It’s the time to plan for the upcoming year! Abudi Consulting Group has been working with a number of our clients, and specifically the Human Resource group at each client, to help them strategize ways to continue to develop employee skills in 2015 and beyond. Enabling for opportunities to further develop skills and increase knowledge shows your employees that you are committed to their success in the organization and want to help them succeed. It also keeps them engaged and helps you to retain your top talent. Organizations that provide opportunities for professional growth for their employees are also in a better position to attract top talent during their recruiting efforts.
We wanted to share with our readers just a few suggestions to implement at their organizations based on our conversations with our clients.
Training: Consider training, whether face-to-face or virtual, that is specifically tailored to the organization. This may include customized case studies, problem solving scenarios and discussion topics. Customized training, as opposed to off-the-shelf options, enable for a better match to what the employee is challenged with on any given day, which enables them to better internalize what they have learned in the classroom and apply it back on the job.
Projects: There are always any number of projects going on within the business that could probably use some resource support. Provide opportunities for employees to work on projects outside their department or division to enable them to learn more about the business and collaborate with others with whom they might not regularly work/interact.
Support Membership in Professional Organizations: Membership in professional organizations (such as PMI, NEHRA, SHRM) do not cost significant dollars and enable employees to be part of larger group of individuals who share their passion and have similar roles and responsibilities in organizations. Membership in these organizations provide opportunities for employees to network with like-minded professionals and attend meetings and events that enable for continued development of skills.
In-House Book Clubs: There are many business books that are chock full of best practices and ideas to help employees perform better in their roles. Why not host in-house books clubs for interested employees? Purchase the books, offer coffee and pastries and enable employees some time while on the job to discuss a business book and how they might apply what they are learning on the job.
There are just a few options available for HR to offer employees to help them continue to grow and develop professionally.
Regardless of the budget available, there are so many opportunities to help employees continue to develop their skills and expand their knowledge. Too often organizations believe that if training budgets are cut, there are no other viable options. But training is just a small part of the professional development options you should be providing your employees. Utilize a variety of methods to engage the largest number of employees in ways that work for them.
What are your plans for 2015? If ACG can help you to achieve your goals, please do reach out and start a conversation! Let us share some of our stories with you.
Wishing you much happiness and success in 2015!
