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Steps to Create an Employee Development Plan

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In order to have a successful employee development plan, you need to first consider your business goals. After that, you should talk with your staff about their skills and training needs. When coming up with the employee development plan, make sure it is SMART (Specific-Measurable-Achievable-Realistic-Timed) and also take into account any potential for advancement within the organization. Finally, measure the results of employee development plans so you can see how effective they are!

Steps to create an employee development plan.

1)Consider your business goals.

  • What do you want your business to achieve in the next year?
  • What are some long-term goals for the company?
  • How can employee development plan help achieve these goals?

    2) Talk with your staff about their skills and training needs.

  • What do they want to learn or improve on?
  • What skills do they already have that could be put to use in the company?

    3) Come up with a plan that is SMART (Specific-Measurable-Achievable-Realistic-Timed).

  • Make sure the goals of the employee development plan are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and have a deadline.
  • Set realistic KPIs for your plan and a way to measure and monitor them.

    4) Take into account any potential for advancement within the organization.

  • If someone is interested in moving up within the company, what skills do they need to develop?
  • Conduct a succession planning exercise.
  • Identify potential candidates.
  • Prepare them for their succession.

    5) Measure the results of employee development plans.

  • How did the plans affect your employees, both positive and negative?
  • Are you achieving what you set out to achieve (the KPIs) with these development plans?
  • Use any data you collect to make changes and improve your employee development plans.

    6) Repeat these steps on a yearly basis!

  • Creating an employee development plan can be challenging, but by keeping your business goals in mind and understanding the skills needed for advancement within the company, you will have a successful plan that will help your business grow!
  • BONUS – Every year, collect the data and look for any patterns and trends that can give you deeper insights on the challenges you might have faced and how to improve your plan every time.