Dive Brief:
- Many employers try hard to to create "stretch" assignments for employees as part of a retention and development strategy, and it makes sense. If employees can’t find stretch opportunities, they may look to leave leave, according to an article at Harvard Business Review.
- A “stretch assignment” is a project or task given to employees beyond their current knowledge or skills level in order to “stretch” employee development. Often, the idea is to place people into uncomfortable or unfamiliar work situations in order to learn and grow.
- With research showing that a leading reason people, especially millennials, leave their jobs is because they lack a clear career path, if internal stretch opportunities don't exist, employers should consider utilizing stretch assignments from outside the organizaiton, supporting a social cause.
Dive Insight:
According to reports from the World Economic Forum, employers' lack of access to talent is one of the leading barriers to global progress. Author Mark Horoszowski, co-founder and CEO of MovingWorlds.org, writes that there is an abundance of skills-based opportunity out there for eager professionals looking to "stretch their abilities and make a positive impact."
The world needs help and the added "brain power" — and if employers can connect social good to someone's job, and pay for it, it will be a win-win, he adds. For employers, it would build engagement, a much desired end result in today's talent landscape. For employees, it can create a strong sense that their employer cares about the community beyond the bottom line. The key, he writes, is to keep the assignment focused on "learning valuable things, developing new skills, and making a positive impact."
