Best Practices in Employee
Content
Best Practices in Employee Development “Competency models play a key role in defining desired skills and abilities for which individual business units may require employee training and development.” High-performing organizations share several characteristics when it comes to how they think about and approach employee training and development.
The many challenges associated with the changing nature of work and the workplace environment are very real for every organization. Rapid change requires a skilled, knowledgeable workforce with
employees who are adaptive, flexible and focused on the future. But high-performing organizations share several characteristics
when it comes to how they think about and approach employee training and development. Specifically, here are six key areas of commonality: 1. Shared Service Model A shared services model draws upon training resources from the central human resources or training department, as well as
individual business units. But unfortunately, the training budget is one of the first items on the chopping block in times of financial stress. This makes it increasingly important to find synergies and economies of scale within your organization. Competency models play a key role in defining desired skills and abilities for which individual business units may require employee training and development. These models allow the business unit to
determine which critical skills are needed to meet business goals, and then the central learning and development or HR department can provide potential solutions or vendors with whom the business unit may engage. 2. Leverage Online Systems Leveraging online systems can enable the deployment of common training needs to a wider audience. This is particularly true for global companies with with international offices operations, and as well national dispersed
organizations
satellite
geographically
employees. Having the flexibility to engage in training via an intranet or Internet connection helps reduce overall costs, improves access to learning Online resources, can and also improve improve consistency the results of and
messaging.
training
efficiency of face-to-face training because participants are better prepared with a baseline of knowledge. 3. Formalized Leadership Development Program High-performing organizations typically have a formal leadership
and/or management development program in place to prepare the next generation of leaders. The identification and development of competent supervisors and managers is crucial to the achievement of many business goals. Having a common executive-level
management training program helps to ensure that all business units are following common strategic objectives and leads to the sharing of best practices. Identification of high-potential employees is typically accomplished through a nomination process, a 360-
degree process or other purposeful method to ensure that the best and brightest are identified and given an opportunity to participate. 4. Augment & Adjust No business is static. It must respond to market forces, adjust and change—or be left dead in the water. Training and development programs company must has a be augmented, successful adjusted record and changed. If your and
track
with
leadership
management training, great. But keep your eyes toward the horizon and be mindful that the agile business will grow and face new challenges better than the monolith. Maintain ties with your training providers and ask questions: What are other high-performing companies doing? What’s new in
leadership and management training? Perhaps there is something new or different out there that is right for your latest challenges. 5. Comprehensive Career Development High-performing organizations typically provide comprehensive
career development services to employees, integrating the process into the overall to performance management career system. Work plans with that
employees
develop
individual
development
provide opportunities for professional advancement. A clear plan for employees’ long-term development helps to ensure that personnel remain at your company rather than look for other job opportunities. “High-performing organizations typically have a formal leadership or management development program in place to prepare the
next generation of leaders.”
Some organizations offer a career center for employees, using a Web-based portal or intranet to post internal positions, maintain a library of resources and job descriptions for current roles within the organization. Some go as far as defining career paths within the organization. If an individual is seeking to transition to a new role within the company, she can clearly see which competencies are needed and strive toward attaining the skills for that desired
position/path. 6. Manage Knowledge…and Keep It! High-performing organizations create a culture that facilitates the retention and sharing of organizational knowledge. It can start with something as simple as a company wiki where people go to find and share knowledge, or as comprehensive as team members addressing specific company issues throughout their training experience and then presenting their solutions to top management. An added bonus: ROI can be assessed by the success of these projects.
Harnessing and sharing the knowledge of workers is also critical to the long-term success of operations. Knowledge management
encompasses two areas: i) the sharing of knowledge within the organization to identify best practices and find synergies among operating departments and business units, and ii) the retention of organizational knowledge, which is increasingly important in the face of impending retirements. Here again we find the Internet playing a large role in providing a place for “Communities of Practice” to emerge and grow. These
communities are not bound by location and time differences, as people can post whenever they want and get answers later.
Knowledge sharing can also be done using more formal tools and social networks. Different groups or departments can share what they learned in training that may have applications elsewhere in the company, thereby encouraging cross-departmental dialogue and
solution creation. Achieving & Maintaining High Performance High-performing organizations share several characteristics when it comes to how they think about and approach employee training and development. Becoming (or continuing to function as) a highperforming organization requires that the leaders of several
groups—including HR, training and business units—work together with a common them, understanding the about business of goals, how to in
achieve
and
importance
everyone
involved
employee development. “High-performing organizations create a culture that facilitates the retention and sharing of organizational knowledge.”
The many challenges associated with the changing nature of work and the workplace environment are very real for every organization. Rapid change requires a skilled, knowledgeable workforce with
employees who are adaptive, flexible and focused on the future. But high-performing organizations share several characteristics
when it comes to how they think about and approach employee training and development. Specifically, here are six key areas of commonality: 1. Shared Service Model A shared services model draws upon training resources from the central human resources or training department, as well as
individual business units. But unfortunately, the training budget is one of the first items on the chopping block in times of financial stress. This makes it increasingly important to find synergies and economies of scale within your organization. Competency models play a key role in defining desired skills and abilities for which individual business units may require employee training and development. These models allow the business unit to
determine which critical skills are needed to meet business goals, and then the central learning and development or HR department can provide potential solutions or vendors with whom the business unit may engage. 2. Leverage Online Systems Leveraging online systems can enable the deployment of common training needs to a wider audience. This is particularly true for global companies with with international offices operations, and as well national dispersed
organizations
satellite
geographically
employees. Having the flexibility to engage in training via an intranet or Internet connection helps reduce overall costs, improves access to learning Online resources, can and also improve improve consistency the results of and
messaging.
training
efficiency of face-to-face training because participants are better prepared with a baseline of knowledge. 3. Formalized Leadership Development Program High-performing organizations typically have a formal leadership
and/or management development program in place to prepare the next generation of leaders. The identification and development of competent supervisors and managers is crucial to the achievement of many business goals. Having a common executive-level
management training program helps to ensure that all business units are following common strategic objectives and leads to the sharing of best practices. Identification of high-potential employees is typically accomplished through a nomination process, a 360-
degree process or other purposeful method to ensure that the best and brightest are identified and given an opportunity to participate. 4. Augment & Adjust No business is static. It must respond to market forces, adjust and change—or be left dead in the water. Training and development programs company must has a be augmented, successful adjusted record and changed. If your and
track
with
leadership
management training, great. But keep your eyes toward the horizon and be mindful that the agile business will grow and face new challenges better than the monolith. Maintain ties with your training providers and ask questions: What are other high-performing companies doing? What’s new in
leadership and management training? Perhaps there is something new or different out there that is right for your latest challenges. 5. Comprehensive Career Development High-performing organizations typically provide comprehensive
career development services to employees, integrating the process into the overall to performance management career system. Work plans with that
employees
develop
individual
development
provide opportunities for professional advancement. A clear plan for employees’ long-term development helps to ensure that personnel remain at your company rather than look for other job opportunities. “High-performing organizations typically have a formal leadership or management development program in place to prepare the
next generation of leaders.”
Some organizations offer a career center for employees, using a Web-based portal or intranet to post internal positions, maintain a library of resources and job descriptions for current roles within the organization. Some go as far as defining career paths within the organization. If an individual is seeking to transition to a new role within the company, she can clearly see which competencies are needed and strive toward attaining the skills for that desired
position/path. 6. Manage Knowledge…and Keep It! High-performing organizations create a culture that facilitates the retention and sharing of organizational knowledge. It can start with something as simple as a company wiki where people go to find and share knowledge, or as comprehensive as team members addressing specific company issues throughout their training experience and then presenting their solutions to top management. An added bonus: ROI can be assessed by the success of these projects.
Harnessing and sharing the knowledge of workers is also critical to the long-term success of operations. Knowledge management
encompasses two areas: i) the sharing of knowledge within the organization to identify best practices and find synergies among operating departments and business units, and ii) the retention of organizational knowledge, which is increasingly important in the face of impending retirements. Here again we find the Internet playing a large role in providing a place for “Communities of Practice” to emerge and grow. These
communities are not bound by location and time differences, as people can post whenever they want and get answers later.
Knowledge sharing can also be done using more formal tools and social networks. Different groups or departments can share what they learned in training that may have applications elsewhere in the company, thereby encouraging cross-departmental dialogue and
solution creation. Achieving & Maintaining High Performance High-performing organizations share several characteristics when it comes to how they think about and approach employee training and development. Becoming (or continuing to function as) a highperforming organization requires that the leaders of several
groups—including HR, training and business units—work together with a common them, understanding the about business of goals, how to in
achieve
and
importance
everyone
involved
employee development. “High-performing organizations create a culture that facilitates the retention and sharing of organizational knowledge.”
