When I saw younger employees focused on building their resumés, my reaction was not to worry that they might be thinking of finding work elsewhere. It was instead to ask what our organization was — or wasn’t — communicating to the staff about their future opportunities within their group, and within the larger organization.
A desire for growth and change is a healthy sign. It means someone cares about their own development and takes their career seriously. That is exactly the kind of person you want to have supporting your mission. The question worth asking honestly is whether you are offering them tangible opportunities to grow and to prosper.
Part of that is training. I’ve always believed that organizations benefit from creating a culture of continuous learning. Leaders should communicate and reinforce the value of available development programs so that employees understand them and take them seriously. But that requires more than occasional training. It requires making progression visible — so that a talented person can see, concretely, what their future inside the organization could look like.
When that clarity is absent, people fill the gap themselves. They look outward not because they have decided to leave, but because they haven’t been given a reason to stay focused within the organization.
The practical response is a direct one. Have an honest conversation with each person about their goals. Understand what growth means to them. Then work together to identify what development looks like inside the organization, and commit to it.
When employees are given opportunities to evolve and to contribute in new ways, they’re more likely to remain engaged and loyal.
Investing in your staff, and allowing them to invest in themselves, should always be a top priority.
- Can you identify staff members who might be dusting off their resumés?
- How will you convince them to leave those resumés in the drawer?
Explore our free online Applied Wisdom course as source of training for your staff