“I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become" CARL JUNGIn so many interviews and employee selection that passed through my span & control, when given the opportunity to ask a question or two, candidates would often inquire, aside from the compensation package, matters about their professional & career development, ”Is there a development plan in place to ensure my professional growth?”…”Is there an opportunity to travel abroad for best practices benchmarking?”…”Is there succession planning program in place?”….and so on.
Such a delicate matter to address because based on exit interviews I have read that the perceived lack of trainings or professional growth is among the top five (5) reasons why employees leave an organization.
In most cases, referenced to such query would most likely be the yearly “Training Needs Survey” (TNS), compiled then analyzed to show the Training Needs Analysis (TNA) from which the Annual Training Plan (ATP) is derived from and the organizational chart/structure. When undergoing a certification audit to comply to the requirements of a Quality Management System (QMS), in showing evidence for employee development, these records would often suffice.
Employee development has always been identified as part of the key responsibilities of the Human Resource Department of the company. Though Learning & Development is but part of the whole Organizational Development spectrum, in an ideal situation, the Immediate Supervisor (IS) is expected have Individual Development Plans (IDP) for their high flyers and Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) for those low performers.
The traditional concept of employee development is sitting in a room to listen to a whole day’s lecture, actively participate in discussions and join workshops, take & pass the exams (if any), then you get a certificate that says you have been trained and makes one a Subject Matter Expert (SME).
Studies would show that the ideal employee development & professional growth approach is the 70:20:10 rule. This simply means that learning & development is seventy percent (70%) what you learn from On-The-Job (OJT), twenty percent (20%) Coaching & Mentoring and a mere ten percent (10%) comes from classroom trainings.
All of these however, need the affirmative action from the Immediate Supervisor (IS) as supported by HR team.
But is it really then the sole responsibility of the Immediate Supervisor to ensure every employee’s professional growth & development?
Based on my practical understanding & experience, it is not always the case, nor is it a constant. Employee development is a co- responsibility of the company, IS and employee. If the situation warranties, it is also synonymous to self-development.
This means that when the situation is not too ideal, where constraints either on time, finances or business priorities, employee development takes the hit & is often placed in the back burner. It quickly becomes another cost that dwindles the already limited resources. Understandably, self-preservation is the priority. To plug further losses, it must suffer the same fate as facility construction, renovation & repairs, overtime hours or teambuilding activities.
For such situation or not, an employee is equally responsible for its own development, growth and career. One should look for learning opportunities and not wait to be offered. One must grab skills upgrade chances to step up. Just like a farmer, who must not solely depend on rain to drop from the heavens during the rainy season. Irrigating fields even during summers ensure a good harvest.
If we yearn for continuous learning, growth and development, employees can initiate learning and be responsible in developing to their full potential. There are ways to cope with dire situations because employee development is more than just classroom training.
A cost-free development plan can mostly include job experience, exposure & knowledge sharing by company SMEs.
When the immediate supervisor is too pre occupied trying to fix a lot of priority matters, here are some ways to initiate learning & development.
Job Shadowing – this is when one identifies a colleague that based on skills, appropriate experience and character is worthy of emulation. Just by trying to do the same way of working, demeanor and dedication to craft is always a better way to develop.
Increase in Job Scope – this is when one is willing to take additional responsibility beyond current job so as to learn a new process, product or system. It increases the value that one’s job creates to the department & to the company.
Stepping Up for the team – whenever person in charge, be it a colleague or a supervisor is not present or unavailable, to cover in their behalf, their responsibility adds up as new work experience & skills.
Lateral transfer or Horizontal Move – moving to another role within the same level of current role increases one’s value because of the additional skills and knowhow one acquires as a result. Never be a confined specialist. Agility is very important in a very competitive workplace.
New Initiative – being willing to take ownership of new things that are beyond set skills can be a trigger to spark interest, curiosity and drive to learn new things. These could be a new machine, a pioneering product, an overhauled system, a suggested process or an experiment.
Exposure to Superiors – take every opportunity to connect directly with more senior employees other than your immediate supervisor because they may have a different perspective and guidance on things that they would’ve surely encountered and addressed during the course of their own development.
These are some alternative ways to learn, develop & upgrade skills so that when there are opportunities promotion, transfers or seek better opportunities outside, one is suitable and very much qualified.
To depend too much on others for your learning and development is a very wrong perception on how should one grow. Oftentimes, aside from experience, the best teacher is really YOU.
You observe. You choose. You decide. You do. You take risks. You take credit or accountability. You raise your hand. You ask the questions. You seek help.
Because you yearn to learn, you must go for the things that you want.
GOOD MORNING HARDWORKING PEOPLE!
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