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Employee Development – Back on the Radar

It’s been a tough recent couple of years for business. Companies that survived often faced staff reductions – whether through reductions in force or attrition, budget cuts, restructuring and any number of measures to ensure the company lived to tell about the “Great Recession”. You’ll notice that nowhere in that statement was there mention of training, employee development, or rewards and recognition. For many companies, these areas have simply been off the radar.

The business world is starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel, flickering as it may be. Employees are starting to see it as well. A 2010 survey published in the May edition of Harvard Business Review indicated 25% of companies’ top performers plan to leave their company within a year. So despite what some media claims will be a jobless recovery, it’s time for your employees to reappear on the collective corporate radar.

In a recent survey of employees at one organization, many employees were completely unfamiliar with the concept of employee development. Of the employees who were aware of the company’s tuition reimbursement program, a number of them had mistakenly made the assumption that due to financial constraints, the program had been discontinued. Employee performance reviews had gone by the wayside, because they were tied to raises and a wage freeze was in place.

This environment is not unusual in today’s business. Out of need, companies have had to ring every last ounce of productivity and more from each employee, just to survive. Employees are all too aware of this, too. They were willing to make the stretch the company needed in a time of crisis, because it meant they still had a job. But, as they see the crisis starting to pass, they expect something in return, besides the paycheck – which may have been cut. Employees want to be reassured that as their employer returns to growth, they will be included in the future plans, and what their role might be. Employees who don’t see this, may be headed for the door.

For some companies, like the one mentioned above, one key step is to communicate the company’s employee development opportunities. Simply letting employees know what is available to them, and how they can benefit can be a boost. Communication is key, but supporting the employees in taking the time to pursue the development opportunities is also important, whether it is training, education, or cross training in another role. Be sure to celebrate the accomplishments too, especially educational pursuits that take a lot of outside of work time.

Mentoring is a very effective way to develop your workforce. Pairing your more experienced employees with the newer, less experienced individuals can provide a learning experience for both. The new employee can learn skills, as well as the company culture and where they fit in. The more experienced person may benefit from someone recently completing training or school, bringing fresh knowledge. Both employees feel valued as a result.

Other types of employee development include establishing training programs and tuition reimbursement. While costs may vary, providing training and education is a win-win for both employee and employer. Employees are better prepared to grow with the company and take on new roles. In turn, when the time comes to expand, the company has a strong, knowledgeable workforce to promote from within, which helps retain intellectual capital.

Even something as simple as rewarding and recognizing employees, who go above and beyond, shows the workforce that their efforts are noticed, not just expected. It encourages employees to think creatively and voice their ideas. Often times, employers think that reward and recognition has to be expensive. Many employees are just looking for the recognition; a simply thank you or “pat on the back”. In one organization, we developed a list of no cost / low cost ideas to help managers be able to think, on the spot, what they could do for an employee that deserved recognition. Sometimes simply asking them and making it individualized to them, can have even more impact – perhaps a letter to the family, washing their car, leaving an hour early, recognition at a team meeting, doing the ugly part of their job for a day…

Another great employee development solution is career pathing. Do your employees know and understand where they can go in your organization? It doesn’t have to always be up. And, it doesn’t even have to be a formal career pathing program. But, if you can take your job descriptions and create structured career paths, this helps employees understand the different directions their job could go as they grow and develop in the organization. More informally, supervisors could just sit with them and find out what their goals and aspirations are, and how those goals fit in with the organization. Some supervisors do this already but many don’t. Why not?

To really get started on developing a successful employee development program depends on the company’s philosophy behind employee development. It has to come from the top to get full support. Then the company will need to establish a plan. Organizations must realize that achieving that future success depends on their ability to engage and develop their employees.

As businesses return to profitability and growth, those that have focused internally on developing their employees’ will find the organization, as a whole, better positioned to move forward as the economy improves.

Robin Throckmorton, MA, SPHR and Cathleen Snyder are with strategic HR, inc. (http://www.strategicHRinc.com). If you have any questions or would like to share your comments or success stories with either of these consultants, contact them Robin@strategicHRinc.com or Cathleen@strategicHRinc.com.

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