5 Things To Do When An Employee Asks For A Promotion

5 Things To Do When An Employee Asks For A Promotion At the start of every year, it goes without saying that pretty much every employee in every industry will be considering the  future of their career and what the next 12 months has in store and with that in mind, its no surprise that for some, there will be a realisation that theyre just not happy where they are. If youre a manager or run your own business, in addition to bracing yourself for a potential resignation or two this month, youll probably also need to prepare yourself for the possibility of a number of promotion or pay rise requests over the coming weeks as your employees look to take the future of their careers into their own hands. Now, weve covered what to do if an employee resigns and what to do if an employee asks for a pay rise before on this blog so today I thought Id tackle the tricky issue of a promotion  request and what you should (and shouldnt do!) when this situation crops up. 1. Resist Saying No Straight Away: OK, so budgets might be tight and there might just not be room in your business right now to promote someone but you need to resist saying no straight away. Why? Because Even if you know you cant say yes, its important to still go through the processes so the employee feels like you value them and that youre taking the request seriously this way, even when you do say no at the end, theres a chance theyll still want to continue working at your business. 2. Consider If Theres Room For Them To Be Promoted: Before saying yes or no to a promotion, you need to consider whether theres actually room for them to be promoted in your current business. For example, if you only have 12 employees and youve already got eight managers, creating a ninth manager probably wouldnt make sense. That said; at this point in the year, its probably worth considering the structure of your whole business and seeing whether a complete shake-up is needed for example, do you need to promote some of your management team to more senior positions and promote some of your executives to management positions? 3. Ask Them What A Promotion Means To Them Why They Think They Deserve It: When an employee asks for a promotion, its worth having a chat with them to see what this promotion would actually mean to them and why they think they deserve it. Does it mean more money? A better job title? More privileges? A lot of the time an employee wants to feel like theyre progressing and theyre not stagnant in their career and a promotion can be a great milestone, especially if this employee has been with your business for a long time. That said; while the majority of promotions do come with a hefty pay rise, for some, a small rise and more responsibility can be much more appealing. Its also important to ask your employee why they think they deserve the promotion because they might come up with a reason  that you would have never thought of  but which is a really valid reason. 4. Consider Their Performance If You See Them In Your Business Moving Forwards: When an employee asks for a promotion its a great excuse to give them a bit of a performance review and to consider their future at your business. Obviously you need to think about things such as their attitude, their performance and their commitment to their role and your business overall. If theyre under-performing in their current role, it goes without saying that a promotion probably isnt the right solution! When considering their performance and commitment, you also need to think about what they bring to your business and how important they are to your company moving forwards. For example, if you dont give them this promotion, would you be happy if they walked away and went to work elsewhere? 5. Consider What Effect A Promotion Would Have On The Rest Of Your Workforce:   In addition to considering what effect giving or not giving a promotion would have on the employee themselves, you also need to consider what effect this promotion might have on the rest of your workforce moving forwards. If you granted this promotion, would you risk upsetting the rest of the team? And would it lead to an onslaught of promotion requests from the rest of your team? Obviously, if you feel the employer deserves a promotion, it shouldnt matter what the rest of the business thinks however if you work in/run  a small business, its definitely worth considering the repercussions, particularly if theres a chance it could have an effect on your business and its output in the future.