Opting to promote from within has numerous benefits for a business. It reduces hiring time and costs, boosts employee morale, strengthens culture, and shortens training time. Many PHCP-PVF businesses pride themselves on investing in employee growth and development; I’d say our industry is somewhat known for promoting from within. With a limited qualified candidate pool, it’s more important than ever to focus on investing in the team members you’ve already got.

In a recent And So It Flows podcast conversation I had with Webstone Valves’ General Manager Lisa Lyon, she shared some nuggets of wisdom that stood out to me. Lyon has been with Webstone – a NIBCO company – for more than two decades and she has held roles in different sectors of the business, from sales to marketing, product management and then to General Manager.

NIBCO is a company with many decades-long employees – some staying with the company for up to 40 and 50 years. According to Lyon, the best way to elevate employees to be promoted to different roles is to grant trust and freedom.

“Beyond the normal expectations for access to traditional training and mentors, employees need to be given the trust and freedom to expand the scope of their roles,” she says. “They need to be encouraged to take an active role in identifying opportunities they could contribute to the company outside of their assigned duties.”

Lyon explained that every job description has an end, but that if everyone sticks to the confines of their role, it limits creativity and denies organizations the benefit of our innate desire as humans to solve problems.

LISTON TO THE FULL PODCAST:

Elevating valuable employees in the PVF world with Webstone's Lisa Lyon

Lisa Lyon, general manager for Webstone, shares her insight on all things leadership and learning new sides of the business as a valve expert who has worked in every facet from marketing and sales, to product management and now general management.

A common challenge I hear often is that the new generation coming into the workforce expects promotions and pay increases at a much faster rate than companies are used to or able to offer. Lyon says it’s a two-way street and that companies must be receptive to a new generation that wants to move quicker. But on the same token, the younger employees need to be responsive to trying different things and stepping out of their role to find opportunities to grow.

If everyone sticks to the confines of their role, it limits creativity and denies organizations the benefit of our innate desire as humans to solve problems.

“Setting clear expectations and fostering open communication between leadership and employees is key,” she says. “We must trust in each other that we're all working together for the betterment of the business, associates and the customers.”

If you’re someone looking to be promoted at your company, or move into a different side of the business, Lyon’s advice is to be the type of colleague that you would appreciate working with yourself.

“You want to be someone who's perceived as being capable, creative, dependable, credible and just enjoyable really to be around,” she says. “You need to be the kind of person that others wish to have on their teams, and then develop allies and advocates throughout the organization who are going to help you reach your goals.”