Few things turn off employees more quickly than having to do the same boring thing day after day.
That’s one of the reasons Best Firms to Work For like New York’s Insero & Co. expose their staff to different clients and different departments in the firm – and why they also make sure to introduce them to challenging opportunities.
Giving employees a chance to stretch will build their professional skills, help them learn how to handle more responsibility, and make them feel both more valued and like their career is moving forward – all while deepening the bench strength of your firm, and giving you a chance to measure younger staff for future leadership positions.
Some employees will seek these out on their own, and for them, an approach like that taken by North Carolina’s Hughes Pittman & Gupton, where management is empowered to offer bonuses to employees who “tackle particularly challenging projects,” make sense.
However, it’s important to recognize that not everyone is a self-starter who will pursue challenges on their own, and you may need to lead staff to these opportunities for personal and professional growth. At HoganTaylor, in Tulsa, Okla., for instance, all its employees are “empowered to do challenging work assignments,” the firm reported. “Even at the intern level, we hear from employees that they love the work they do and are excited that they are given the responsibility to tackle things on their own that help them learn and grow.”
