Development opportunities could boost engagement over summer slowdown

Providing development opportunities could help to boost employee engagement as businesses face a quiet period, according to career transition firm Lee Hecht Harrison | Penna.

Research from the company found over 30 per cent of UK employees haven’t received formal training or development in their job, while 48 per cent have changed their job in the past five years.

Slowdown

Lee Hecht Harrison | Penna Head of Career Transition and Senior Career Coach Mel Barclay offered some tips to business leaders as they experience a summer slowdown, which is when workers and managers may be away for holidays and offices are quieter.

During this period, workers may be looking at their current work situation and thinking about how satisfied they are. To keep employees engaged, Barclay suggests scheduling development sessions during the summer months and providing employees with the chance to build their portfolios.

Other suggestions include sharing news regularly from across the company to keep staff interested, and making plans for new projects to help revitalise the workplace.

Employers are also advised to think about what skills are needed for future success and whether or not the company can help deliver them.

Robust

Commenting, Barclay said: “For leaders, this is a key time to ensure employees know their organisation is always on the ball. Take a look at your development calendars and assess whether they are robust for the year ahead.

This will naturally feed into reviewing development plans and opening up communication between about progression and improvement. If there is nothing in the pipeline, the summer is a good time to start building this.’’