Planning the Year Ahead – Use a 90 Day Action Plan for Your Employees’ Professional Development
A great way to start the new year is to implement a 90 Day Action Plan for your company/medical practice/business; you may what to enhance that strategy by creating your own Professional Development Action Plan and by helping your employees create their Professional Development Action Plan as well.
I love and recommend using a 90 Day Action Plan for this project!
An Employee Professional Development Plan can follow all the guidelines you would use for creating the business’ 90 Day Action Plan. Think of it as a 90 Day Action Plan that focuses on helping staff improve their knowledge, capabilities, and skills in areas related to your business.
Remember to include specific deliverables that can be accomplished with your help and/or additional training. The success of the deliverables should be:
- Measurable
- The result of several action items or steps
- Obtainable
- Understandable
Creating such plans shows your staff you’re invested in their future, which increases employee satisfaction. It helps them understand their role and gives them a framework for expanding their talents. It helps you develop your staff, allowing you to promote from within and enabling your employees to grow with your business.
Here are some steps to take to write a personal development plan.
- Determine business and employee goals
The first step is to determine your company’s goals and needs. Are you looking to expand locations soon? Add new products or services? Do you have senior employees who will be retiring soon? Once you know what your business needs, you can identify the skills, experience and training that will support the people who will help you meet those requirements.
Then determine your employees’ goals. Talk to them about the work they currently do and where they feel they could use training. Ask where they see themselves in your company in the future. Find out why they want to develop their skills. Their answers will help you determine how to put the plan into action.
When you assess employees, keep in mind that having the ambition or potential to move up in your business doesn’t necessarily mean they’re ready right now. They may require a few years of gradually expanding their role and skills or they may be great at one job (say sales) but not at another (such as sales manager).
- Explore training and development options
Now you can look at training and development options for your employees. Consider what training will give them the skills they need to expand their talents while also weighing their individual learning styles. Not all employees learn well in a classroom setting – and not all have the time to devote to taking courses.
Explore other options, such as coaching and mentoring, special projects, networking groups, online training and working with experts. Combining a few of these strategies will likely work well for your employees as they can learn new skills and see how those skills apply to their jobs.
- Use an Excel Spreadsheet format to create a plan that is measurable and obtainable
Finally, you can create the plan, including specific goals with deadlines and the steps to take to help your employees achieve their goals. Sit down with your employees to talk the plan over, so they understand the goals and how these new or improved skills help them and the company.
- Ensure each employee has the opportunity to apply their new skills on the job and get feedback about their progress. This will keep them engaged in the process and help them refine their abilities.
- Remember to review the plan periodically so you can measure their development and determine if the plan should be revised. Listen to their ideas as they work through the plan, you might just get a better outcome than expected.
- Remember to reward success, with positive feedback and possibly some form of tangible acknowledgement. Positive reinforcement goes a long way.
Feel free to read through our blog on SMART goals for some other great tips and ideas
Final thoughts
Employee Professional Development Action Plans are a great way to invest in your employees and help them acquire new skills that will help them in their career. The results of these plans should also enable you to promote from within your company, saving you time and money in the long run.
Need Help?
This is an exciting time, but if this process seems overwhelming Get in touch to find out how we can help you formalize these ideas. We can also guide you to our related blog posts, videos and newsletters which focus on business improvement.
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