How not to promote a team member
Each month we speak to numerous clients (or potential new ones) that are looking to create new roles in their business. It is always an exciting time.
Every person this year has the person in mind, has talked to the team member about it and are ready to move this ‘A star’ person (that you would clone if you could) into a this new position.
Then there is the other end of the scale where we also go into practices where the ‘A star’ team member has lost motivation, it is a mystery as to why, and the owner is not happy. We look deeper and there is one common denominator.
The ‘A star’ person has been given this fancy new job and this exactly how not to promote from within.
You have to look at internal recruitment as just that – recruitment. New roles and promotions cant be given out in the click of a finger.
You have to:
- Create a job description
- Advertise internally
- Interview
- Offer the job to the candidate by way of a formal letter offering the position
- You have a new contract prepared ready for them
- You have a probationary period confirmed (ideally 6 months) and monthly review meetings scheduled
If you want to keep that ‘A star’ team member motivated then it is essential that you do not miss a step.
There are many scenarios that can occur if you do not follow the above, I have the two most common ones here:
- If they are a TCO, the team will think they do nothing but chat and drink tea with patients. Green eyed monsters come out.
- As a boss you may become annoyed, this person isn’t doing the job like you thought they would – but did you clearly communicate it with a job description and discuss the role in detail in an interview?
If this is happening to you as a manager or owner the lesson to learn is not to do it again, reasons being your leadership falls apart and it really annoys your team! Even if they didn’t want the job it is the fact that they did not get a chance to apply. HR procedures have to be right and fair!
To get this team member motivated again you need to go through the job description, review their performance, ask what help they need – training or emotional support, they might be hurt.
Team members that are on a pedestal often fall hard and can easily break.
Laura
