How-To Articles

How to Promote an Employee

Promoting the right person is important to the well-being of your company. Putting ineffective managers into managerial or supervisory positions can cause your business to struggle or even fail. That's how important effective management is. Employees should only be promoted if they are truly qualified for the position. Though their intentions may be good, many businesses promote employees for the wrong reasons. Here are some reasons behind promotions that you should avoid.

1. Longevity
   Many employers believe that long-term employees should be rewarded for their loyalty, giving them incentive to stay with the company. Promoting an employee who is not well-suited for the position, however, is unfair to the employee and other employees


2. Well-liked
   Too many business owners and managers promote the people that they like and everyone else likes, attempting to look good and appease those around them. Being likable, however, doesn't make someone right for the job.


3. Excels in current position
   Just because an employee does an excellent job in one position does not mean that he or she is ready for the management level. Management often requires a different set of skills and experiences that the star employee may not have.

These reasons shouldn't inhibit you from promoting someone. In fact, they are all signs of a good employee. The problem is that they shouldn't be the basis for your decision to promote. What employer's should be focusing on, however, are those areas that the new position requires. This could include anything from leadership to communication skills. Focus on the position before you start focusing on the employee. Employees that do qualify should be expected to undergo a fairly rigorous interview process, similar to that of a new hire. Try to get some indication of how the employee would handle various management situations. The employee should then be assessed according to the degree to which he or she fits the profile of the position.

Here are some additional tips to promoting employees.

1. Make employees aware of the promotion process. Employees should never be shocked by a particular promotion, which is why they should all know what you're looking for and what it will take to get there.


2. Look at weaknesses as well as strengths. Maybe an employee?s weaknesses have little to no effect on the current position, but they could cause major problems in the new position.


3. Understand how the employee would handle the transition. Moving from co-worker to boss isn't easy for everyone. In fact, many people can't handle it at all, so make sure that candidates would be able to lead objectively.


4. Take ?no thanks? as a sign. If employees turn you down because they know better than you that they're not cut out for the job, then you may want to re-evaluate your promotion strategy.