Does your job allow you to do what you are really good at? Does it challenge and stretch you in ways that promote greater achievement and growth?
Now think about the rest of the workers in your organization. How might they answer these questions? Their responses really matter because the better employees feel about their work the better they will perform.
Knowledge workers in particular demand interesting and fulfilling jobs. They crave new opportunities and challenges to apply what they know to achieve and perform at ever increasing rates. They also value learning and expect to continuously develop new skills and knowledge.
One organization that offers its employees gobs of opportunities to try new things, to learn and to achieve is SEI Investments. SEI has done what many executives believe is impossible. This Next Generation Company has created a workplace in which young workers invest for the long term and deliver outstanding financial returns. What's their secret? SEI provides work that is always stimulating, gives real responsibility to even the newest of workers, and affords everyone a chance to stretch themselves to new levels of learning and achievement. The company lets employees regularly try new and different work. It encourages workers to realize their potential and supports them through on-the-job learning and one-on-one mentoring.
How do your employees feel about their jobs and the work that they do? Here's a simple test - pick the description that best describes your organization:
- Workers view their jobs as boring, providing little innate satisfaction or opportunity for learning and advancement. (DEAD END)
You better rethink the job, quick. Give staff some say in how they do the work. Introduce training and development opportunities. Show that if people perform, they can move to more interesting work.
- You offer a fair day's pay for a hard day's work; training and development opportunities are dictated by company. (A LIVING)
You offer very little to ignite commitment and passion in your workers and their performance shows it. Workers do just enough but no more. Invest in training and job design initiatives that enable employees to feel and operate as professionals, no matter what the work. Allow people to try new roles and take on new responsibilities.
- Workers identify with what they do in personally meaningful ways; formal and informal opportunities for learning and growth are widely available. (PROFESSION)
Your people are motivated. The challenge is to connect their passion and commitment for the work they do to the goals and interests of your organization. Make your company THE place to be a programmer, a sales person, a nurse, an accountant, and so on.
- Employees can pursue the work they love while performing at world-class levels. (CALLING)
Your workers treat what they do as a mission from on high. Let them follow their hearts – they will stretch YOUR organization's performance and learning to new heights in the process.
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