Methods of staff development can vary depending on the organization, but some common methods include training programs, mentorship programs, and continuing education opportunities. Training programs can provide employees with the opportunity to learn new skills and improve upon existing ones. Mentorship programs can help employees develop relationships with more experienced colleagues who can offer guidance and advice. Continuing education opportunities can keep employees up-to-date on new developments in their field and help them maintain their professional credentials.
It is important to think about how to develop staff in order to improve thr organization work. Staff development might involves education, opportunities to gain experience, and learning from others. Some of the benefits of investing in staff development are as follows;
Staff development for the organization:
- To be effective, an organization needs staff with knowledge, skills and experience to carry out their jobs and deliver the organizations strategy. It is not always possible to recruit the right people, so it is sometimes worth taking on people who show potential and providing them with learning opportunities to enable them to meet the demands of the job
- When people have opportunities at work to grow and develop, they are likely to become more motivated increased motivation leads to more effective workings.
- Staff are more likely to stay in an organization that provides opportunities for staff development. Such an organization is usually more effective because it keep organizational knowledge and learning.
- The context in which an organization works is constantly changing it is therefore essential to keep learning.
For individuals:
- Opportunities to learn and grow lead to increased job satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment and achievement.
- Opportunities to learn and grow enable staff to develop their careers both within ad outside the organization.
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| Methods of staff development |
Developing people is like growing a plant. We cannot make the seed grow , but we can provide the environment they need to flourish, water good soil , the right amount of sun and shade , fertilizer and protection from weeds andpest. In the same way , we cannot make people develop , but organizations should try to provide the environment that staff need to develop.
Method of staff development at organizational level:
To create an environment where staff can flourish, there are a number of things that need to happen at the organizational level. These are beyond the control if individuals managers or members of staff and need to be agreed at leadership of board level.
5 important areas to consider in staff development;
1. Clear strategy;
Every organization needs a clear vision and strategy an objective outlining how the organization will deliver the vision. Each member of staff should understand how their role contributes to the achievement of the strategy. Staff development ensures that the organization can deliver it's strategy.
The leadership of the organization should ask where are there gaps in knowledge, skills or experience in the organization that will prevent us reaching our goal? The answer to this question will identify strategic staff development needs. Gaps will often relate to new areas that the organization wants to develop in it's strategy it changes to re likely to happen.
2 staff development policy;
Staff need to know that decisions about their development are consistent and fair. It can be helpful to have a policy about staff development so that staff know what they can expect. A staff development policy could outline the organizations commitment to developing people, how request for support will be priorities, what development opportunities the organization will an will not support, responsibilities of the line manager, individuals and human resources department; and a description of the processes tat need to be followed.
3. Clear processes;
Processes help staff to identify needs find options, priorities, plan and review progress. These processes include briefing and induction, regular catch up,formal appraisals and personal development planning. These are part of the Performance Management processes.
4. Skills in people management;
Reviewing performance giving feedback, coaching and the setting objectives are all skills that managers need in order to encourage staff to grow. Often managers will need learning opportunities an support to be able to do this well.
5. Resources available;
Investing in people requires time and money. Funding should be included in the annual budget. A budget line for staff development could be included in project proposals that are sent to institutional donors , provided it can be shown that it will increase the effectiveness of the project. It can be helpful to provide guidance on how much staff time can be used for learning activities. For example each member o staff could be allowed up to five days per year for learning or staff development.
7 method managers can use for staff development:
To create an environment where staff development can flourish, managers should support staff through this seven steps.
1. Identifying development needs;
Development needs should be identified at both organizational and individuals level. At an individual level, these will be the areas where a particular person needs to grow in order to be more effective in their work. This growth could be in knowledge, skills, or experience. Development needs are not necessarily due to weakness. A member of staff can be strong in an area , but still benefits from development in order to be even more effective in their roles . Infact building on strengths usaully produces the greatest improvement in someones performance. To identity our development needs we all need ;
- Clear objectives so that we know what we are being asked to deliver
- A good understanding of the kids , experience an knowledge that are needed to deliver the objectives . Some of these will be included in the job profile.
- Feedback about how well we are doing this helps us to understand our strengths and areas for improvement. It is the role of the line manager to make sure these three things are in place and to help the staff member to identify their needs. This could happen during a regular catch up or formal appraisals.
2. Identify priorities:
Individual needs must be priorities against the strategic priorities. Individual needs that fit under the strategic priorities should be given high priority. After prioritising against strategic priorities, line manager should allocate resources for staff development needs In a fair and consistent way.
3. Identifying development option:
- When a line manager and a member of staff have agreed a development objectives, the next step is to consider the options available : consider how the staff member likes to learn do they learn best by doing or reading ? Do they like to learn by themselves or by talking to someone.
- Plan a variety of ways to help the person learn.
- Consider the resources that are available, such as time , money and expertise. Location will also determine the options that could be chosen.
- Think about opportunities for the members of staff to share their learning and to apply it in their work. Learning is quickly lost if it is not shared and used. We often put too much emphasis on training courses. Most of what we learn as adults is learn by doing or experimenting , reading or watching someone else work. Formal training only plays a small part in learning. Infact , we may learn very little from training unless it happen at the right time, is at the right level and meets our specific needs. We also need opportunities to apply our learning after the courses.
Methods to be use for staff development:
- Learning from a colleague
- Shadowing
- Exchange visit
- Mentoring
- Coaching
- Internal learning groups
- Joining and external network
- Membership of a proffesional society
- Delegations of a special project
- Secondment to another role
- Books and journal
- Internet
- Formal qualifications using internal trainers
- Hiring trainers from outside the organization
- Going on external courses.
4. Planning;
A staff development plan is a useful tool for three main reasons;
- It allows an individual to record objectives and track progress
- It provide a basis for conversation between a line manager and a member of staff about development.
- It enables a line manager to have an overview of the development needs in the team or across a whole organization so that resources can be allocated effectively
A staff development plan should record;
- Development objectives
- Planned learning activities
- Cost of activities
- Timed required
- Possible challenges and how to overcome them
- Who is responsible for what.
It is helpful for someone to have an overview of the development needs and priorities in an organization. This means that learning opportunities can be coordinated for staff with similar development needs and that strategic priorities are being addressed. It is therefore helpful if line managers send a copy of team members development plans to this person.
5. Putting the plan into action:
Each member of staff should own their development plan. It is their responsibility to implement it with the support of their line manager. Line managers should review development plan with each member of staff every six months.
6. Reviewing and applying learning:
It's important to make sure that learning is retain by staff. Some guidelines for encouraging this to happen include;
Encourage staff to apply their learning as soon as possible so that members I staff do not forget it.
Review the learning activity with the taff member by asking;
- What did you learn?
- What do you want to do differently as a result of the learning?
- Did you achieve your objectives?
- What do you need to do now?
As a line manager reflect in the success of the learning activity;
By assessing weather the staff members ability has improved in the appropriate area. If there are any douts ,consider the following point;
- Was the need assessed correctly?
- We the appropriate option chosen?
- What should be done differently next time?
7. Sharing ideas with each other:
Organizations should encourage staff to share learning. This is an important way of making the most of learning. It also helps to reinforce what has been learned. Some ideas for how to do this are listed below;
- Invite staff to a monthly learning event and provide them with an opportunity to share their own learning.
- Encourage staff with similar roles in the organization to meet regularly to share their learning.
- Include sharing of learning as a regular part of a team meeting
- Each week start one day with a 30 minutes session for sharing learning. Ask a different member of the team to lead it each time.
- Encourage staff to write down their learning and send it by email to others who may be interested
- If the organization has an intranet site , create a learning zone where staff can share their learning.
Conclusion
In conclusion staff development is very important for any organisation and will determine the growth and development of the company. Regular training and retraining of your staff will keep them abreast and current on the new development in the business world, providing opportunities for staff to increase there knowledge on the latest format of doing things regarding their specific area of work.
One of the most important aspects of running a successful business is having a great team in place. But even the best teams can always use a little improvement here and there. That's why staff development is so important.
Staff development is the process of investing in your employees to help them improve their skills and knowledge. This can be done in a variety of ways, such as training programs, workshops, and conferences.
Why is staff development important?
There are a few key reasons:
1. It helps improve employee productivity. When your employees are constantly learning and growing, they'll be more productive and efficient in their work.
2. It boosts employee morale. When you invest in your employees' development, they'll feel appreciated and motivated to do their best work.
3. It reduces turnover. If your employees are happy and engaged in their work, they're less likely to leave for another job.
4. It helps you attract top talent.
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