Sustainable Employee Growth In A Quasi-Virtual World

Business recovery starts with investments in people

The pandemic and subsequent widespread reduction in costs and resources have caused business leaders to not only reconsider their headcounts but reassess how their remaining employees are being supported in a new virtual reality. And with staff numbers at all-time lows, companies are more dependent than ever on the value of individual employees to drive business outcomes. Although the national unemployment rate has started to decline (from 11.1% to 10.2% in July as reported by the NCSL), jobs are still being added at a slower rate than previous months since the pandemic shuttered the economy. Companies at all levels are still announcing new rounds of layoffs, describing the decisions as a “hard but necessary step” to recovery. It’s clear that while progress is being made, these trends are pointing to a slow rebound for the business overall.
 

It’s already becoming evident that some of the shifts we’re seeing in the makeup of workforces are long term. It is challenging to manage and coach employees and teams when they are remote and dispersed. At the same time, the economy is dramatically altered and there is a need for workforces to change and adapt to new or shifting conditions. That means new skills must be met with changes in how they are trained and developed. Traditional learning and development plans can help fill gaps but fail to enhance skills in a way that is widely applicable and scalable. When it comes to creating a path for survival, companies need to be crafting new business strategies that focus on sustainable, long-term growth that increases the opportunity for employees to make major contributions.

Leadership in an environment that is increasingly virtual needs to adapt to deliver guidance and coaching in new ways that meet the moment.

Business Recovery Starts with Investments in People

Leadership that will be successful during and after the pandemic will be determined by the collective strength of individuals, not ineffective learning and development tools. A 2019 Training Industry report indicated that only 12% of workers made use of available training programs. This was only a 1% jump from the year before.
 
As professional development leaders, we have an obligation to support employees with the most effective resources for personal growth in skills, adaptability, and confidence to be prepared for the future of work. With the unfortunate need for leaner workforces combined with executives’ growing fear of skills scarcity, learning and development initiatives that fail to give employees expert guidance to navigate today’s challenges threaten company survivability.

The good news is, there’s no question that employees are eager to make an impact. They just need the right support and leadership that is able to adapt to the mix of physical working environments and virtually-connected teams.

Professional Development Has to Be Personal

As the reduction in employee numbers at many companies increases the need for workers to take on new responsibilities or assume hybrid roles, companies must be prepared to develop their people to meet the pace of change. 

The opportunity is significant, as many employees will have chances to shine in new ways. But this moment to grow in capabilities and increase value to the company will present new obstacles and require individual motivation. And with employees being pressured more than ever to produce, an investment in their development must meet their needs on a personal level.

Traditional training technology alone can attempt to curate content or courses to the individual, but fumbling through catalogs to access the right information is a reactionary effort at best. A long-term plan for employee and company growth means being proactive when it comes to professional development. The solution is simple. Providing employees with a coaching platform that can accurately match an expert to each employee based on their individual needs will equip employees to solve problems and drive outcomes for themselves and their teams.

With personalized support through 1:1s with expert coaches, employees stand a chance to meet the increased demand for flexibility (a City & Guilds Group study found that 79% of professionals say they consider coaching useful for adopting new technologies and ways of working). High performance hinges on the ability for employees to avoid obstacles with speed and find a direct path to unlocking their potential. And as companies set a course for the future, they need individual growth to scale across the organization.

Companies racing to implement solutions that provide durability for the long run are dependent on the productivity and profitability of talent. Although a reduction in staff has been unavoidable in some cases, businesses cannot afford to leave the key talent they have left out to dry.

Making optimizations at speed is essential for companies to better adapt to heightened market needs, and the employees interacting with customers daily are the ones solving for new problems. These workers are not only facing new challenges, but are also gaining important new insights. With the support of a professional coach, employees will make the improvements to critical thinking and decision-making needed to overcome obstacles, and better apply their experiences to meet company objectives. By making a coaching experience available to all employees — not just the C-suite or leadership — scalable growth is achievable for long-term sustainability.

Investing in your people for the next normal requires nurturing your most valuable asset, the workers solving day-to-day business problems and gaining key insights that will drive innovation. Leadership must heed the call that investing in people looks very different — accommodating remote work and scattered teams requires creative solutions to delivering adaptive training and coaching. 

Personalized Coaching Is Key to Survival

Leadership must now consider how they will develop their people and tie new approaches to short-term survival and long-term business plans. Simply filling knowledge gaps in an on-demand way isn’t enough. It’s why traditional solutions alone are failing to prepare employees for their needs now, much less those of the future. As businesses are shifting priorities, they’ve asked their employees to do more with less, and employees have accepted the challenge. But in many cases, they have a lack of clear direction on how they can make an impact that aligns with company objectives.

With the one-on-one experience of a personal coach, employees are supported with a truly flexible approach to professional development. Helping individuals set priorities for growth, identify the best next steps, adapt to new challenges, and accountability for their own success are key to building workforces that can withstand any crisis. Let’s be honest, leaders are overwhelmed themselves in these current crises and could use some help in providing 1:1 coaching and development for their people. 

Investing in personalized coaching for all employees can provide scalable growth so that companies are equipped for what’s to come. It can also match the needs in an increasingly virtually-connected work environment and alleviate some burdens on leadership. The benefits of personalized coaching on employee performance won’t just create lasting momentum for companies to survive, but the increase in individual confidence and job satisfaction from employees will ensure they never stop growing.

Katie Stricker is Co-founder, President, and Chief Coaching Officer at Sayge. For over a decade, Katie’s career has spanned entertainment, advertising, and innovation consulting. She’s helped transform a range of businesses and brands by working with senior executives at some of the largest Fortune 500 companies as well as disruptive startups. It’s this background, plus working with a coach since 2007, that led Katie to gain her professional development, ICF coaching certification in 2015. She’s helped hundreds of leaders, new managers, and teams uncover new insights, see opportunity, and discover answers to pressing challenges, leading to impactful outcomes. Visit www.hellosayge.com  Connect Katie Stricker