Malik could address this by allowing her to move up, recommending her for promotion, or promoting her himself if he has the authority to do so. Any kind of promotion might entice her to stay, and if she cannot be promoted (due to a lack of vacancies or other reasons), than Malik may want to work with her to find something else she can do that will be fulfilling. Perhaps she can get involved with other teams or committees, or an assistant can be hired to help her with the work that she finds so unfulfilling, so she can help the company with work she finds more interesting and challenging. Ultimately, there are many options for employees when management wishes to retain them.
Tomorrow, Malik should meet with the employee and should really listen to what she has to say about the job she is doing and the problems she has with that job. He should also evaluate her current position, whether there are other positions to which she could move and in which she would be interested, and her past work record in order to determine how strongly he wishes to retain her as an employee. If she is not the only employee who is complaining of this kind of problem, long-term changes need to be made within the company. These changes include better opportunities for promotion for all individuals in the company, along with workloads that are reasonable and that keep people interested in what they are doing on a daily basis. Employees who like their jobs are much more likely to do those jobs well (Holton & Trott, 1996; McLean, Osman-Gani, & Cho, 2004).
In order for Malik to be successful with changes to...
Reading the company's human resources manual and documentation can provide clues as to which programs are the best for employee development. Often, companies will pay for their employees to go back to school and seek degrees that will help them advance within the company. If this is available, it may be something Malik wants to suggest to the employee. If it is not available, it may be something Malik should talk with higher management about, considering it could be one of the best ways to help retain employees who feel dissatisfied with their job but do not have the education required to move up in the company. Some employees can clearly do the job, but education is holding them back. Making concessions so that employees are not "stuck" should be a part of human resources policies and procedures, as that will keep good employees at the company and not allow them to move to competitors that may offer them much more in the way of advancement opportunities.
References
Holton, II, F. & Trott, Jr. J.W. (1996). Trends toward a closer integration of vocational education and human resources development. Journal of Vocational and Technical Education, 12(2).
McLean, G.N., Osman-Gani, A.M., & Cho, E. (Eds.). (2004). Human resource development as national policy. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 6(3).
Nadler L., (Ed.) (1984). The handbook of human resources development. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
