Employee Development Article
- 1. SkillsGuru - Porsche Koenze Inspiring Growth & Transformation - Putting People First Employee Development www.skillsguru.co.za
- 2. SkillsGuru Employee Development www.skillsguru.co.za Developing employees and why it matters Some organisations' values, vision and mission statements clearly state how they value their people; how their people are the most valuable asset. When times are tough and organisations are pushed to deliver, to show profits, employee development takes a back seat. Training Departments’ budgets are normally the first to hit the road… and this is exactly why I challenge the ‘people’ aspect in value statements stuck on company walls. We become so familiar with these statements, we can recite them from beginning to end – however, they lose meaning after a while. Do we take out the time to evaluate how are doing on the people front? Are we as organisations doing enough to develop our employees? 2
- 3. SkillsGuru Employee Development www.skillsguru.co.za Yes, now you immediately want to respond by saying – so when are employees going to take responsibility for their own development? ‘There is a lot of entitlement going around.’ ‘The more we give, the more they want’, and the list goes on. I should know… I spent adequate time in the corporate space, engaging with both leaders and employees to know about their gripes. These are just a few ‘new generation’ challenges we experience at the workplace. Or were they common all the time – and the new generation is just a bit more outspoken? The workforce need to be stimulated, developed. They need to feel like they matter and count as people and not being another employee number – gone are the days where people join organisations and stay there for 10 years. That is a possibility though if we invest and grow our staff. 3
- 4. SkillsGuru Employee Development www.skillsguru.co.za Most corporates have a Training Department facilitating training programme. That is not what I am referring to here. I am referring to the value of those programmes - (which I will discuss later) The workplace has changed. If we do not adapt the way we conduct business, the way we interact with our employees (and customers) it can possibly have devastating results on the bottom line and longevity of our company. How many programmes are still in place – unchanged, not re-evaluated – the same old programmes we have been running year in and year out. The workplace change constantly – so should we and so should our programmes. 4
- 5. SkillsGuru Employee Development www.skillsguru.co.za What is Employee Development? I see a lot of start-ups too – caught up in their vision, overwhelmed by running a business - whether it is to make money or serve customers – they forget the most important aspect – their staff. When we recruit staff, we make promises and we tend to oversell our companies. We talk about these great employee programmes on offer, how we develop careers, and recruit from within. People join enthusiastically, only to find – when there are opportunity for promotions, they are overlooked due to lack of experience, or several other reasons. My question: are we doing enough to develop programmes to ensure that people grow, that they are ready, that they have gained enough experience for the next step that we are supporting them in their career journey? 5
- 6. SkillsGuru Employee Development Specialist www.skillsguru.co.za What is Employee Development? Staff turnover is part of business, but if you calculate the cost of recruiting new employees vs retaining and growing existing talent, I am sure you will be able to come to your own conclusions with regards to costs. Like the Alchemist who, after a long and devastating journey searching for his treasure, upon returning home, found that his treasure was at home all along. Sometimes the best talent is inside our organisation, we just have to develop them; by implementing programmes to inspire growth, by re-evaluating programmes to see what works, what does not, and create new ones. Every person can be incentivised – depending on what they value. But in order for us to know that, we have to connect with people on a deeper level. That is the aspect we have lost touch with in this information age. 6
- 7. SkillsGuru Employee Development www.skillsguru.co.za What is Employee Development? Lets take the issue of entitlement for instance… Listen carefully what your employees or yourself feel ‘entitled’ about. What is the expectation? Could this be an opportunity for us to gain insight into what motivate them? An idea of what they value? Then how about using this as a motivational tool to incentivise them? within boundaries and discretion off course – Come up with a performance plan together, instead of it being a one dimensional exercise. Chances are, if employees are given an opportunity to co-create incentives and performance programmes, they would be more committed, loyal, productive. 7
- 8. SkillsGuru Employee Development www.skillsguru.co.za What is Employee Development? Now, lets look at Employee Development Programmes. Does it include a mind-blowing Induction? Where you introduce the new starters to your company, the history, who is who, but the moment they enter the workplace as employees, it falls flat, and the excitement generated by the Induction does not measure up to what transpire at the actual workplace? Your employees should be your #1 fans. Off course it is not possible to have every person raving about you, as there will always be naysayers – its part of life. But how are you generally being experienced? If you don’t know, you are losing out on valuable feedback to implement change and to create programmes to target challenging areas. 8
- 9. SkillsGuru Employee Development www.skillsguru.co.za Developing Employee Progammes Which brings me to the next point… How many of our programmes are targeted? Designed with laser focus on areas/people we need to develop? Do you do an actual needs analysis? OR do you fall into the same trap of generic training. One for all courses? And we wonder why employees drag their heels to training; commenting on the feedback forms how much they enjoyed lunch? 9
- 10. SkillsGuru Employee Development www.skillsguru.co.za I have written this piece because it is where my passion lies: developing people. I design relevant Employee Development Journeys in line with Organisational goals; and Employee Personal Development Plans. My programmes and courses are customised to inspire change and to move people forward. I design continuous development programmes for employees; as well as individuals. 10
- 11. SkillsGuru Employee Development www.skillsguru.co.za Why you should care Everything start with yourself. If we do not develop employees with training on: self mastery/self leadership, career, how to deal with stress, etc… The inevitable will happen. Employees become disengaged, they lose connection, they become less-productive, which can lead to absentee-ism, stress-related illness, unnecessary mistakes, write-offs, etc.. The company suffer, it affects healthy teamwork, and then this all filters down to our customers – the reason we exist – And this is something you do not want to have happening to you. Competition is rife and nothing stops people from doing business with you, as quickly as bad customers service. 11
- 12. SkillsGuru Employee Development www.skillsguru.co.za Neglecting employee development can cost you so much more than the obvious. Isn't it time to change that? Common Challenges at the workplace: Granted, we need to hit targets, we need to get on with it, we are forced to do so much more with less – this lead to us focusing on only what gets us through now – losing vision of the future. And we never have time. Or how about this one: what if we invest in them and they leave? Well – then we have just contributed to the economic development of our country. What about our dreaded programmes who lost value ages ago. Why still force it down everyone’s throats? Employees will be more productive if there is an interest in their development, where there are clearly defined growth paths, and a support structure in place. 12
- 13. SkillsGuru Employee Development www.skillsguru.co.za Change your Company Culture on Learning & Development Are you ready to revive the workplace with inspiring training programmes, designed specifically for your organisation? I work with organisations, start-ups as well as individuals on career coaching and self-development. One last note: have you considered the cost of NOT developing your people? -Porsche Koenze Learning & Development Consultant [email protected] 078 293 5776 13