How to Make a Career Development Plan
A career development plan may take various shapes, but the objective is always to encourage your workers to grow with the firm while also providing a forum for open debate and future planning. Implementing a career development program at work is a wonderful approach to show your staff that you respect their professional aspirations, job happiness, and livelihood, while also fostering a pleasant and supportive business culture.
Career Development Plans: What They Are and Why They Are Important
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) identified 18 distinct criteria that must exist in the workplace for workers to be engaged in a research study on job satisfaction. Four of the seven criteria with the lowest ratings were connected to training, professional growth, and career development.
Despite their relevance, employee growth and development requirements are not often prioritised in many businesses. When workers define the elements that they must have in order to be satisfied at work, one of the top five is professional progression and development. 1
Employers would be well to pay attention to this insight if they want to recruit and retain great personnel. A professional development program that provides tailored programs for workers might make them feel appreciated. It implies that the organisation wants to assist people in their personal and professional development. It may also assist in aligning their career aspirations with the company’s vision or revealing areas where they may diverge.
Employers and workers both benefit from a career development plan. The plan focuses on the workers’ requirements for growth and development, as well as the aid that the company may give so that the employee can advance in his or her career.
How to Work with an Employee to Develop a Career Development Plan
There are several approaches to successful career development planning. An outside training class is not the only approach to grow personnel; an in-house program may be more successful and provide higher levels of employee satisfaction. In a few easy steps, you may collaborate with your staff to establish career development plans. Here’s a rundown of how such a gathering works.
Prior to the Meeting
Bring your employee in as an equal participant in the process when you initially prepare for the meeting. Inform the employee that you would want to meet with them to discuss their career objectives at the organisation. Make sure the meeting’s aims are clear and that it’s a good opportunity for both of you. Ask them to consider their alternatives for future growth and development, as well as how they envision their career developing in your organisation, ahead of time.
It may be beneficial to pose a few questions ahead of time to assist lead the meeting and aid in brainstorming and preparation. You may provide a printed handout or an email follow-up with thought-provoking questions. Here are a few ideas, but feel free to come up with your own.
- What do you want to achieve this year?
- Do you have any projects you’d want to start, extend, or join?
- Do you believe that any of your present responsibilities may benefit from extra resources or training?
- What professional work or career development objectives do you want to attain in the next three years?
- What extra assistance can this organisation provide to help you achieve your objectives?
While your employee is preparing their replies, you should be providing suggestions on what they can do to advance in their career. Determine what resources and assistance the company can provide the employee in order for him or her to achieve his or her professional job or career advancement objectives.
During the Meeting
When you meet with your employee, use the questions as a guide to develop a strategy that includes the employee’s input. Be adaptable since the employee may have additional ideas that he or she would want to address. As a manager, it is your responsibility to be aware of all of the choices accessible to employees, such as job shadowing, mentoring, and coaching on specific skills.
Make sure you’re up to date on all of the training and development choices available to your reporting staff members and that you can speak confidently about them. Many workers do not consider growth in any other way than attending a class, and it is beneficial to convey with them all of the different training opportunities accessible to them.
Many businesses have these meetings on an annual basis, and it may be beneficial for everyone engaged to review the previous year’s objectives to gauge progress. Create and submit a document outlining the employee’s plan to Human Resources for evaluation, further input, and filing.
Following the Meeting
It’s time to put the strategy into action after it’s complete. The finest strategies place the burden of follow-through firmly on the shoulders of workers. If an employee does not finish his or her growth opportunities, he or she may opt to blame management, which is detrimental for everyone concerned.
You may point the employee in the right path, but you cannot perform their task for them. For example, if your employee’s goal involves developing their communication and public speaking abilities, assign them the task of researching courses or groups that practise. The HR department and a manager may both assist the employee in exploring his or her alternatives; these may need permission or money, but the employee is ultimately accountable for the decision and follow-through.
Issues to Avoid When Planning Your Career Development
There are several obstacles that might stymie an efficient professional development plan, as well as a few remarks you should avoid making throughout the process.
- Make no promises.
Make certain that you do not promise a certain result or construct a contract with the employee by providing training or other benefits. You can only explain that you will assist in any way you can, but that the company’s growth, economic conditions, priorities, and objectives will have an influence on the employee’s intended developmental path, promotions, and career aspirations. Nothing is certain, so it’s wise to allow some leeway.
- Understand the Law
You should avoid making assertions that over-commit the employer. HR, for example, set up a “career possibilities” bulletin board in the lunchroom of a modest manufacturing business. The company’s lawyers informed them that the board indicated that workers were guaranteed careers and requested that the board be referred to as the “employment possibilities” board instead. Understand the state and federal labour laws that apply to you.
- Delegate responsibility for follow-through to the employee.
Remember that the employee owns the career development plan. You may assist in its pursuit, explore choices with the employee, give chances where available, and encourage the person to set objectives for career and skill development, but you cannot do it for them. The employee must take ownership of their strategy.
- Set Limits to Protect Your Time
You have a limited amount of time to assist your staff to improve, no matter how dedicated you are to their development. Your principal function remains that of their employer. For example, unless you are already aware of a fantastic class or resource, offering opportunities for employees to build skills is not your primary responsibility. Mentoring an employee may be thrilling, but make sure you are not overcommitting your resources to your own harm.
In conclusion
As an employer, you have a significant deal of duty to both your workers and your organisation. You may serve both by using career development programs to assist your workers advance in their careers, resulting in a stronger corporate culture and a more valued and talented workforce.
Just keep in mind that your purpose in the professional development program is to give direction and support, not to hold their hand every step of the way. Use the meeting to establish objectives and milestones, as well as to indicate to your staff that they will be in charge moving forward.
