Get your employees involved in personal development.

Good things come to those who wait.

When it comes to personal development, a lot of people tend to focus on the outcomes rather than the journey. You might think to yourself “If I offer my employees these courses on communication skills, then the communication issues in my team are solved.”. In essence you are right - your employees will definitely have a better understanding of these skills. But developing them takes time and the process is just as important.  

Start by creating a strategy around how you and your employees can reach the goals you have set for the year whilst aligning these with the vision and goals of the company. One reason why your employee started working at your organisation could be that they believed in your core purpose and reason for being. So, creating a plan based on your business vision, mission and strategic goals, in combination with their personal development is the way to go! This approach will not only make your employees feel that they are contributing to the growth and future plans of the company, but it will also stimulate their intrinsic motivation to work on their own personal development.

Let’s get engaged!

Yes, I do! I do want to get engaged with you (or at least with your personal development offer 😉). According to recent research done by the employee experience platform Culture Amp, employees are 46% points more engaged at work when they can develop skills relevant to their interests and aspirations. Having an open conversation with your employees on how they want to direct their personal development path is a step in the right direction. Think about asking them questions such as: 

• What parts of your role make you feel energised?  
• What parts of your job drain you?  
• Give an example of when you think you are doing your absolute best work.  
• If you could choose any skill you want to improve on, what would it be?
• What skills do you want to improve to reach your goals? 

Once you know your employee’s pain relievers and gain creators, it’s easier to narrow down what their learning path should look like and how you can support them. Investing time and effort into your employee's needs for personal development is essential for their own development path but it is just as important for them to see that you, as their employer, are taking the time to invest in them. After all, 75% of the UK employees state that it’s important or very important that their employer invests time in their own personal development.

Create an action plan.

You know what your employees want to accomplish, but how do you make this into concrete goals? Easy! You create an action plan. Mapping out your employee's personal development journey and which steps to take is key to long-term success, both for them as well as your entire organisation. Not sure how to get started with that action plan? No worries, we have created one for you! Simply download our action plan, print it and start mapping out your employees learning journey together. We have plenty of courses that you can use to get your entire organisation up and running.