Employees are probably the most vital asset in any organization, which means that investing in their development should be a top priority. Staff development refers to the process of working with employees to develop and strengthen their skills in line with professional and organizational goals. As a result, this will allow you to build a motivated workforce, that has a direct effect on company performance. However, many businesses may struggle to identify the correct strategies to optimize employee development. Today we have compiled a list of seven key tactics, that will help you encourage employees’ personal and professional growth and drive amazing results.
Create Individual Plans
It’s important to spend time with each team member so that you can get to know them better and understand their individual learning style. Take the time to discuss what your employees believe will be most helpful to them and use this information to create a personalized plan for each employee. This approach will enhance your team’s productivity and ensure they feel valued and respected at work. To design a successful plan, it’s crucial to discuss their professional goals and help them identify their strengths and weaknesses. You should include ways of achieving these goals, challenges faced by the employee, as well as interventions to resolve problems.
Develop A Mentoring Program
Setting up a mentoring program is a great way to develop a positive company culture and increase employee motivation. To ensure best results, it’s advisable to implement a mentoring platform, that will enable you to run and scale a successful mentoring program. PushFar provides a leading mentoring and career connectivity platform, which can help new employees develop competent skills and meet industry standards. Similarly, it can support those in senior roles to prepare for leadership roles and climb the career ladder. As a result, this will lead to the establishment of stronger working relationships between mentors and mentees.
Focus On Career ProgressionÂ
Every company should have a method in place to evaluate whether an employee has qualified for a promotion. Therefore, you should focus on creating clear career progression guidelines, which allow employees to obtain the necessary qualifications, such as licenses and certifications. It’s important to ensure your team that their efforts and hard work will enable them to progress to higher positions and levels of responsibility. Remember that if employees feel stuck in one position for a long time, this can lower their motivation and make them see self-development as a futile effort. As a result, they may end up looking for opportunities elsewhere.
Eliminate Barriers
Successful employee development cannot occur, if your management style creates barriers that hinder personal and professional development. It may be useful to review outdated processes and rigid structures to eliminate potential barriers. This will help you build a work environment that incorporates time to develop and grow in ways that are most beneficial to your employees. If there are team members who have not had the same experiences or opportunities as others, it’s crucial to provide them with the right training. For instance, you may want to give extra opportunities to employees from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Delegate Responsibilities
Another effective way to develop employees is to enable them to perform high-level duties from time to time. Taking up higher responsibilities means employees will be empowered to learn new skills and prepare for future leadership opportunities. This will inspire your employees to grow, as they will feel free to express their creativity. Moreover, delegating duties helps managers free up time, that can be utilised for other more important tasks and business functions. It will also instil a sense of trust and promote communication between managers and employees. As a result, employees will be confident that you trust them and believe in their capabilities.Â
Implement Cross-Department Training
One of the most important reasons why employees search for new jobs is because they’re bored with their old work. This means that employees often yearn for something challenging and new in the workplace. Therefore, implementing cross-department training can provide your team with the chance to explore new horizons and develop new skills that lie beyond their niche. As a result, you will be able to bind your workforce together and help everyone understand how their work is interrelated. Additionally, this way employee relationships can be improved, which will maximise employee retention.
Establish Regular Training Schedules
Lastly, you shouldn’t forget to establish a regular training schedule to better support your employees. It’s important to help them set time aside for professional development. For example, you can allocate a specific day of the week for training sessions. This means employees can prepare mentally, which will encourage them to look forward to consistent development every week. However, you will still want to keep things exciting and varied by conducting different types of training. For example, some weeks you can focus on skills development, while others may cover mindfulness training to increase employee focus and productivity.
