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EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT
Employee development is a joint, on-going effort on the part of an employee and the organization for which he or she works to upgrade the employee's knowledge, skills, and abilities. Successful employee development requires a balance between an individual's career needs and goals and the organization's need to get work done. Employee development programs make positive contributions to organizational performance. A more highly-skilled workforce can accomplish more and a supervisor's group can accomplish more as employees gain in experience and knowledge. Why Should Employee Skills and Abilities Be Developed? A review of research literature in 2003 supported the commonly held belief that employee development programs make positive contributions to organizational performance. A more highly skilled workforce can accomplish more as the individuals gain in experience and knowledge. In addition, retaining an employee saves the organization a great deal of money. One method of retention is to provide opportunities to develop new skills. In research conducted to assess what retained employees, development was one of the top three retention items.

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Ten-step

process

for

managing

people

in

organizational

development
Your council goes through many stages of change as it develops and improves. Below is a 'top 10' list of critical change stages. Sometimes you may find your local authority is going through two stages at once, or moves from stage 1 to stage 6 and then back to stage 3. Change rarely happens in a set order.

1. Developing your vision

Are you setting a vision for how you manage your people? Is your organisation facing change restructure, shared services, new legislation?

2. Leadership change or challenge

Do you have a new chief executive, new political leadership or a new portfolio-holder for

organisational development (OD) or change?

Do you have a way of seeking out and keeping potential leaders in your organisation?

3. Setting strategic direction

Is your strategy being acted on at all levels of your council?

Are you communicating well with your staff?

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Are your performance management systems appraisal and review being used to their full potential?

4. Transition management

Do your managers have the skills to develop and lead their teams?

Do your staff feel listened to? Does your local authority support innovation to improve service delivery?

5. Managing performance

Are your managers taking responsibility for the development teams? and performance of

Do your managers deal with risk effectively? Does communication work upwards as well as downwards?

6. Systems review

Are you coming out of a restructure, either of the whole organisation or department specific?

Are your people management systems working? Are your people providing excellent service?

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7. Internal relationships

Do different departments in your organisation work well together?

Does your local authority work well with other partners?

8. Supporting innovation

Do you want to transform how you deliver your service?

Are your systems cumbersome and obstructive? Are you looking at re-engineering your processes?

9. External partnerships

How are you measuring the effectiveness of partnership working?

Are you preparing for a joint area review, comprehensive area assessment (CAA), multi-area agreement evaluation?

How well are you engaged with your community?

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10. Future direction

Do you feel that you are at the end of your change journey? Have you done it all

have

you

been

awarded corporate Investors in People (IiP) and other similar standards?

PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT METHODS

1.The value of mentoring for line managers Mentoring has always been practised informally, allowing inexperienced people to benefit from the knowledge, skills and guidance of those in more senior positions. Increasing numbers of organisations are using formal mentoring schemes because of the benefits to the individuals involved and also to the organisation as a whole. There are potential problems; for example, an appointed mentor who isnt committed to the development of the protg can undermine confidence. This training activity encourages participants to look at the mentoring process from an objective point of view and to consider how it could be implemented within their own organisation. Begin this training activity by encouraging the participants to define the term mentor and then move on to elicit their ideas on the role of the mentor. You ask participants with personal experiences of a mentor to share their thoughts on the benefits and possibly the drawbacks of the relationship. You divide the participants into groups of three or four and they discuss issues surrounding mentoring and reach conclusions. You then reconvene the whole group and lead a

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plenary discussion, questioning where appropriate to ensure that their conclusions have been reached logically. You take key learning points from the participants before distributing a key learning points handout and commenting on its contents where appropriate. Who is it for: This training resource is intended for use by trainers to enable participants to examine the benefits, costs and practicalities of mentoring. 2.Development: getting the balanced right Although most managers are aware that there potential benefits to be gained from utilising a range of development methods, in practice the majority of development still tends to be carried by traditional training courses. While acknowledging the importance of training courses, this training activity encourages participants to think of them as one of a wider picture. People learn differently; organisations and working patterns operate differently; and what works for person will not necessarily work for another its important that development methods recognise these variances and are flexible enough to meet them. Who is it for: This training resource is intended for use by trainers to enable participants to explore the benefits of getting the balance right by utilising a broad range of development solutions, and to take an objective look at barriers that may exist. 3.Development Centers: Development centres are normally considered to be centres of excellence where managers, executives, and others, participate in carefully designed programmes to enhance their abilities and develop their skills. Development centres differ

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significantly from training courses in that they normally offer a programme of development which allows the participants to build up strong relationships with tutors and other participants while they work on issues on an ongoing basis. Research and consultancy feature strongly as they need to ensure that they remain at the cutting edge of management development. The interaction between participants from a wide range of companies and sometimes countries is seen as a significant benefit by many participants. In-house development centres also exist, where structured programmes are in place to meet the needs of particular groups or individuals. These have the advantage of focusing solely on the development needed to fulfil the needs of a particular organisation, but they lack the benefits of interaction with those from other organisations. You begin the training activity by introducing the topic of development centres and the participants define what a development centre is. Then you run stopwatch exercises to cover the range of topics covered at development centres and to focus on the specific activities that are used as development methods. A light-hearted intray exercise follows to enable participants to experience this method, which can be used to develop planning and organising; time management and priorities setting skills. You cover post-exercise issues, encouraging participants to think about the learning points. Finally, you ask the participants for their key learning points before issuing a key learning points handout, commenting where appropriate. Who is it for: This training resource is intended for use by trainers to help participants explore the topics and activities covered by development centres and work through an in-tray exercise.

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4.Is training always the right answer : This training activity is intentionally written from the perspective of the trainer. It enables line managers to develop an appreciation of situations from the trainers point of view, as well as learn how to examine, identify and deal with non-training situations in the most appropriate way. Trainers know that a performance gap does not always equal a learning or development need. However, many people call upon the training department to fill their performance gap as a first option rather than as the result of any initial investigation and analysis. Trainers need to use all their skills of diplomacy while discussing the performance gap and its possible causes and will often have to do some investigation of areas that have nothing to do with learning and development. This must be accepted as a legitimate part of the trainers role along with presenting the findings diplomatically and constructively. Begin by explaining that the participants are going to spend some time answering the question, ls training the right answer? You move on to discuss the types of probing questions that can be used to find out more about issues that may or may not relate to training, encouraging the participants to contribute. Give examples of how you (a) hand the performance issue back to the manager at this point, or (b) investigate the problem in more depth. The participants work in pairs to come up with possible reasons for non-training-related performance gaps and you guide them through the next steps to be taken in these circumstances. You then move on to role-play a situation where a manager has asked the training department to help with a non-training problem. You lead feedback on the role-play. You close by taking key learning points from the participants before distributing a key learning points handout and commenting on the contents where appropriate.

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Who is it for: This training resource is intended for use by trainers to help participants to identify non-training problems and decide on the most appropriate way of dealing with them. 5.Managers: Devolping others Although the development of others can be seen as a chore by some managers, in reality it offers many opportunities for self-development, particularly if it is approached with this aim actively in mind. Skills such as coaching, mentoring, and agreeing objectives, to mention just a few, can be improved only when these activities are continuously carried out. However, some people never seem to learn from practising these skills and will continue to make the same mistakes year after year. It is by consciously seeking to learn from the development of others that the individual can make most progress. This training activity explores ways that active learning can be applied to ensure that development opportunities are optimised. You begin the training activity by introducing the topic of personal development opportunities that can result from developing others. You elicit ideas from the participants on the ways they could benefit others, the personal benefits that could result from this and ways that participants can ensure that development opportunities are optimised. You then move on to run a series of three rolling roleplays that each builds on the others to demonstrate ways of actively seeking to enhance personal skills while developing other people. This is followed by a feedback session and plenary discussion which gives everyone the opportunity to analyse what has taken place. The participants work on action plans during and at the end of the activity to make practical plans to enhance their own use of this method of development.

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Who is it for: This training resource is intended for use by trainers to help participants to examine the development of skills such as coaching, motivating and delegation, and to encourage them to consider benefits other than development, for example, the loyalty network. 6.External training suppliers: Choosing the right external training supplier can be difficult when every brochure appears to offer answers to all your problems. Impressive descriptions of the benefits of a particular course may or may not accurately reflect its value. You need to ask questions to find out more about its content and, most importantly, whether it is appropriate for the learning needs you are trying to meet. By ensuring that you know what you want from a training course and by speaking to the suppliers, other customers, and previous learners, you can put yourself in the best position to objectively assess the potential value of a course. This training activity helps participants develop a checklist of questions to ask before they decide which external training suppliers to use. Begin the training activity by explaining that choosing the right external training supplier can be difficult when every brochure seems to offer answers to all your problems. Ask the participants to give you some reasons why they shouldnt make a booking from a brochure without finding out more about the company. You put responses on the flipchart and then show an OHT to emphasise the key issues. The participants work in groups to discuss given topic areas or possible problems and devise a checklist of questions for (a) themselves, (b) the potential suppliers, (c) other customers, and (d) previous learners. You coach during the exercise using a supplied generic checklist plus a number of supplied prompt questions to help you. Each group presents their checklist sections for one or two of the categories to

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the rest of the group. Other participants can suggest additional questions at this point. You close the training activity by taking key learning points from the participants before distributing a key learning points handout and commenting on the contents where appropriate. Who is it for: This training resource is intended for use by trainers to help participants to develop a checklist of questions to ask: themselves; the suppliers; other customers; and former participants when choosing external training suppliers, enabling them to make informed decisions. 7.Gaining a professional qualities: A wide range of professional qualifications exist; some can be attained through the traditional routes of study and examinations and some professional qualifications are awarded as recognition of work that is already being performed to set standards. This type of development is one recommendation option for a manager, however, it is important that they are then able to discuss the options available and give specific guidance where needed. To do this, they must be aware of the type of development that is available; for example, different types of professional qualifications; the ways in which the development can be accessed (for example, a home-study course); whats important to the company and what best suits the individuals learning style and circumstances. Receiving a recognised qualification for ones efforts has a powerful motivational effect. The kitchen assistant who has no previous formal qualifications will take great pride in receiving a certificate for completing a Health and Hygiene in Catering course at the local FE college, while the achievement oriented graduate will seek ongoing professional development throughout their career and will expect to gain relevant professional qualifications. This means that its always a good idea to tie in any open learning or self-study to

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a qualification of some sort if at all possible. This training activity guides participants through the questions they need to think about to ensure that they have all the information available to be able to discuss and recommend qualifications and methods of achieving them. Who is it for: This training resource is intended for use by trainers to guide participants through the questions they need to ask to ensure that they have all the information available to be able to discuss and recommend qualifications and methods of achieving them. 8.Coaching: who and why? One-to-one coaching can be an excellent development method, particularly for someone who has covered the theory in a training course and now needs someone to coach them as they meet the first problems. It can also be used to improve performance, to prepare team members for the next stage in their career and to give them support in a new role. The most important element of recommending one-toone coaching is selecting the right coach. To be really successful, a coaching relationship will involve high levels of trust and rapport. This is not always a straightforward task; the coach needs to be extremely knowledgeable about the topic and have the ability to pass on that knowledge effectively. This training activity considers the qualities needed to coach successfully and examines the advantages and disadvantages of involving particular individuals such as line managers in coaching. Begin the training activity by explaining that one-to-one coaching is an ideal development method in many circumstances and go on to talk about when it is particularly suitable. You then briefly cover the difference between coaching and

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mentoring before explaining that appointing the right coach is crucial if one-toone coaching is to be successful. You ask the participants to work in pairs to think about the qualities of a successful coach. You put their responses on the flipchart and then ask the participants to come up with specific people who could take on the role of coach, for example, their line manager. The participants work in pairs again to consider the advantages and disadvantages of each proposal. You take feedback on their findings, asking questions to bring out points where appropriate. The participants then work in groups to recommend suitable coaches in some case studies. Each group in turn presents their findings to the others. Ask questions to bring out detail if necessary. Conclude by taking key learning points from the participants before distributing a key learning points handout and commenting on the contents where appropriate. Who is it for: This training resource is intended for use by trainers to help participants to develop key questions to consider when recommending one-to-one coaching as a development method. 9.Investing development Methods: Once learning and development needs have been identified and analysed, the next task is to examine possible methods of meeting those needs and to decide on an appropriate solution. Managers have to make the decision bearing in mind a number of constraints. The proposed solution has to meet the need; however, it also has to be appropriate in terms of time spent, cost and priorities. An intensive residential course may ensure that a member of staff passes their marketing exams; however, they could have performed just as well if they had studied at the local college at a fraction of the cost. Managers, in common with every other budget holder in an organisation, have to deal with limited resources and unlimited

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demands. Being aware of all the available learning and development options puts them in a strong position to make appropriate recommendations. This training activity provides a brief overview of possible solutions to identified needs and raises awareness of the dangers of 5,000 solutions to 5 problems. Begin by explaining that there are many ways of meeting identified learning and development needs and that the participants are going to spend some time looking at them and their advantages and disadvantages. You set the participants to work by asking them to come up with at least one occasion when they have received really useful development (for example, training or coaching) and one occasion when they have been inadequately prepared for a task and then thrown in at the deep end. As the examples are given you pick up on the methods used, for example, sitting next to Nellie and write them up on the flipchart. You then ask the participants to come up with other methods of learning and development. You then run a pairs exercise where participants come up with as many advantages and disadvantages of each method as they can. You take feedback and bring in the dangers of taking a sledge-hammer to crack a nut, ideally linking the information to their own ideas. The participants then work in groups on a case study to recommend the most appropriate mix of learning and development and present their recommendations to the entire group. Close by taking key learning points from the participants before distributing a key learning points handout and commenting on the contents where appropriate. Who is it for: This training resource is intended for use by trainers to give participants a brief overview of possible solutions to identified needs, covering methods that range from sitting next to Nellie to intensive residential courses.

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10.Community Projects: Involvement in community projects is an excellent way of developing people by enabling them to gain new skills and knowledge. It also helps them to understand the role of their organisation as part of a wider community. Community projects range widely from raising money for an established charity to spending two hours a week as a reader at a local school. The range of possibilities is vast and its an area where everyone can contribute. This training activity emphasises the importance of knowing exactly what level of support senior management are able to give. It also encourages the participants to be innovative with their community project ideas. Above all, this training activity asks participants to develop viable proposals to be put to senior management and then, if approved, into action. The level of senior management commitment to community involvement will be known in advance. An important part of the proposal will describe how involvement in the project will help participants to develop. Who is it for: This training resource is intended for use by trainers to enable participants to explore the benefits, costs, and practicalities of becoming involved in community projects, for example, teambuilding, developing leadership skills, communication skills, and developing initial team proposals for community projects.

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