When you hire someone for a specific role in your company, you can sometimes find other hidden talents that didn’t come out in the job interview. In some cases, these talents are never utilized by the companies they work for, which seems a waste of potential, especially as they may be of great to you and your business. Finding ways to allow your employees to use their talents, though, can be difficult. Plus, how do you discover these gifts they may be hiding?
- Be Observant
The longer you have someone working for your company, the more you find out about them; it also means you’re more likely to be used to their actions. To see any flashes of their potential, you need to be more observant of their work ethic as well as their quirks outside of work. For example, a graphic designer in your company may also be managing others smartly, improving productivity. You may have noticed this both in the office and whenever your team is outside of the office, for example, at a work function or training day. Therefore, if you were going to hire another line manager, you ask them if they wanted the added responsibility.
- Run Events at Work
One way that you can use the workplace to encourage those with potential is to hold events and competitions. These can be anything from designing a new company logo, to taking part in teambuilding exercises. By doing so, you are able to see if there are any hidden talents you could utilize, and whether they would also like to use them for your company.
- Speak to Them About Your Ideas
If you think that someone has the potential manager to be for example, then you may want to have a chat with them about your thoughts and observations. It could be that they are not keen to take on such a role, so you need to establish this with them first. If they seem keen to explore that area, then you can give them more responsibility in their current role and see how they perform. If they do well, then you can encourage them to apply for management posts as they arise.
When the business is trying to move in a new direction or come up with new ideas for products and services, you should bring them in on the debate. It could turn out to be a really smart move because the people who work for the business each day often have the very best perspective on the business. They could come up with the kinds of ideas that no one else in higher positions in the business would think of.
- Test Their Abilities
Once you have identified those with potential, it is time to put them to the test. You don’t want to put them under too much pressure, you just need to see if their natural flair for a job is as good as it seems. Try to give them additional jobs that are suited to their talent. For example, if you think that they have a flair for design, why not ask them to help you set up your company’s website. They may surprise you and expand your company’s horizons. By encouraging your workers to test their abilities, you are not only building their confidence, but you are also helping to find potential that you didn’t know was there. These potentials could greatly benefit your business, as well as improve employee morale, efficiency and productivity
