Approaches of Employee Development

Employee development focused on individual, team and/or organization-wide performance. Each year companies focus time and resources internally to deliver performance reviews, set goals and finalize development plans. For most this is an annual exercise, but the best keep the conversation going throughout the year and emphasize the importance of development by providing real opportunities to grow their teams.

Employee development has always been a foundational component of my leadership style. I learned very early in my career that if you take the time to develop your people, they’re more engaged, and in return they will take care of the bottom line. Over the years, Gallup researchers have studied the performance differences between engaged and actively disengaged employees.

4 Approaches are used to developed employees

(i) Formal education programs include:

• Off-site and on-site programs designed specifically for the company’s employees.
• Short courses offered by consultants or universities.
• Executive MBA programs.
• University programs in which participants actually live at the university while taking classes.

(II) Assessment

Assessment involves collecting information and providing feedback to employees about their behavior, communication style, or skills.

Used most frequently to:-

• Identify employees with managerial potential .
• Measure current managers’ strengths and weakness.
• Identify managers with potential to move into higher-level executive positions.
• Work with teams to identify members’ strengths and weaknesses, and factors that inhibit productivity.

(III) Job experience

Job experiences refer to relationships, problems, demands, tasks, or other features that employees face in their jobs. Most employee development occurs through job experiences. A major assumption is that development is most likely to occur when there is a mismatch between the employee’s skills and past experiences and the skills required for the job. To be successful in their jobs, employees must stretch their skills. They must be forced to learn new skills, apply their skills and knowledge in a new way, and master new experiences.

(iv) Interpersonal Relationships

Employees can also develop skills and increase their knowledge about the company and its customers by interacting with a more experienced organizational member.

Importance of Interpersonal Relationship at Workplace. Interpersonal relationship refers to a strong association among individuals working together in the same organization. Employees working together ought to share a special bond for them to deliver their level best.

Two types of interpersonal relationships used to develop employees:

• Mentoring
• Coaching