Reasons why Employees do not get Promoted
When promotion season comes there will be more than one contender vying for that position. Some will be highly qualified as well as suitable for the promotion and some may not be so. Promotion means more responsibility, salary and a higher designation than before. It is perfectly understandable that an employee gets frustrated when he is not considered for promotion.
There are various reasons why some employees get overlooked for promotion. Some reasons are tied to the employees’ skill set while other reasons may be more personal from the decision makers’ point of view Also some of the reasons could be the fault of the employees themselves. Understanding the various situations in which an employee gets overlooked for promotion will help an employee better prepare himself for any new upcoming promotion.
Lack of Technical knowledge
Purely skill based rejection and rightfully so as the company will want to promote employees to higher order to lead. If advanced technical knowledge is lacking there is no point in promoting this employee as the rest of the team will not gain anything in value and they will be unhappy too. To overcome this type of rejection it is best for the employee to take up courses and trainings within the area of knowledge required for the promotion.
Lack of People Management or Decision Making skills
Some employees are overlooked for promotion due to the lack of people management skill. Promotion to a higher order means that to lead a team. There will be people working under this employee and lack of people management skills would ruin the atmosphere. When dealing with people there will be many times that that employee will have to make tough decisions. There are some employees who are the best in whatever they do; hands on. However the moment you give them a group of people to handle they tumble. It is a huge relief that courses in people management skills, conflict resolution, negotiation and decision making skills can be learnt and applied.
Lack of Communication / Presentation Skills
Communication skills include written, oral as well as email in an organization. Getting promoted within an organization, be it within department or otherwise, leads to a huge responsibility. Communicating with more as well as different people and giving presentations on projects will become part and parcel of life. If an employees’ superior feel that the employee is lacking in any of the three communication skills he would be passed on when a new position opens up.
Lack of Participation / Involvement
Some employees tend to keep to themselves and show no interest in the happenings in and around the organization. Promoting such an employee is out of question because the people who make decisions may not even know this employee well enough to provide any form of recommendation. It is important for any employee to take active involvement in what is happening in the organization to be considered for promotion.
Lack of Rapport
Some superiors tend to pass on an employee for promotion if they do not like that particular employee, for whatever reason. Sorting out such issues tend to take a while as the employee must know that the reason he is not being promoted is because of the dislike and nothing else. In such cases, the best option is to work things out by openly communicating with each other. If this is not an option, it is best to ask for a change of department or talk to a higher authority about this. There will be discrimination laws in place and you can seek help in that form.
In summary, employees get overlooked for promotion due to various factors. Some are within the control of the employee while others are not. Promotion is a means to an end and it should not be an end to your career. Instead you should look at developing your capacity while in the organization and look for ways you can increase your knowledge and expertise.
