Are employers ready to replace up to 50 per cent of their retiring workforce with new trained recruits? Are employees ready to take over new duties and responsibilities?

By Barbara Bowes, FCHRP, CMC

While ensuring a strong and trained workforce includes improving recruitment strategies, a second key strategy, and one that is most often neglected, is employee training and development.

Training current employees is not a “nice to have” perk. Instead, it’s a critical investment in a strategy that leads to internal promotion, succession planning and employee development. It’s an investment in employee productivity and retention by providing for career progression and employee job satisfaction over the long-term. A strong internal employee development program can lead to an external reputation that provides an enticement for new potential candidates to join a firm.

Creating an employee development program is more than simply sending employees off to commercially advertised courses and programs that are really nothing more than “one day wonders.” An employee development program must be well-thought-out, train for skills that are important to the company’s strategic objectives and provide for a successive and progressive skill base.

What are the most effective strategies for establishing an employee development program? The following 10 guidelines will assist with an employee’s development journey.

1. Understand skill requirements. Conducting a job analysis of all job families will enable an employer to identify the skills required for each critical area. Next, conduct a training needs assessment to determine where the skill gaps are. Prioritize these skill development needs for short- and long-term.
2. Determine skill commonalities. Determine skill commonalities between jobs and prepare to cross train employees so they transition between several jobs. This creates opportunities for employees to learn new skills and talents, while at the same time, providing an organization with overall employment flexibility.
3. Apply a career progression strategy. Employees will commit to an employer when they see a opportunity for a future. At the same time, employees must also take personal responsibility for their own career. Prior to taking any additional training other than new employee orientation, provide a career management program for all staff. This training program helps individuals understand what they are good at, what they like to do, what motivates them and in what environment they best excel. Once employees gain this understanding, help them to match their personal goals with corporate goals and help them to see a future with the company.
4. Create formal training opportunities. Once skill needs are identified, design and develop customized training programs that specifically address those needs. Utilize a variety of learning methodologies and activities, such as case studies through which participants can apply their learning. Determine which skills can be best trained in-house versus externally and structure your training programs so that participants can progressively build their skills.
5. Reward and recognize participant success. Recognizing success helps to increase employee self-esteem and creates increased value for inhouse developmental programs. At the same time, seek credit for in-house programs with local educational institutions and work with them as partners so that participants can continue to learn and apply their in-house courses to college/ university diploma programs or professional designations.
6. Provide informal training opportunities. Employees will benefit a great deal from informal training opportunities. Seek opportunities to provide full-time or part-time temporary assignments, participation in special projects, and membership on a cross functional team or participation in short-term transfers to different departments where they can learn and grow.
7. Train internal trainers, mentors and coaches. Utilizing internal expertise is another way to increase personal and professional self-esteem while at the same time providing overall training consistency. These internal experts are role models who understand an organization, the culture, and the key skill families. As well, they can spot unknown internal talent and encourage them to move forward in their career.
8. Formalize employee mentoring. While mentoring is often provided through a buddy system during initial orientation, mentorship needs to be carried forward on a longer term. Identify employees’ skill needs and assign a mentor for short periods of time. This also allows for improved interpersonal communication and helps individuals feel they belong to the organization.
9. Create a dual career track. Since employees are often motivated by either technical or managerial expertise, it is best to offer a dual career track so that managerial roles are not the only advancement opportunity. For instance, an employer can recognize technical experts by providing an opportunity to train, mentor or advise rather than supervise. As well, don’t forget to balance 0compensation strategies to give recognition to the importance of technical expertise.
10. Integrate performance management and career development. Managers must work in tandem with employees to review performance and plan for continuous learning and career development. Set up a program that is progressive, meets individual interests while at the same time satisfies organizational objectives. Instill within each employee a personal drive to succeed and to engage in continuous learning by developing a personal plan that includes targets, action steps, and schedules. For many organizations and corporations, the shortage of workers is no longer “pending,” it’s “here and now.” Recruitment alone isn’t going to solve the problem. Although it’s a lengthier project, internal training and development will go a long way to help create labour force stability, employee loyalty and longer term retention.

Source: Adapted from Winnipeg Free Press article, “Invest in your Workforce,” Aug 12 2006, by Barbara J. Bowes.

Barbara J. Bowes, FCHRP, CMC Barbara Bowes is President of Legacy Bowes Group. She can be reached at barb@bowesgroup.com. Legacy Bowes Group 301-161 Portage Avenue E. Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 2L6 p: 204.957.5525 f: 204.957.5834 e: info@legacybowes.com « Back