5 Signs Your Employee is Ready for a Promotion

By Syed Balkhi 

Do you want to know what signs to look for when an employee is ready for a promotion? If so, you’re in the right place!  

One of our jobs as business owners is to find the right people to put in manager and team lead positions. If you don’t identify top performers and help them reach their full potential, you may lose them to recruiters who are offering better opportunities. 

Today, I’ll show you five signs that indicate an employee is ready for a promotion. 

Watching for these signs will make it easier to identify people who are ready and willing to get promoted. At the same time, you get an amazing opportunity to establish strong leadership throughout your business. 

Before we get into the signs, let’s quickly discuss why it’s a good idea to promote internally. 

Why Grow Your Team Internally? 

Regardless of whether you want to fill a management vacancy or create a brand new role, promoting a qualified team member to the position is preferable to hiring externally. This approach not only boosts morale within the team but also demonstrates that you value and are invested in identifying high-potential employees and nurturing their growth within the company. 

Here are several benefits that come with promoting within your business:

• Improved productivity – Employees are more likely to give you 100% if they can see a clear career path in front of them. 
• They know your products – Existing employees know your products and features, which means they will have the knowledge and experience needed to make the right choices. 
• Boost retention – There’s a good chance you’ll see stronger loyalty if you actively promote from within. 
• Save on costs – Recruiting is expensive, especially if you want to hire someone for a management role. Hiring within removes this part of the process and saves your business money. 

How to Tell if Your Employee is Ready for a Promotion

Now, let’s dive in and explore the five signs that your employee is ready to take the next step in their career.

They Consistently Exceed Their Goals

The first way to tell if your employee is ready for a promotion is if they consistently exceed their goals. Businesses establish key performance indicators (KPIs) for individuals and teams that dictate what numbers they need to hit each week. For example, a writer may be tasked with writing and publishing two posts each week. 

Employees who always exceed their goals are competent, work hard, and show that they have the patience and determination to tackle new challenges. 

If you’re thinking about promoting from within, look at your KPI sheets to identify your top performers. You’ll want to turn to these people when it’s time to award promotions. 

They Ask the Right Questions

It’s not uncommon for team leaders to meet with their employees for one-on-one meetings several times a month. Employees who are ready to be promoted will ask a lot of questions. 

Specifically, they’ll bring up the following topics: 

• Improving their skills – Example: “What can I do to improve (X)?”
• Benefiting the team – Example: “How can we optimize (X) to make things easier for everyone?”
• Career growth – Example: “I want to see my career grow here. Can we talk about the steps I need to take to make that happen?” 

I also suggest paying attention to employee feedback forms. If someone brings up a good point and chooses not to remain anonymous, take note. 

People who ask questions show that they have decent communication skills and want to learn from you, which is great. When they ask the right questions, it’s a sign that they’re interested in a promotion. 

They are Willing to Teach Others

People who are willing to teach others what they know are always valued. In business, having someone volunteer to teach a co-worker or team about a topic shows that they may be interested in growing within the company. 

When an employee asks if they can host an internal webinar, for instance, it indicates that they possess a deep understanding of the subject matter and are confident enough to share what they know with everyone else. 

You’ll want to have these people around when it’s time to promote because they’ve already shown that they are experienced, know how to communicate, and want to do anything they can to help their teammates. 

They Strive to Learn

One of the reasons top performers want to teach others is they are constantly learning new things. These are the kind of people that read a lot of books, take online courses, and spend a lot of time understanding their industry and everything around it. 

Make sure you promote people who love to learn. This trait is vital because there are always breakthroughs in technology, marketing, analytics, and other aspects of business. If your employees are not actively engaged in the ecosystem, they may fall behind and not pick up on key skills. 

You’ll want these people elevated in your company because there’s an excellent chance they will share what they learn with others. 

They Adapt Well to New Situations

You, your managers, and your business need adaptability to thrive. When individuals show that they can not only adjust to change but thrive under pressure, they are sending a signal that they are promotion-worthy. 

The best example that comes to mind is the recent AI revolution. It’s safe to say that we will see AI evolve further in the next couple of years. Adapting to this technology will make it easier to bridge the gap when AI becomes even more integrated into our websites, plugins, and marketing strategies. 

Pay attention to industry trends and how your employees respond and adapt to change. If you see someone picking up on these relatively new concepts and doing exceptional work, you may want to consider them for a promotion. 

Final Thoughts

Finding the right employees to promote will make a massive difference in your long-term success. Your business will grow in exciting and unexpected ways when you have a team of managers willing to go above and beyond.

You can streamline the process by looking for the five signs we discussed today. Once you identify a suitable candidate, invite them to a one-on-one meeting so you can discuss their future with your company.