Put workers in right posts

How many times have you seen the really hard worker get a promotion? Maybe you were the boss giving the promotion? But promoting the hardest workers is not always the best option.

The intentions are good. This person is dedicated, loyal, thorough on work and assignments, and may be the lead on projects. This is an employee that you would not want to lose. He or she deserves to be recognized, but what is the right move?

Before we discuss the options, let's discuss the reasons why a promotion may not be a good thing from the employee's perspective.

1. The employee does not necessarily want to change positions.

2. The employee may not be able to manage others.

3. The employee may not have developed leadership skills.

4. The employee may not want the additional responsibility.

These four points must be taken into careful consideration when selecting your next internal promotion. An employee who is doing well at her current position may be where she is most comfortable and, frankly, most productive. One exercise that you can do as the manager is to conduct an employee survey. Find out what motivates your employees and what form of recognition is individually most desirable. This also could be done as a part of the employee's annual review.

Developing your employees also is a huge factor in this equation. Provide management training for those who would like to become a member of management at some point in their careers with your company. Providing hands-on experience in addition to classroom training is key.

Give them a project and assign them a team that reports to them. This will be extremely intimidating but will become an invaluable experience for that employee. This also will aid in developing and allowing you to assess leadership skills. I read this really great quote by an anonymous author that said, "Anyone can put a fire under someone, but a leader puts a fire within someone." That is the essence of leadership.

Similar to my first point about employees not wanting to change positions, they may not be able to manage the new responsibility. I have seen several situations in which the employee accepts the new role, starts well and then becomes quickly overwhelmed and starts to fail at the new job. One suggestion is to start the person as a trainee and work them in to the full-fledged position over time. This also puts you in a better position for transitioning that employee out of the role should it become evident that it isn't a good fit.

Personality tests are a great way to get to know your team. A test such as DiSC (www.discprofile.com) is one that I often use. You will be able to learn about various aspects of the employee's personality, such as what her communication style is, which is, of course, important for any candidate for a management position

The other tool is a strengths test. There is a book called StrengthFinder 2.0 (www.strengthsfinder.com). There is a key in the back of the book that allows you to take the assessment. This is an excellent tool because you will learn what the employee is good at so you can capitalize on those skills. For example: If you learn that the employee who writes the schedule is not detail oriented, pass that responsibility on to another, more detail-oriented employee. There will be fewer mistakes, and employees will feel more comfortable in their jobs.

Hard work does not -- and should not -- always equal promotion. Learn who your hard workers are and then learn what they want as a result of their efforts. You may not always get a reasonable answer. Some employees may be unsure how to answer, but more often than not, your employees are going to be honest with you. Their answers will give you an opportunity to put them in the right position with the right responsibilities.

Pat Eardley is a human resources adviser with more than 16 years' experience in H.R. management. She supports small-business owners, allowing them to have more time by focusing on creating a successful business environment for them and their employees.

The Job Coaches are volunteers from the Center for Women's Job Counseling Program. Call 763-7333 or e-mail info@c4women.org. A donation of $35 is requested for counseling appointments.