Tweet

Employee Development...It's Back on the Radar

Guest post by: Robin Throckmorton

Article Overview: Robin Throckmorton, MA, SPHR and Cathleen Snyder, PHR discuss how companies have stopped providing employee development. Companies that survive tough times, often faced staff reductions - whether through reductions in force or attrition, budget cuts, restructuring and any number of measures to ensure the company lived to tell about the "Great Recession". You'll notice that nowhere in that statement was there mention of training, employee development, or rewards and recognition. For many companies, these areas have simply been off the radar. It's time to change this...

Employee Development...It's Back on the Radar

It's been a tough recent couple of years for business. Companies that survived often faced staff reductions - whether through reductions in force or attrition, budget cuts, restructuring and any number of measures to ensure the company lived to tell about the "Great Recession". You'll notice that nowhere in that statement was there mention of training, employee development, or rewards and recognition. For many companies, these areas have simply been off the radar. The business world is starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel, flickering as it may be. Employees are starting to see it as well. A 2010 survey published in the May edition of Harvard Business Review indicated 25% of companies' top performers plan to leave their company within a year. So despite what some media claims will be a jobless recovery, it's time for your employees to reappear on the collective corporate radar.

In a recent survey of employees at one organization, many employees were completely unfamiliar with the concept of employee development. Of the employees who were aware of the company's tuition reimbursement program, a number of them had mistakenly made the assumption that due to financial constraints, the program had been discontinued. Employee performance reviews had gone by the wayside, because they were tied to raises and a wage freeze was in place.

This environment is not unusual in today's business. Out of need, companies have had to ring every last ounce of productivity and more from each employee, just to survive. Employees are all too aware of this, too. They were willing to make the stretch the company needed in a time of crisis, because it meant they still had a job. But, as they see the crisis starting to pass, they expect something in return, besides the paycheck - which may have been cut. Employees want to be reassured that as their employer returns to growth, they will be included in the future plans, and what their role might be. Employees who don't see this, may be headed for the door.

For some companies, like the one mentioned above, one key step is to communicate the company's employee development opportunities. Simply letting employees know what is available to them, and how they can benefit can be a boost. Communication is key, but supporting the employees in taking the time to pursue the development opportunities is also important, whether it is training, education, or cross training in another role. Be sure to celebrate the accomplishments too, especially educational pursuits that take a lot of outside of work time.

Mentoring is a very effective way to develop your workforce. Pairing your more experienced employees with the newer, less experienced individuals can provide a learning experience for both. The new employee can learn skills, as well as the company culture and where they fit in. The more experienced person may benefit from someone recently completing training or school, bringing fresh knowledge. Both employees feel valued as a result.

Other types of employee development include establishing training programs and tuition reimbursement. While costs may vary, providing training and education is a win-win for both employee and employer. Employees are better prepared to grow with the company and take on new roles. In turn, when the time comes to expand, the company has a strong, knowledgeable workforce to promote from within, which helps retain intellectual capital.

Even something as simple as rewarding and recognizing employees, who go above and beyond, shows the workforce that their efforts are noticed, not just expected. It encourages employees to think creatively and voice their ideas. Often times, employers think that reward and recognition has to be expensive. Many employees are just looking for the recognition; a simply thank you or "pat on the back". In one organization, we developed a list of no cost / low cost ideas to help managers be able to think, on the spot, what they could do for an employee that deserved recognition. Sometimes simply asking them and making it individualized to them, can have even more impact - perhaps a letter to the family, washing their car, leaving an hour early, recognition at a team meeting, doing the ugly part of their job for a day...

Another great employee development solution is career pathing. Do your employees know and understand where they can go in your organization? It doesn't have to always be up. And, it doesn't even have to be a formal career pathing program. But, if you can take your job descriptions and create structured career paths, this helps employees understand the different directions their job could go as they grow and develop in the organization. More informally, supervisors could just sit with them and find out what their goals and aspirations are, and how those goals fit in with the organization. Some supervisors do this already but many don't. Why not?

To really get started on developing a successful employee development program depends on the company's philosophy behind employee development. It has to come from the top to get full support. Then the company will need to establish a plan. Organizations must realize that achieving that future success depends on their ability to engage and develop their employees.

As businesses return to profitability and growth, those that have focused internally on developing their employees' will find the organization, as a whole, better positioned to move forward as the economy improves.

Related Articles
  You didn’t say I’d be fired!
  Alan Blumlein & His Contributions to Communications
  Plain English Guide to Employee Handbooks
  The Power to Influence Your Employees
  Managers Beware: Tips to Prevent Liability under the ADA
  Managing Bad Employees
  4 Ways To Get Employees Excited About Their Work
  Employer successfully questions an employee’s medical certificate
  Flawed investigation leads to monetary compensation for former employee
  RADAR
  5 Tips for Avoiding an Audit
  Are Organizations Utilizing Employee Performance Appraisal Systems optimally?
  Discover How To Leverage Voice Mail To Make More Sales
  3 Sickly Reasons Why Customers Resist You
  RADAR: A DEEPER LOOK
  For Employees Only
  Quitting vs. Unemployment Claims
  Good Employees for your Franchise Company
  Building Training Goals into Employee Reviews
  Are Your Employees Really Telling You the Truth: 3 Ways to Tell?

Article Tags: careers, Development, generations, growth, paths, retention, rewards and recognition



Related Forum Posts
Post subject: It's Not Personal, just business - I so agree! Actually, the business world as we know it IS in trouble. I heard some stats last week that they expect by the time 2050 that 70% of workers will be freelancers. Employee/Executive Bullying won't be able to stand it when it could be easier for someone to simply contract with the nicer guy (or gal). I, for one, will be choosing the nicer ones!
Re: I'm Back - Welcome Back! Hope you are doing great and looking forward to hearing from you.. Jude
2 Forums Updates - Many of you have been writing in suggesting that on my website and in my newsletter we include the link to the actual forum post and not just the name of the post and a link to the Forums home page. Well, after looking into it I'm pleased to announce that this feature is now available. Thank you everyone for the suggestions! We've also added names for members based on how much they post. Level one is Newbie, Level 2 is Intern, Level 3 is Employee and so on... There are 10 levels in total. I'm looking forward to seeing how everyone does! Keep the suggestions coming - they are great!
Re: $8 website turns into a million-dollar empire - This is great inspiration for all of us. I would love for Ashley to come to the forum as well. Maybe give us the scoop on why she started and how she made it successful. Back to StumbleUpon. I also use it and find that I'm getting a decent amount of traffic from it. Alan
Show the Benefits - Offer a free test drive of the Product or Service with a Money Back Guarantee - Take the Risk out. This will help them make the decision but you have to work with them to realize it by explicitly state the benefits they are receiving.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Pay Per Click Advertising

Mistakes Made by New or Inexperienced Sales Staff

Are You Too Good for Your Job?

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.