Weighing the decision to promote an employee

Mentor - Business ConceptSometimes it’s a tough call: Is your staffer ready for a promotion?

In a growing company, it’s hard to carve out the time to assess the contributions an individual employee has made to a firm. Even so, it’s absolutely essential to track those accomplishments.

The most critical factor in determining the right time to promote an employee is the person’s willingness to mentor and be mentored. Has the employee demonstrated a willingness to help a coworker? If so, that team spirit is vital to the company’s bottom line.

Another way to tell if a promotion will play out successfully is to look at the employee’s past performance. Be sure to set specific performance standards.

Keep track of an individual worker’s accomplishments and the person’s overall contribution to the company. Maintaining those records are vital to ensuring the a promotion will prove successful to both parties. If the information isn’t captured on a regular basis, it will make the act of conducting performance reviews more challenging. It’s easy to forget those details amid a busy office atmosphere.

Do take care not to record information of a highly personal nature in a person’s employment file. And steer clear of including hearsay or critiques unsupported by evidence. Ensure all personnel file information remains confidential.

Here’s another important factor to consider: What types of workplace relationships has the employee forged with others during their time at a firm? Is he well regarded by other workers? Is she the type of person to go the extra mile?

Review the worker’s file as well as the web of connections he or she has formed with other workers. Be on the lookout for indications the employee possesses a team spirit. Then record the specific accomplishments of an individual worker in the employee’s personnel file. Otherwise a manager may forget what a particular worker has contributed to the company’s bottom line.