Employee development is an essential aspect of any workplace. It does not matter if you are a small business owner with 10 employees or the head of a Fortune 500 company, it's always beneficial to find ways to improve your staff and keep them at their best. Here, we will discuss what employee development is and why it matters. We'll also cover different aspects of employee development such as an employee development plan, employee development programs, employee development goals, areas of development for employees and more!
Employee development is the process of increasing employees' knowledge, skills and ability to perform their job. It's often associated with professional employee training or learning new things on your own time. The aim should be to help an employee become more effective in their current role and prepare them for future roles within a company.
You may be wondering why employee development is important. The main reason that employee development is so critical is that it allows workers of all skill levels an opportunity to learn new things and develop new skills! According to a Corn Ferry survey, this is good because a whopping 33% of employees leave their jobs for new ones because they say they aren’t challenged enough. That surprising statistic really brings home the need for employee training and other incentives.
Employees benefit from this because they get to learn something that might be outside of their usual scope. Managers also benefit, especially if they are looking at employees for future opportunities within the company or even in another department.
You wouldn’t want to be put in the dark and not watered if you are a plant, right? Then you wouldn’t develop and aren't much more than a mushroom (if you don't wither away altogether!). That's no fun, and employee development is a lot like that plant, but with human workers in the place of plants.
Businesses have to nurture their workers and allow their professional growth, just like you when you water that plant. Of course, employee development is the way to do it in real life!
But enough about plant analogies, right? You're here for the good stuff. The following lists some concrete reasons why employee development is an integral part of your business's success:
We've all read horror stories about businesses that have failed because they didn't develop their employees, so this is why it's important to know both sides of employee development.
Additionally, there are so many benefits to having a well-developed and healthy company culture, but there is also the other side of that coin. Sometimes when things get rough, you might need to cut back on some aspects or even let some highly talented workers go for your business to survive. Here are a few more important ones to consider:
Pros:
Cons:
Now that you know enough to make an informed decision, let's go into the different types of employee development: The employee development plan, employee development programs, employee development goals and areas of development for employees.
When managers want something specific from their workers, they put together an employee development plan. This plan includes things such as what the company wants to accomplish, what the employees should be doing to help meet those goals and how much time will be allowed for each task.
It is also a formal document that outlines the employee development goals, who will be responsible for them, and when they should be completed. It's best to have an annual plan so you can stay on top of things throughout the year!
Managers use employee development plans to communicate with their workers about where they want their business or department headed and what they expect from them to get there!
Having an employee development plan will allow you to take stock of your workers and see where they are lacking as well as what skills you want them to have for your business to succeed. In addition, this is a great way to communicate with workers about the direction of the company so that both parties know their roles!
Employee development plans have a set of career goals and an outline that includes how to meet those goals. Varying aspects of them can include:
Employee development programs are all activities that help workers reach their individual development goals. Some examples of employee development programs include mentoring, coaching and job rotation.
The main purpose of an employee development program is to help employees improve their skills and abilities so that they can be more valuable at work. For example, this could mean developing a worker's leadership ability by implementing management training, or it could mean teaching someone who hasn't used certain software packages how to do so in order to make them more valuable in their current role.
Employee development programs are an excellent way for managers and workers alike to explore new skills that they might not otherwise have the opportunity to use! It's also a good way for companies to invest in developing long-term talent and good employee development opportunities instead of only relying on the same well-rounded people.
The main parts of any employee development program include setting goals for employees, identifying which activities they will do to meet those goals, and following up with them on their progress! A good plan should also have a way to measure how successful the programs were and what lessons were learned.
Employee development goals are exactly as they sound: Something that employees set out to accomplish during a specific time frame, such as a new skill they want to learn or the number of days in a row they will go without smoking! The goal can be anything, and anybody that sets it is the person who will have to accomplish it.
If you are an employee development manager, bear in mind, that employee development goals are a great way for employees to track their progress, and they may also provide some healthy competition between workers! It's also a good idea because then managers can see if people are meeting those goals or not, which allows them to make adjustments if needed.
The main parts that go into setting an employee development goal include: Identifying what the goal is (be specific!), when it should be completed and how you will measure success or failure! It's also a good idea to give employees some time to prepare for their goals, so they can be ready to meet them when the time comes!
An area of employee development refers to a skill or set of skills that employees can improve on. It's usually something specific like communication, decision-making, management abilities and more! One example could be "communication," which could be broken down into skills such as public speaking, listening, etc.
Employee development areas present a good learning opportunity and are great ways for employees to get specific feedback on what they need to improve and then work toward that improvement! Having an area of development also allows managers and other workers to give more constructive criticism because it is more specific than just saying, "You need to work on your communication skills," which isn't really helpful.
The main aspects that go into setting up areas for employees include: Identifying what the area is (be specific!), who it would be beneficial for, how often the goal should be met and how it will be measured! It's also a good idea to give employees some time to prepare for their goals, so they can be ready to meet them when the time comes.
Nearly 59% of workers say they had no workplace training and that the skills they’ve developed to do their job were self-taught. That’s simply not fair in general, much less if you are a business that wants to earn a good reputation and stay competitive.
Fortunately, there are ways to promote employee development and employee engagement in your organization. They include giving employees opportunities to be involved in employee development training and career development programs, providing them with things like books or online courses that will help them grow personally and professionally, offering rewards for meeting specific goals such as bonuses, etc. Of course, it's also a good idea to encourage managers to participate in these types of activities too!
Employee development is important because it provides continuous learning opportunities and helps employees develop themselves and become better-rounded. It's also a good investment for companies who want to save money down the road by investing in their current talent instead of just hiring new people all the time! Employee development isn't always easy, but it can be done if you set goals, create programs, follow through and be patient!
If you like this article and want to learn about related topics, be sure to check out the link below!
