All organizations should be embracing a professional development strategy as part of their long-term planning process. There are benefits for staff, retention, employee morale and the long-term viability of your organization. So see how to implement a professional development strategy and start reaping the benefits sooner than you think.
Examine the gaps in your current skills
When you are considering the kinds of skills your organization will require over the short, medium and long term, there’s bound to be gaps in what you have now versus what you will need. Sure, you could bring on an entirely new member of staff if the workload justifies it. But having someone already on payroll acquire these skills benefits for both your organization and the employee.
Talk to the supervisors of each department and see where they think the current gaps are. Also think about longer term needs. For example, if you are considering implementing a new technology at your office, make sure you have a member of staff who will be an expert and able to train others. In any case, planning is the key.
Create an individual development plan with each of your employees
This is the critical role you need all your department managers to play in this process. They need to sit down with every single employee and align their interests, the needs of the department and the needs of the company. A good approach is highlight the key gaps a department is facing and see which employees are interested in taking on more responsibilities in that realm of work.
Also survey your employees to see what kind gaps exist in their current skill set. If they find themselves struggling with a certain task or devoting a lot of time to something, it’s the job of their manager to find ways to create efficiencies if possible through training.
See what kind of training resources exist
There are a lot of educational resources available in the market and it’s up to you to decide which ones make sense for you. Free educational resources exist all over the web; however, it can be difficult to put together a coherent training program based on an uncurated assortment of materials. This is why paid courses are often superior. Linda.com has a huge library of courses for you to choose from and because it is online, employees can complete it at their leisure. Sometimes though it just makes sense to have your employee take a course at your local college or university.
Allocate a budget and staff time
This is a critical part as well. You need to calculate the ROI of your professional development program in terms of improved productivity and more knowledgeable staff. Then, assign a budget towards for training and staff time, of which the latter is especially underappreciated. It can be difficult to put a dollar figure for your staff’s time but it’s so important to have that information at your disposal, especially if another staff member is responsible for the training. A professional workforce management software can help you keep track of these hours so you have a better idea of what your training program is costing you in terms of time and money.