Making the Case for Employee Development
- 2. “ An employee development plan refers to the entire sequence of concurrent activities, initiatives and programs that an organization is involved with to maintain, improve and enhance the skills, capabilities and performance levels of its workforce and other staff members” (Dutta, 2011).
- 3. Formal Education – “These development opportunities are intended to help the employees feel valuable to the company and feel and think like owners on the job” (p. 351). Assessment – “Involves measuring the employees’ performance, behavior, skills, and/or personality characteristics” (p. 381). Job Experiences – “include job enlargement, rotating to a new job, promotions, downward moves, temporary assignments, and transfers” (p. 381). Interpersonal Relationships – “Employees can develop skills and increase their knowledge about the company and its customers by interacting with a more experienced organizational member (p. 371). Noe, R. A. (2010). Employee training and development (5 th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
- 4. Investment in developing employee skills will benefit our school through increased productivity. An employee development plan will identify high-potential employees and make sure steps are taken to use and increase their talents in preparation for performing in both current and future positions in the school system. Employees will be better equipped to perform in other positions, both existing and non-existing. “ Because of the courses he or she attends, an employee may learn advanced techniques that lead to higher efficiency and effectiveness in performing tasks” (Employee Development Plan, n.d.).
- 5. Quality of student’s educational experiences will increase. Employee development will enhance the educational experiences of our students by increasing employee competencies and placing them in positions in which they may be more effective based on their behavior, skills, and/or personality characteristics. Employees’ skills and knowledge of the organization will be greatly increased. Through employee development, employees will develop a full understanding of organizational goals and expectations. Furthermore, through mentoring and coaching relationships, employees gain exposure and visibility to key people in the organization. Employee retention will increase. An advantage of employee development is that it shows loyalty to employees by investing in their skill development which creates a positive work environment . “One of the major reasons that good employees leave companies is poor relationships with their managers” (Noe, 2010, p. 348).
- 6. In a large community hospital in the central United States, an employee lost three close relatives. Through compassion, an employee development plan that would allow her coworkers to donate their vacation or personal days to other employees that needed extra time off, was lobbied. “This workplace has taught us a lot about how everyday practices at work create resources and strengths that allow employees to feel like the organization is enabling them to be better people than they ever thought they could be” (as cited in Pace, 2010, p. 43). Gross (2000) stated “In response to the company’s concern, an employee may prove unexpectedly grateful and may voluntarily contribute to a future project, essential to the organization’s success” (as cited in “Employee Development Plan”, n.d.).
- 7. Tuition Reimbursements While many employees are capable, willing, and ready to seek further educational opportunities to increase their work-related skills and competencies, the cost of tuition may be an obstacle. My proposal is that our organization adopts a tuition reimbursement plan to afford employees the opportunities to pursue those educational endeavors that will increase their job skills, therefore, enhancing our organization. Performance Appraisals and 360-Degree Feedback Systems Just as our faculty and staff is evaluated throughout the year by building and system administrators, it would be very valuable to our organization if we are allowed to provide evaluative data on our coworkers and administrators’ behaviors and skills, as well. “Benefits of 360 degree feedback include collecting multiple perspectives of managers’ performance, allowing employees to compare their own personal evaluation with the views of others, and formalizing communications between employees…” (Noe, 2010, p. 363). My proposal is that our organization adopts a 360-Degree feedback system that allows employers and employees to cross evaluate in order to identify strengths and weaknesses of each. Once identified, employee development activities may be assigned to increase organizational performance.
- 8. Mentoring and Coaching My proposal is that our organization adopt a system that places experienced and/or effective teachers and employees in mentoring and coaching positions to provide motivation, reinforcement, and feedback for inexperienced teachers or other teachers that need additional support. “The leader helps protégés understand the organization, guides them in analyzing their experiences, and helps them clarify career directions” (Noe, 2010, p. 375).
- 9. Dutta, P. (2011). What is an employee development plan? eHow Money . Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/about_5161579_employee-development-plan.html . Employee development plan. (n.d.). UKessays.com. Retrieved from http://www.ukessays.com/essays/management/employee-development-plan.php . Noe, R. A. (2010). Employee training and development (5 th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Pace, A. (2010). Unleashing positivity in the workplace. Training and Development , 64(1), 40-44.