Career Paths are important to every employee. I can't remember a time when I met someone happy at the thought of having no opportunity for growth and improvement either personally, financially, or positionally. But for most small businesses, the path to successful individual advancement is left to happenstance or sudden needs that must be met. A better option for employee retention, and engagement levels, is providing a Personal Improvement Plan, or PIP. (You could call it a Professional Improvement Plan also) Example Links below ⬇️
The business I currently serve is in an industry that expects a nearly 50% turnover rate annually among technicians. That's a painful statistic on its own, compounded by the nearly $40,000 price tag for onboarding new employees to that position. (includes recruiting, education, training hours, application access, etc.) Certainly, there must be a healthier solution to employee retention than merely competing offers of higher salaries and deeper [conventional] benefits. Implementing our PIP program was the best HR development I have used, and is a robust long-term "benefit" to the employee. Here's what it emphasizes:
Career Starting Point - a clear baseline for entry.
Career Path - defines short-term and long-term goals and possibilities.
Working Genius Assessment - helps show the best types of teams and roles.
Compensation related to achievements - committed increases over time.
Strategic goals are expressed in incremental periods. (measurable and achievable)
Commitment to ongoing 90-day benchmark evaluations.
Honest feedback through objective KPIs and customer reviews.
While a PIP is contractual in nature, it is NOT a contract. I still utilize a standardized contract as our initially negotiated agreement that maintains our commitment to one another. The PIP is a "living" document that grows, shifts and matures with the length of employment.
Here are several versions of PIPs for various positions that may serve as good starting points for your own development. Remember - they are "living" documents - so perfection isn't the goal - high levels of engagement and clarity for the future are.
Comments