Date Added: February 02, 2013 07:41:46 PM

Any organization will find an employee development plan a valuable tool not just in ensuring employee satisfaction but also in achieving the company’s long-term goals. An employee development plan sets the career and personal development goals of an employee. It incorporates a specific action plan designed to achieve the said goals. For the organization, an employee development plan translates to more motivated and skilled personnel that can assist the company in fulfilling its business targets. An employee development plan works like a two-way engagement for both parties, with the employee committing to pursue the action plans specified in the program and the employer supporting the employee’s individual goals.

Who Writes the Employee Development Plan?

HR managers or work supervisors are not the only ones responsible for crafting an employee development plan. The employees themselves are expected to help in the creation of the plan, providing inputs and insights related to their career development. Employee engagement is particularly important as it helps make the goals included in the plan achievable. For this to be successful, employees must commit to pursuing the goals and objectives specified in the plan.

What Are Included in the Plan?

Areas that are often discussed in crafting an employee development plan are the job-related skills and supervisory skills of the employee as well as his potential to take on leadership and management positions in the future. As such, action plans in an employee development program often consists of sending the employee to training courses, project management courses, and management courses designed to harness his skills and tap his potential as a supervisor or manager.

How the Development Plan is Created

In writing an employee development plan, the HR manager or work supervisor sits down with the employee and asks the latter about his career plans. The manager can gather inputs by asking questions, which could include the skills needed by the employee to perform his job well and the changes needed to motivate the employee better.

Other important data that the HR manager should get from the employee includes the significant career goals and future career plans of the employee. The manager can also ask the employee about what he thinks are the things needed to boost his career and make sure that he achieves his career goals. Likewise, the manager can ask the employee whether he is taking any initiative to boost his performance and enhance his skills. There are employees who take upon themselves to take training courses that will help them reach their goals.

The HR manager can use the employee’s inputs to determine a proper action plan for the employee’s development. Based on the inputs, the HR manager may recommend the employee to attend formal trainings, attend seminars and conferences, or be subjected to one-on-one mentoring to enhance his skill sets and further develop him both as a person and as a worker.

After the employee agrees to the action plan, the HR manager is then responsible for keeping track of the employee’s progress. A schedule or timeline can be set to ensure that the goals included in the plan are pursued by the employee.