JEDDAH – The employee management landscape has changed drastically over the past few decades. Nowadays, leaders need to focus on managing the distinct aspirations of a diverse workforce instead of simply increasing productivity. It's not about telling employees what to do anymore, but about finding out what they aspire to do and aligning their personal goals with the organization's goals. When it comes to managing your team's career aspirations, a holistic process that balances both career and personal aspirations is what you need to plan for. Against this backdrop, the career experts at Bayt.com, the Middle East's leading job site, provide some tips that can help you manage your employees' aspirations effectively. 1. Realize the importance of managing aspirations The concept of aspiration management draws heavily from Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. This hierarchy, or pyramid, lists self-actualization as the highest need individuals aspire to fulfill in their life. Self-actualization simply means being the best you can be at what you do. From the company's point of view, skill shortages are a genuine problem in today's workforce. In fact, 61% of respondents in the Bayt.com ‘Skills and Hiring Trends in the MENA' poll, January 2015, say that their company suffers from a lack of skills. Managing aspirations effectively can thus be a key driver of growth for both employees and the company. 2. Find out your employees' goals Knowing your employees' goals is the first step towards successful aspiration management. These goals may be related to where they are headed in their professional life, such as wanting a promotion or pay raise, or even personal goals, such as how they plan to maintain their work-life balance. Once they know what they want to achieve in life, you can help your employees convert these goals into more specific, measurable and time-bound objectives. Data from the Bayt.com Career Aspirations in the MENA survey, January 2015, indicates that 68% of professionals in the MENA region have set professional goals for themselves, with 26% having goals for the next 5 years. On the other hand, 22% say they have not set any goals for themselves, and these are specifically the employees who will need your help in defining short- and long-term goals. 3. Provide resources to realize these goals Once the goals have been defined all that is left is finding ways to achieve them. For aspiration management to be effective, employees' goals need to be aligned with organizational goals. Providing the necessary training is the key to achieving this alignment of goals. Across the region, 45% of professionals cite the lack of training and growth opportunities as the main barrier to their personal career growth, as per the Bayt.com Career Aspirations in the MENA survey. The same survey also reveals that 72% seek employment to consistently learn and gain experience. The good news is, according to the Bayt.com Skills and Hiring Trends in the MENA poll, 73% of professionals say investment in training will increase in 2015. 4. Adopt long-term motivation to maintain future performance levels At year-end appraisals, you can always measure how well an employee fulfills their aspirations. But it isn't a one-way process. Along with training, you will have to constantly motivate your employees and regularly check whether they have reached their goals. Data from the Bayt.com Career Aspirations in the MENA survey indicates that when it comes to motivation, 58% of professionals in the region claim to be motivated in their job. However, respondents also say that motivation can be improved by providing better salaries and benefits (61%), the opportunity to express creativity and showcase skills (47%), and a better work-life balance (45%). — SG
