Promotions are what companies often give when they cannot give a big raise. If they have a good employee and want to retain and reward him or her, awarding a bigger title with a small raise can seem like a good deal. Everyone hopes that they will be such a stellar asset to the company that raises and promotions will flow like water down hill to them. The real bonanza hits when you are the lucky recipient of a promotion and a big raise.
For supervisors and managers, the hard part is making the decision regarding who deserves a promotion and what type of promotion to award. Over the years of watching this unfold from both sides, a few handy thoughts come to mind.
- It is rarely a good idea to promote an employee to keep him or her from leaving. Even if the promotion is the cause of the unhappiness, it is a bad plan to promote an employee lacking company loyalty or who is unhappy. You will just be moving this problem to a more visible level and sending the message that whining and complaining is rewarded by this company.
- Try not to consider only promoting employees that excel at their current job. The Peter Principle says that employees will rise until they reach a level of incompetence and then stop rising. Look for that special employee that already displays the talents and skills needed for the next level. That way when he or she is promoted, you can have a measure of confidence that the job will not be too much for their abilities.
- Seek out employees that have earned the respect of their fellow workers. When this person becomes their boss, that respect will pay huge dividends. The new supervisor or manager will not have to demonstrate an unreasonably high level of competency to keep their respect. The former peers will be willing to give him or her an chance to grow into the position.
- Promote thinkers. Some people have the ability to analyze situations and see solutions. Other people lack this skill. It is hard to teach this to those who do not have this innate ability. Thinkers will expand the position and make it fit themselves. Others will simply try to do what is expected and hope it is enough.
- Do not promote people who do not want to learn. If an employee is not flexible enough to be taught, he or she will display a no-it-all attitude until they are fired.
- Managers and supervisors need a backbone. This is not arrogance or self-inflated egos. While being a team leader and player, management caliber individuals have to be able at times to say "no" or "your fired."
- As people rise higher in a company, the amount of direct supervision received generally decreases. This means that when you look to promote someone, you need to find those who can think, act, and work independently. The old saying was that they should be a "self-starter."
- Promotions should go to people who care about the company, the product, and people. All of these need to be in place for a person to be able to lead others to perform at a high level.
Specific situations may require additional items to be added to this list. These eight points will go far toward helping identify the correct employees for promotion or for passing over.
