The Power of Investing in Professional Development
A study in 2018 found that 40% of millennials who don’t receive the necessary on the job training to become more effective in their role will leave their positions within the first year they are on the job.
But it’s not just millennials: a national survey of over 400 employees spanning across Gen X, Baby Boomers and Millennials found that 70% of respondents expressed that the training opportunities available to them play a huge role in their decision on whether to stay at their job.
Professional development (PD) is a vital resource to provide to a workforce. Employees are not just looking at this as a perk of the job, but a required benefit in their role in order to continue to progress in their careers and be fulfilled in their work.
So how can you ensure your team is supported?
Low (or no) Cost PD Tools You Can Test With Your Team:
Start a mentorship program internally by matching up more experienced team members with newer or more junior team members
Implement 360 Reviews where team members can give each other feedback and also receive feedback from direct reports and leadership
Provide regular Learning Sessions where you bring in industry experts to teach the team new skills, both hard and soft (these could also be viewed as Tech Talks or Lightning Talks done by internal team members as well)
Provide access to e-learning platforms for free or through a stipend, some examples include:
Create a professional development plan with each employee within their first 90 days on the job and most importantly, do the follow-up,! You should talk about these goals in ongoing one-on-one sessions and at formal reviews and create milestones that the team member should report back on. It’s extremely important that PD be a two-way street with the team member and team leader, both have to put in work for it to be successful.
Introduce employees to internal or external folks that could share knowledge and expertise in areas they’re interested in
Should I Have a Professional Development Budget for Each Employee?
I’ve seen companies offer a clear and concise budget and I have seen companies offer a more fluid and open approach. I’ve also heard arguments for both from leadership and team members.
I personally find it valuable to offer a baseline budget for each employee. It could be a yearly dollar amount or quarterly amount. I make it clear that this is a starting point and if there is something that you want to participate in that costs more, I want to hear why it’s important, how it will help you grow and what the ROI will be for you personally/professionally and for the business. At SCP we have a template PD request form where a team member can complete it at any time and submit it to their leader for approval. It is up to the leader's discretion (based on the team members performance and budget) if it will be approved or not.
PD can be used for ongoing learning through in-person or digital training, books, coaches, conferences or lectures and more. I’ve even seen someone use it for improv lessons to help build their confidence!
Investing in Yourself
You may find yourself in a situation where your employer does not have a PD budget and is not able or willing to provide you with PD resources. This is unfortunate, but you can always and should invest in yourself on your own. You can follow similar advice that is listed above and there are a ton of free resources online.
Here are some other good ideas:
Research professional groups or meetups in your area that you can attend, either in person or virtually. This is a great way to meet other industry professionals that you can learn from, and perhaps even find a mentor -- some good places to look are Eventbrite.com, Meetup.com or Facebook Groups and Events!
Search for people in your industry or an area of expertise that you’re interested in learning about and from and reach out to them. These can be folks you search on LinkedIn, you meet through a friend or professional connection, or at your company. Reach out and ask to set up a phone call or a coffee.
Hold yourself accountable by setting goals and tracking them. You can use a journal or a digital platform to do this. Maybe you want to complete a course on LinkedIn Learning or learn C# on Codecademy.com. Set a goal and work towards it. You can also find other people in your network that are working on similar goals and you can hold each other accountable
Put together a group at work where you can share resources and work together on training or go to events, workshops or conferences together. You can set up a regular lunch or coffee meeting or create a group on Slack or GChat.
The Culture for Change Conference - Be the Change for Your Organization!
Through SCP’s work with community-focused organizations, we’ve seen first-hand the tremendous impact these organizations can have. At the heart of it all, an organization is a name--its people are the ones who envision and power forward the mission. We care deeply about people (aka talent). Management and organizational culture are critical components of the mission-driven employee experience--and we want to help strengthen Detroit's talent!
The Culture for Change Conference will allow participants to learn skills such as:
Organizational Culture
Managing and Leading
Personal Leadership Development
Join us on September 14-17 for a fully virtual conference! Click the button below to learn more.