It is difficult for managers and leaders of organizations and businesses to decide which employee will be promoted and given heavier responsibilities. We sometimes face severe consequences if we put an unsuitable or unprepared person in a new position. So it is necessary to know the signs of unpreparedness of our employees. In this article, we’ll discuss the most common signs and suggest ways to let your employees know more quickly that you’re not getting a promotion.
Signs that employees are not ready for promotion
As a manager, you must carefully evaluate each promotion candidate and make the final decision. Use the signs we’ve outlined in this section to identify employees who are underprepared.
1. Their performance is not stable
This is probably the most apparent sign that employees are not ready for promotion. If their performance is not stable and desirable and has many ups and downs over time, environmental or psychological conditions influence them. If they perform like this in the current position, what guarantees they will perform stably in the new, more challenging position?
2. They are not challenging
Sometimes problems occur during work. Has your employee had the necessary will to volunteer and solve them? Does your employee’s approach in the past indicate that he has the spirit to take on new challenges? If the answer to these questions is negative, you should reconsider promoting him.
3. They are not team workers
These days, most of the work is done in groups. Therefore, teamwork is one of the most critical soft skills in the workplace. Teamwork means communicating effectively with other members, taking responsibility, and sometimes sacrificing for the team’s goals. If your employee is aloof and doesn’t want to work with others, he is not a good option for promotion.
4. They don’t want to learn new skills
One of the important indicators is the willingness of employees to learn. Has the employee you plan to promote actively participated in workshops and training courses? Has he tried to improve his skills? Again, if the answer to these questions is negative or ambiguous, it is better to hold back.
5. It is not easy for them to control stress
The higher the job rank of a person, the heavier the responsibility. Therefore, the stress he is exposed to will be more. If your employee cannot control his anxiety in his current position, how will he do it in more challenging jobs?
How do you deal with an employee who is not ready for promotion?
Now that you know the signs of your employee’s unpreparedness, how do you communicate this issue with him? This is a sensitive issue because it might ruin the mood and relationship between you and him. Following the points mentioned in this section, you can successfully discuss the reasons for not getting a promotion.
1. Start the conversation with empathy
Appreciate your employee’s efforts before looking for reasons for not getting promoted. Show him that you care about his efforts. By doing this, you make him realize that his work is seen. Change his mindset and yours from bad news to an opportunity for mutual understanding.
2. Show your support
Talking about not getting a promotion should not be limited to explaining the reasons. On the contrary, this meeting is an opportunity to evaluate your employee’s strengths and weaknesses and to announce your readiness to support him for future promotion.
Remind him of his strengths. For example, say that I am grateful for your efforts and good performance in a particular subject or work. I hope that we will be able to prepare you for promotion by strengthening specific skills.
3. Focus on the future
Don’t let the conversation end with your employee feeling frustrated and defeated. Tell him that he has the potential to grow. He can be promoted to better positions with your support if he wants and will.
How do we explain the reasons for not promoting our employees?
Explaining the reasons for not getting a promotion is so important that if it is not properly presented and understood, it may cause many annoyances and misunderstandings in the future. The technical reasons for not getting promoted are different in every job. However, getting or not getting enabled in all jobs can be framed in the three axes of ” job competencies, “growth potential,” and “insight.”
1. Job qualifications
Job competency is a set of skills and knowledge needed to hold a job. Some skills are general, and some are specialized. These skills can also be divided into two hard and soft categories. Hard skills like reading and writing are essential for every person in any job. Soft skills are a category that is more important these days, such as teamwork, empathy, effective communication with others, commitment, and responsibility.
With that said, if you talk about why employees are not promoted, you should have a list of the skills required for that position and your employee’s assessment of those skills. Show him which skills he has and which ones he needs to improve.
2. Growth potential
It shows the growth potential of a person’s will and ability to grow and develop his skills. This index shows how much a person is ready to grow and how motivated he is to do so. This index is defined based on four components:
- Curiosity;
- attitude;
- Seeking participation;
- Will.
Evaluating these components quantitatively or qualitatively is possible, but the quantitative method is more transparent. You can consider these components with the help of the HR department and your observations and feedback from others.
3. intuition
Insight means the view and understanding of others about a subject. What others think of us and our performance is their vision of us. How can we determine what others think about the employee we will promote? A simple method is to ask. Of course, employees may not give clear answers due to face-to-face or other reasons. We must evaluate this index from indirect observations and how others treat it.
Before talking about it, ask your employee to describe the image he thinks others have of him. When they explain their insight, you share with them the insight that you and others in the workplace share with them by providing clear examples. Please pay attention to the differences in his vision and others. These are the points that need to be corrected.
Let’s give an example to understand the insight index better. Let’s say you describe yourself as someone who is collaborative and collaborative, but our reports and feedback from colleagues show that you could be more proactive. How can you create more unity between your vision of yourself and others’ vision of you?
As an administrator, you can make suggestions to strengthen each item mentioned.
Final advice
Talking about the reasons for not getting a promotion is a sensitive task that may even change the career destiny of an employee. So, take the time to evaluate all indicators comprehensively. Then, discuss the matter with him at the right time. Don’t forget during the conversation that your goal is to increase your employee’s chances of promotion. So, proceed with the discussion with a positive and empathetic look and various suggestions for future growth.
