Why Employee Development Matters

The development of the workforce is crucial to long-term success. It comes with distinct benefits:

Increased loyalty. An organization training its own workforce takes responsibility for its employee’s success. This builds trust and respect.

Increased productivity. Training makes for a more effective workforce.

Better retainment. The development of employees keeps them mobile in their organization, able to switch roles. Education leads to opportunities and staves off the feeling of a stale work environment. If employees are aware of what is necessary to receive a promotion, they can work towards those goals. Cross organizational mobility means employees can do more of what they want. This will inevitably lead to a more satisfied workforce, one that wants to stay.

Increased competitiveness. The benefits described so far are internal. However, the external benefit of upgrading the workforce is that it becomes more competitive. By having the best workforce in the industry, you secure your position among your competitors. A strong, effective, and loyal workforce is a powerful force for any company to wield.

Individual development plans

Development planning refers to a process created to help quantify the development of the workforce. When done right, it guides both employees and companies towards favorable outcomes.

To do this, work with employees to create an Individual Development Plan (IDP). These inform which developmental approach is best for the individual. This is an effective way to translate the individual’s growth process into actionable data points for organizations.

When creating an IDP, focus on employee goals. These could be career related. They could be for more general. For each goal, break it down into actionable steps. After this, guide the employee towards highlighting the resources that they need.

In other words: each goal will have corresponding actions and resources. This makes tracking of progress easy.

Employee development plan creation

Workforce assessments: It is crucial to give the right training, at the right time, to the right people. To do this, an organization needs to understand its workforce in detail. Both as a group, and as individuals.

The workforce may want to learn how to implement AI in their work. However, a specific employee may want to learn the skills necessary to move to another department.

When creating a plan, the goals of the company and the employee should be in alignment. This is crucial to consider as their goals are based on different criteria. For example, an employee may be an enthusiastic web developer. The organization values the employee’s skill in this area. Both the employee and the organization can work in tandem to improve the employee’s skills with minimal friction. However, that same employee is unlikely to be interested in a lengthy, broad e-course outlining knowledge in another field, even if it is important to the organization.

Alignment of interests is crucial for successful employee development.

The actions employees take to develop

Here are the most common actions that employees can take to move towards their goals:

1. Cross-department training: This training is not related to their job. It is still valuable to the organization. The net skills and competence in the company are increasing. As do the employees’ future opportunities.
2. Mentorship: Mentorship programs are effective and low cost. They strengthen the company culture.
3. Education: Consider multiple formats. Physical coursebooks, in person events, or evergreen digital recordings. These are especially effective, as new employees can follow them when they join the organization.

These actions should align with KPIs. This ensures efficient and meaningful tracking of progress.

Employee recognition

An inherent part of employee development is employee recognition. This is the process of acknowledging the efforts and work of an employee. Knowing they will receive acknowledgement motivates employees to take part. It can at times create healthy competition. For example, educational courses could be gamified. Participation may award points or small prizes for engagement.

Employee recognition is a powerful tool for corporate culture. For example, creation of an organizational intranet where employees can engage with and help each other. This can also function as a place for public announcements and awards for the best employees. Successes can be publicly celebrated. This improves company cohesion. It is one of the most valuable tools for building a unique organizational culture.

There are multiple ways to recognize employees. Rewards, gift cards, extra days of paid leave, public recognition and offers of leadership or promotion are effective.

Other suggestions:

• Consider awards for years of service.
• Create opportunities for employees to recognize each other.
• Rewards for significant work achievements.

Be clear on criteria of how to recognize employees. This will remove the potential for bias.

Leadership development

Leadership development is a particularly important aspect of growth for the workforce. This is because a workforce can be self-sustaining. The oldest can pass on what they know to the future leaders of a company, and it can develop. However, this requires guidance. Here are the main factors in creating new organizational leaders:

Mentorship: Mentoring is one of the best ways to impart skills and knowledge to your aspiring leaders.

Testing: Assess aspiring leaders. See how they perform at the different extremes of their role. This will allow you to better evaluate their strengths and weaknesses.

Training: Consider tailored training and coaching. This will give them the skills needed to succeed as a leader.

Communication: Encourage networking throughout the organization. It develops an employee’s understanding of the organization. Relationship building is a useful skill to develop for aspiring leaders.

Issues around development

Here are the common issues when developing a workforce:

Expense: It can be an expensive endeavor. It also takes considerable time to do well.

Methodology: Take training as an example. Employees may be eager to learn and study a certain topic... but not right now. They will benefit from flexibility in their learning. How to implement the training matters. Is access fair to all? Are certain groups unfairly prioritized above others?

Final tips:

Be sure to encourage employees to explore and explain what they would like to learn. Hold sessions where you can get feedback on what they need. For example, focus groups. Create questionnaires for them to fill out anonymously. This will help you to have a deeper understanding of what employees want to learn about. This data will make any education efforts exponentially more effective. Do this throughout the employees’ development to continually improve.