5 Proven Tips to Develop Employees in Fast-Paced, High Turnover Industries

Managing teams within fast-paced, on-the-go industries, such as manufacturing, service, or construction can be uniquely challenging. These industries are known for their high turnover rates and diverse workforce, which can make it difficult for leaders to maintain and coach a consistent and reliable team. 

However, effective leaders know that alignment is essential to engagement and retention. In fact, 94% of employees say that they would stay at a company longer if it invested in their career development (LinkedIn), making it mission-critical for us as leaders.

Here are 5 tips for investing in your team's career development:

1. Implement consistent 1:1 meetings with each team member:

Regular one-on-one meetings with team members are essential to build a relationship with them and understand their strengths, weaknesses, and areas where they need support. It's important to have a shared agenda that you can both add agenda items as you think of them throughout the week.

Since you and your team members aren’t sitting at a desk all day, using software like Leadr can make it easier to hold on-the-go meetings. 

2. Give each team member clear goals that tie back to your mission:

Every team member should know how their work contributes to the company's mission. Giving them clear goals helps them understand their role and what they need to achieve while allowing them to feel that they’re making a meaningful contribution to the mission. 

The 2019 Achievers employee engagement survey found that only 4 in 10 employees know their company’s vision. I don’t know about you, but without a vision, it’s hard to find work meaningful. Especially for upcoming generations like Millennials and Gen Z who highly value impactful work.

Make sure the goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. This makes it easier to track progress and see if you're on target to achieve the desired outcomes.

More on effective goal setting here.

3. Create a culture of feedback by asking for feedback from the team weekly:

Feedback is an essential component of alignment, growth, and engagement. Whether it’s feedback on presentations, culture, relational check-ins, projects or processes, it’s critical to hear from your team and foster a culture of feedback. Weekly surveys can help you track the team's engagement levels, satisfaction, and areas of improvement. Giving your team members a voice will help them feel involved and help you, as a leader, know where there is room for improvement.

Using software like Leadr can help you easily send a survey to all team members and track responses with the click of a button. For on-the-go teams, this is critical. 

Catch a webinar we hosted on creating a culture of feedback within your organization here.

4. Allow each person to utilize their unique strengths to improve processes:

Each team member has unique skills and strengths that they bring to the table. Use these strengths to improve processes and free up your time to focus on leading the team. For example, if someone enjoys project management, let them take part in scheduling changes or organizing team events. This not only improves processes but also offers the team member an opportunity for growth and engagement.

5. Create personalized growth plans for every team member based on those unique skills:

Growth plans help team members develop and improve their skills, which not only benefits the individual but also contributes to the team's success. In your one-on-one meetings, discuss each team member's unique skills and strengths and create a growth plan tailored to their needs. Set realistic goals and track progress regularly. This shows that you value their development and want to support them in achieving their potential. 

PS. this can be as simple as reading one book a month or as ambitious as an employee starting their own business. The point at the end of the day is continuous growth. 

Learn the simple steps to implementing personalized development plans within your organization here.

As your team members grow, it not only increases engagement, it gives back to your bottom line as they develop new skills and strengths. 

We built Leadr for on-the-go teams like yours as a tool to help develop and grow every person on your team. 

Currently, 20 Chick-fil-A franchises are using Leadr to improve their team alignment, engagement, productivity, and culture. Here’s what one Chick-fil-A franchise owner said:

"Leadr has really helped our morale. The change from December until now is tremendous. We are on track for Symbol, which is an award for CFA's highest sales score. Never in our 17-year history have we gotten a 1 in the food score (which is the highest-ranking food score for CFA), and we just did. The regular touchpoints through 1:1s have been so helpful. Our leaders are challenged and cared for in different ways and then do the same for our team members. We are trust-building, growing, and developing. We love Leadr and what is has done for our team and business goals."

Get a custom tour of Leadr to see if it’s a helpful tool for your team’s specific needs.