Professional Development

by | Sep 9, 2014 | Advice, Featured, Management | 0 comments

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shutterstock_93821116Question:  I am a human resources officer, and our company wants to set up really effective professional development programs.  How should we go about doing this? 

Answer:  Kudos to you for thinking seriously about this.  Many employees welcome the chance to grow and develop new skills, and, depending on your resources, such opportunities can be offered in a variety of ways from internal personnel resources to external conferences.

After specifically identifying your resources, run a brief survey to find out what employees believe would be useful to them in their daily work.  Your sector and the most urgent needs of the company will determine your short term priorities and focus.

Also, use the annual review process to focus on areas in need of support across the organization.  In a team culture, everyone needs to take responsibility for productivity and knowledge.  Instead of using the review process as a punitive form of evaluation, use it as a tool to focus everyone on critical skill-building.

The likelihood that all employees will identify the same areas of interest to develop is in the ballpark of zero. However, because all aspects of a company impact everyone in some way, find a way to make different topics obvious in their pertinence. For instance, if fundraising is an issue, find ways to open up the discussion – even among employees not directly responsible for grants, donors and corporate relations. Report successes, and put forth the current challenges. People know people, so, such a discussion may trigger someone to remember a professional connection who might become an outside, useful resource.

Or, if technology is a challenge, investigate cost-effective ways for mass training to take place so everyone can get on the same page and up to speed. Sometimes, simply developing awareness of what it takes to succeed will generate new, more productive behaviors.

There are also some sensitive issues that sometimes need attention even if no employee brings them forth. These issues generally relate to cultural differences and workplace harassment. Make certain such topics are assessed and their needs determined when putting together timely, relevant training.

One resource extremely useful in your planning, regardless of resource limitations or abundance, is the current staff. In other words, identify certain employees whose productivity and output are remarkable, and have them speak to peers during a bag-lunch series.  On a longer terms basis, consider partnering with a local college, university or lifelong learning center to encourage employees to identify useful courses and to take them after hours, on the weekends and/or online.  If you provide the information, it is that much easier for employees to take the next step, enroll (with our without direct employer contributions) and get the information they need to do and be better.

The avenue of continued education goes for senior leaders as well.  Many of the nation’s universities offer customized executive training for senior leaders and can cover a variety of beneficial topics.  Tap into your local resources, and build relationships so that you can stay current about course offerings and when and how your employees can enroll and take advantage of them.

Your specific approach and planning for professional development will have a lot to do with your budget. Zero budgets, of course, mean a lot of internal (self)-training, webinars, on-line programs and minimal costs.  Generous budgets can mean out-of-state weekend conferences, certification programs and executive training programs to the mix.

Regardless of your budget, keep in mind that the best professional development programs are ongoing.  They do not wait for reviews alone to send signals.  They are not about crisis management but rather about incremental growth of the team.

By the way, when did you last take a professional development course from, for instance, the Society of Human Resource Management or the National Multicultural Institute? Your diligence and example will serve to encourage others within the organization to also take initiative and actively seek ways to incorporate their best practices in their daily work.

Contact Karen Alphonse at Karena@execSearches.com or visit ExecSearches.com for more information about our career coaching services.

ExecSearches.com is a job board for nonprofit job seekers interested in fundraising, management and executive nonprofit jobs.

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