Help! My team are frustrated by the lack of opportunity
Posted by
It can be hugely frustrating for team members who are ambitious and want to stay working for your company, but also want to try to progress their career when there are no or few opportunities to do so. Eventually, particularity if they are capable, they will seek to move on to another organisation where they believe they can get their desired progression.
So the first question is, should you let them move on?
Sometimes the outcome of their frustration is that they do decide to leave the organisation. Some managers worry about that, and can even react badly – but is it always a bad thing? If they are dissatisfied and don’t want to be there any more, they will be creating a black hole of negativity around themselves which will be affecting others. The knock on effect is that others begin to question their place in the organisation.
When they are in this space, you are probably going to struggle to stop them from going anyway – sometimes the best thing to do is to help them leave well. This means that that when they move on, that they speak positively about the organisation and you.
Many managers, on discovering that their person is leaving, will make that individuals life really difficult. That reaction can fracture the relationship to an irreparable degree. This may seem controversial, but my experience of helping people to leave well and then hiring them back soon after because the grass wasn’t greener where they went – or even later once they have significantly developed their capability – is very positive.
Help people leave well by focussing on their CV.
Whether they are moving onto another organisation or making an internal move, there is going to be some ‘dead time’ before the move happens. Making them feel like they are positively using that window will create a sense of momentum and make them realise why you are a great manager! It will also give them a greater ability to find another role.
Start by looking at their CV. Try to understand where the gaps are that may prevent them from obtaining their next role. To get the next job, they are likely going to have to pass an interview process – recruiters are going to be looking for the right experiences – so help them to get ready for that.
The best way to enhance their CV immediately is to give them some tasks that can deliver measurable results. Their CV needs to be packed with successes they have achieved. Those opportunities do not grow on trees. You can often find them by helping them to expand their level of experience through role share with others or even by deputising for you. All of this will give them additional examples that they can use in their next competency-based interview. It will also get them to add value in a period of time where otherwise they would be winding down and mentally detaching from the organisation.
Giving them this support will make them think much more highly of you and mean that a return to work with you at some point (assuming you want them to) might well be possible.
Give their development some momentum
Assuming that the need to move on is not so urgent that they want to do something immediately, you have some time to develop them further to make it even easier for them to secure a new role. There are several strategies that you can employ:
- Help them build their expertise through attending courses, conferences, specialist internal meetings, possibly even presenting at some conferences themselves.
- Give them informal responsibilities, for example making them the organisational lead on a subject or your team’s “customer champion”.
- Help them gain greater visibility in the organisation with a senior sponsor or mentor.
- Consider short-term projects, a secondment, a job swap or even a short time in another part of the organisation.
Don’t be put off if someone wants to leave – it’s not a judgement of your management or leadership style. Make it your job to create the situation where they’re most likely to want to come back in the future.