will change. Although you can’t predict with certainty how your business is going to develop, an educated guess based on past performance and your own business planning will allow you to consider what changes will need to be made to current roles and what skills you’ll need on your team.

Speak with your current staff about the future of the company and what it will take to get there. This could be a great opportunity to create buy-in with your employees, by sharing your vision for the future and how you see the team growing and developing.

Work individually with your employees to create professional growth plans. These plans should help the employee develop the skills needed for a future position, not just for their current position.

Build the right team. It is possible that this process will show you that some employees are not a long-term fit for the company. Although you want to do your best to challenge and support your existing employees, it is possible that some might need to transition to another company that is a better fit for them. Prepare yourself to have those challenging conversations.

Do you have other suggestions of ways to develop your team?

Contact me below to share your questions or thoughts.  

*smallbiztrends.com content was used for this article.