When is an employee ready for more responsibility? While there are no ironclad guarantees, you can improve your odds of making the correct call by first considering these key questions:
_What is their track record with new situations? Employees who can apply lessons from past experience to the present are usually able to handle new and unfamiliar situations more effectively and creatively.
_How much interest have they shown in growing? Employees eager to take on new challenges usually show high interest in outside professional development courses, regularly read new materials in their field of interest and ask to learn new tasks that go beyond their usual jobs.
_How respected are they by their peers? When employees get along well with others, it's easier for their peers to accept their new role and work cooperatively with them.
_How do they deal with their mistakes? Responsible employees "come clean" about errors and try to learn from them rather than trying to cover up the problem or lay the blame elsewhere.
_Have they had a chance to try ou" similar responsibilities in a low-risk way? If they performed well in those situations, it's a good sign they're ready for more.
_Are they honest with themselves? Employees who know what they don't know and ask for help, will be better prepared than those who blunder through it.
