How Do You Tailor Job Enrichment To Individuals And Their Needs?

What enriches one employee is different from what enriches the other

Our favorite stay interview question is “What do you want to learn this year?” It seems all great performers are interested in learning. And when promotions and pay raises are in short supply, you might turn to learning as a way to enrich their jobs, alleviate boredom, and even re-recruit them to your team and to your purpose. Learning on the job (sometimes called on the job training) is a powerful way to engage or reengage with the work. One by one and team by team, you can build and reap the rewards of a learning organization.

It Can Happen to Anyone

Did your own “job EKG” ever go flat? Did the feeling of challenge change to a feeling of routine? Did you think something was missing? What happened to your energy? In any case, did you start to wonder what else there was? Did you start to look around?
 

Unfortunately, your most valued employees are the most likely to suffer this sense of job discontent. By definition, they are savvy, creative, self-propelled, and energetic. They need stimulating work, opportunities for personal challenge and growth, and a contributing stake in the organizational action.

If good workers find that your company no longer provides these necessities, they may decide they have outgrown the place and will consider leaving or, worse yet, disengage on the job. If they disengage, their departure is psychological rather than physical. It shows up in absenteeism and mediocre performance. These people simply withhold their energy and effort, figuring, “What’s the point, anyway?”

Either way, through departure or disengagement, you lose talented people who are vital to the success of your unit and your company—a preventable loss.

Get Enriched Quick

Job enrichment means a change in what your employees do (content) or how they do it (process) and it inevitably involves learning. Enrichment helps employees find the growth, challenge, and renewal they seek without leaving their current jobs, employers, or sometimes even their workstations.
If enrichment is so beneficial, why isn’t it a standard part of every job? One good reason is this: what enriches one employee is different from what enriches the next. Courtney, devastated by her job’s predictability, craves variety in each day’s tasks. Marcos, tired of being told how to do his audit reports, is ready to teach someone else how to do them. Sofia sees that her computer programs meet the needs of her superiors and now wants to spend more time creating useful applications for her colleagues.

How do you tailor job enrichment to individuals and their needs? Ask them what would enrich their jobs! You’ll find their diverse answers are as unique as they are.

Beverly Kaye is an internationally recognized authority on career issues, and retention and engagement in the workplace. She is the 2018 recipient of ATD’s Life Achievement Award and was named a “Legend” by ASTD, a designation given to “pioneers and prophets in the field of workplace learning and performance.” She has also been named by Leadership Excellence as one of North America's 100 top thought leaders. As the founder of Career Systems International (now doing business as Talent Dimensions) and a bestselling author on workplace performance, Kaye has worked with a host of organizations to establish cutting-edge, award-winning talent development solutions. Her first book, Up Is Not the Only Way (Davies Black), became a classic, and although it was published in the early 1980s it is still relevant today.  Visit https://bevkaye.com  Connect Beverly Kay Follow @BeverlyLKaye