Building Systems Around Human Capacity and Growth

Hiring good talent is super important because it leads to 8 times more productivity, and it is something we make a conscious effort to do here at Hera.

But when people talk about hiring talent, especially for senior positions, they usually look outside because they believe people in their organization are not performing well enough.

This could not be further from the truth. Talent does exist in your organization and will flourish in whatever role if given the proper support and structure for growth.

Providing this support and structure is what building systems around human capacity and growth means.

If you are running a successful organization, then you definitely have talent within. However, it is important to foster a system where people are willing to innovate, speak up, and further develop their skills. They must also be given opportunities for growth and success; otherwise, they will get frustrated and stop innovating or leave the organization completely.

Simply put, as a leader, you are responsible for developing the talent in your organization. If you don’t, employees will be looking for other opportunities, especially ones that foster growth. You don’t want that, because employees leaving frequently means growth and success are stalled.

Ensuring success as an organization lies in building a great developmental system.

This system needs to be built on a model that tracks the needs of employees and allows them to speak up when they need resources to help them improve their skills. 

Read more about the work we do at Hera and how we can be of help to you.

Organizations that are not focused on building this system face serious competitive risks for productivity, innovation, and growth.

But the real question is, how do leaders go about building systems that deliver results?

5 ways you can build systems around human capacity and growth

Well, from our experience with creating effective growth systems at Hera, here are five tips we think can help:

1. Take a skill gap assessment of existing staff.
2. Layout individual employment plans. 
3. Create a structure of continuous improvement
4. Select possible positions for which to prepare the individual.
5. Set clear expectations for progress and results.

1. Take a gap assessment of existing staff

A skill gap is basically the difference between what you need from your employees in terms of skill and what they can offer.

Taking a skill gap assessment helps you identify what needs to be done developmentally for optimal performance.

If an employee lacks a certain skill, they may not always speak up about needing additional training. This assessment helps you identify that need so they don’t become disgruntled and even mentally “check out.” 

To conduct this assessment, you first have to identify what skills are required to do every job at the best possible level and compare it to where your employees are. If you can’t identify these yourself, you can hire an external consultant to do that. 

A skill gap can appear in many ways depending on the organization. It can be the level of technical expertise or an understanding of the company’s philosophy, but properly identifying it can help you identify the next steps.

To measure skill gaps, you could use:

• Surveys 
• Interviews with employees.
• Feedback from performance reviews.
• Skills management software.

You can also measure skill gaps by creating a spreadsheet specific to each position.

2. Layout individual employment plans 

Nowadays, career development and growth are considered a top priority by many when choosing a job. 

Employees want to see a clear development plan that makes them feel engaged and shows them the path to growth on that job.

That is what an individual development plan does. It is a document that encourages growth and development by identifying career actions employees can take to meet their career goals.

When creating a plan as a leader, it is important to note that each plan should be unique to the employees’ needs and related to their current role. 

Creating these individual plans is an investment of time and money but if it is done right can lead to exponential growth.

The development plan for aiding human capacity and growth can cover a number of areas, e.g. communication skills, job knowledge, conflict resolution, leadership skills, organizational skills, creativity skills, and stress management.

An employee development plan that covers these areas comes with a lot of benefits, among which include:

• It gives employees something to work towards. It tells them what comes next in their career path and what skills they need to gather to get there.
• Levelling up skills with the help of the development plan means that employees are better prepared to handle unexpected situations.
• It encourages employees to become better advocates of the organization and what it stands for.
• In the long run, it helps an organization outperform its competitors because they have better talent.

3. Create a structure of continuous improvement

Continuous improvement as an organization should be a priority at every stage.

You need to put structures in place that promote constant and sustainable improvement throughout your organization.  It has to be one that challenges employees to improve their skills and knowledge and rewards them if they rise to the challenge.

Beyond just developing a plan, these structures should show up in the day-to-day operations of the organization. This constant improvement helps fill employees with a sense of pride and accomplishment. It also helps them get better at their jobs which is ultimately what you want.

To ensure employees constantly improve and gain additional skills, allow them to work on new projects.

If possible, you can also allow them to take part in some decision-making processes. This will help improve their critical thinking abilities.

Creating a structure of improvement comes with a number of benefits, such as improved productivity, employee advocacy, reduced staff turnover, and a good reputation in your industry.

4. Select possible positions for which to prepare the individual

For every new hire, you should identify and communicate what growth looks like for them in that company.

Employees can sometimes be discouraged if they feel undervalued and feel like they are being passed up for promotions in the company or don’t know what growth looks like for them.

It is important that you make every employee feel valued and appreciated. A good way to do this is to let them know about possible promotions or positions for which they might be a good fit. This encourages them to level up their skills and work harder in preparation.

You also have to provide the resources and support needed for that journey because it makes them feel like you are interested in their growth. Ask what courses or skills will make them better prepared for this position you are grooming them for and if possible, make it available to them.

5. Set clear expectations for progress and results

You shoot yourself in the foot when you don’t set clear expectations for growth. It is important that you clear up expectations for delivery, effort, proactivity, performance, and quality of work. When expectations are not stated, assumptions are made, which is not good for anyone.

You have to let employees know how they contribute to the big picture of the company and why they should pull their weight. You also need to hold them accountable.

Clarity on job expectations helps produce effective teams because employees know their roles and the purpose they serve.

Conclusion

Here at Hera, we prioritize employee growth. So, the steps outlined above have been instrumental in ensuring that our staff understand why they need to grow. Everyday, we make conscious efforts to build more effective systems around human capacity and growth.

So if you are interested in working in a company where employee growth is prioritized, you should consider joining us. Hera delivers content marketing services to brands and we’re always looking for great talent to join our network! Check out our careers page for vacancies.

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