The success of your organization depends on the development of your human capital, the key asset that drives productivity and impacts ROI. However, traditional approaches to workforce training are often fragmented and lack the strategic focus required to drive sustainable organizational improvement.
To address this challenge, organizations should implement effective employee development plans to foster a culture of learning, continuous improvement and personal excellence. The intention is to build a workforce that is skilled in responding to business needs, changing demands, and leading the organization into the future.
The summary and the sections below offer valuable resources and insights to help guide you through this important aspect of development efforts. Use this as a guide to identify gaps, changes, or improvements that would benefit your employee development strategy.
Understanding Why Workforce Development Matters
It is easy to get narrow minded when thinking about workforce development. While the term “employee development” may suggest a single individual’s journey, the fact of the matter is, investing in a broader workforce benefits the entire company and secures its future.
Here are some ways investing in team members pays off for organizations.
1. Higher Retention
The cost of replacing a team member can range from one-half to two times their salary. Development plans can help you improve retention numbers and minimize turnover in a way that directly reduces costs for the organization.
Studies show:
- Professional development opportunities can lead to 34% higher retention.
- 86% of workforce members indicate they would switch jobs if another employer offered more development opportunities.
2. Greater Job Satisfaction & Engagement
Research shows those who receive opportunities for professional development are 15% more engaged. When team members feel they are growing in their roles, they are more likely to have personal drive, feel valued, and satisfied with their work. Helping unfulfilled team members move out of their comfort zone and into a growth zone will elevate their skills, contribution, and satisfaction.
3. Better Alignment
Effective employee development plans encourage greater connectivity and alignment that can show up in numerous ways:
- It provides leaders with the opportunity to communicate and review the organization’s overall goals and objectives with each team member, so they understand how they fit into the bigger picture.
- Leaders can help link individual goals of employees to the broader company vision. As a result, teams, departments, and individual contributors feel more connected to the work and the impact it has on the business.
- Workforce development can promote increased collaboration across departments by exposing individuals to different roles, operating environments, and perspectives. Moreover, a shared understanding of objectives can help to break down silos and promote teamwork.
4. Increased Competencies via Cross-Training
Through learning methods such as cross-training, team members can acquire knowledge from others, making them more versatile and change-able. Cross training also provides new career paths within the organization, which retains experienced employees who might otherwise look elsewhere for new career opportunities.
5. Greater Earning Potential and Ownership
A Gallup study found that engaged team members can increase sales by 20%. By creating a workplace where your workforce feels valued and connected to their work, you’re not just boosting your bottom line—you’re able to remain competitive in keeping top talent.
6. Satisfied Customers
Development efforts can positively impact the customer experience, which leads to increased sales and repeat customers. When a workforce is focused on customer excellence, it results in better services, solutions, and products for its customers. Developing customer obsession enables the workforce to provide differentiated and personalized support that leaves customers coming back for more.
7. Increased Job Security
Investing in employee development helps to secure the careers of your team members and helps to safeguard the future of your organization. When team members possess the skills and knowledge they need to excel, they become more valuable assets. This in turn contributes to a stronger company that can better meet customer needs (internal and external) and maintain a healthy bottom line.
Laying the Right Groundwork for Your Employee Development Plan
Before crafting your development plan, you need to establish the right foundation. Here’s how in three steps.
1. Lead with Data
Leverage and synthesize data as a starting point. When building out plans, data will surface key areas and opportunities to be aware of. This could come from existing quantitative data the organization has, observational data, or data from employee feedback tools such as:
- 360-degree leadership assessments: Gather feedback regarding a leader’s performance from multiple perspectives and sources. This offers an objective picture of a person’s skills, behaviors, and competencies.
- Competency assessments: Compare a person’s behaviors and skills against job requirements or expectations.
- Personality tests: Help team members understand how their personality impacts their interactions with others and how to be more productive and effective in their roles.
2. Prioritize a List of Competencies
Upon gathering the necessary data, identify the specific competencies that provide the most value to the organization and its people. By prioritizing and focusing on the competencies that drive success or value, you can help team members identify skill areas where they are strong and areas that require further development. You can then use this information to create personalized development plans aligning individual and organizational goals.
3. Take it in Phases
While developing your workforce is important, it’s also essential to navigate the journey with conscientiousness. Work through plans incrementally if needed. A well-thought-out plan takes time and may be a progressive process. Look out for signs of overworked employees to avoid overwhelming them with complex development initiatives that don’t add value.
Creating Your Employee Development Plan
From defining goals to choosing the right development approach, creating a comprehensive and effective employee development plan involves several key steps.
1. Set Clear Goals and Objectives
- Define desired outcomes: Clearly articulate the specific goals you want to achieve through the development plan.
- Set SMART goals: Ensure goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) so you can track progress effectively.
2. Outline Actions and Metrics
- Identify specific steps: Determine the concrete actions required to achieve the defined development areas and goals for employees.
- Establish metrics: Develop measurable metrics to track progress and assess the effectiveness of the plan.
3. Set Timelines or Checkpoints
- Short-term goals: Focus on quick wins within 14-90 days to build momentum and motivation.
- Medium-term goals: Address more involved efforts within 90-120 days.
- Long-term goals: More ambitious goals or major development opportunities, such as obtaining certifications, advanced education, or special assignments.
4. Choose the Right Development Approach
- Training programs: Equip team members with the necessary skills, practice, and knowledge to support competency development. This will enable them to perform their jobs effectively.
- Development activities: Structured tasks outside primary responsibilities, stretch assignments, and other actions that broaden an individual’s skills and experience.
- Coaching: Provide guidance and support to help team members reflect on their roles, improve their performance, and reach their objectives.
- Leadership mentoring: Share information and connections that can assist individuals as they establish themselves in the professional world and take on development assignments and build their professional network.
5. Tailor the Plan to Individual Needs
- Consider individual preferences: Take into account individuals’ learning styles, career aspirations, and development needs.
- Create a personalized plan: Develop a customized plan that addresses each team member’s unique goals and challenges.
6. Assemble Resources and Responsibilities
- Identify necessary resources: Ensure access to the tools, materials, and support needed to achieve employee development efforts. Identify what resources may be needed inside or outside of your control and how that factors into the plan.
- Assign responsibilities: Clearly define roles and responsibilities within a development plan and encourage high levels of team member involvement.
Implementing Employee Development Plans
Successful development plan implementation requires motivating employees and serving as their support system throughout the process.
1. Empower Team Members
A critical part of initiating a development plan is helping them feel empowered to contribute and make a difference. Help team members cultivate ownership around development efforts for greater commitment and success.
When discussing or reviewing development plan responsibilities, empower your team member by:
- Encouraging two-way communication
- Keeping them accountable for their responsibilities
- Providing the resources they need to succeed, but offer enough autonomy they are able to fulfill responsibilities on their own terms
2. Check in at Appropriate Intervals
To keep individuals working on their goals and contributing to the team and organization, proactively coach and offer feedback when needed. Over 70% of team members who receive coaching experience better work performance.
Coaching sessions are a productive way to guide team members before challenges arise, ensuring they are executing their responsibilities effectively. Successful coaching requires encouragement, empathy, support, and constructive feedback.
3. Overcome Obstacles
Roadblocks and setbacks are inevitable when implementing plans. It’s important to anticipate and prepare for these potential obstacles, as well as to be flexible when unforeseen obstacles arise.
For example, coaching an employee with a negative attitude is an challenge that requires feedback skills and active listening. In this scenario, a leader needs to provide clarity on performance expectations and help the employee understand how their behavior may be adversely affecting individual and team performance.
When setback or obstacles arise, stay calm and work through what is within the sphere of control and sphere of influence as best you can.
4. Assess and Adjust as Necessary
Periodic evaluation and adjustments are essential to ensuring the effectiveness of employee development plans.
This encompasses:
- Conducting regular check-ins: Schedule regular check-ins with team members to assess their progress toward their goals.
- Gathering feedback: Collect feedback from team members and other stakeholders to identify areas for improvement. Use this time to discuss additional employee growth and development ideas that can elevate the quality of all learning plans.
- Tailoring plans to individual needs: As individuals progress, the needs and goals of leaders may change. Be prepared to adjust their development plans accordingly.
- Reassessing priorities: If organizational priorities shift or new challenges arise, reassess employee development plans to ensure they remain aligned with the company’s goals.
5. Recognize and Reward
Take the time to recognize the implementation efforts of the team. Create a positive and supportive environment that provides a sense of accomplishment. Be specific in your recognition, noting why an individual or team is receiving feedback and the impact they made.
Empower Your Workforce, Elevate Your Business
Investing in and developing today’s workforce has become a strategic necessity. When executed correctly, it creates a competitive advantage for the organization. By implementing employee development plans, you unlock a wealth of benefits, including increased productivity, improved skills sets, and higher levels of employee confidence.
Explore how CMOE’s comprehensive employee development solutions can support or augment your development efforts. Learn more by talking with one of our solution consultants today.
