Here’s how to create an employee growth plan
Written by: Mostafa Dastras, PushFar
One of the best moves to take your business to the next level is to implement an employee growth plan. You can ensure that all of your employees and managers have the skills that align with your business goals. Having a growth plan will result in employees being more productive and more profitable for your business. Employee growth plans increase employee satisfaction as well. Have you noticed that some employees prove more hardworking than others and learn the necessary skills for higher positions? It’s no coincidence that raises based on their proven skills through growth programs make them more loyal to your business and happier which results in a better overall culture in your company.
What is an Employee Growth Plan?
Simply put, they are co-created guidelines for your employees’ personal and professional growth. They come to shape through cooperation between employers, managers, and they employees themselves. Growth plans can focus on your employees’ professional growth such as technical skills or improving performance. Or they could help grow social skills, company culture, leadership, and whatever else necessary to enhance employees’ soft skills.
Benefits of a Growth Plan
It improves Employee Fulfillment and Retention
Increased Employee Engagement and Creativity
Helps You Plan for Future
how to create an employee growth plan?
Step 1: Determine Objectives and Goals
The first step is setting short and long-term goals. These objectives must be strategic, realistic, measurable, and with designated timeframes.
Growing revenue is a key goal for every business. It is important to set a timeframe and goal-based KPIs to reach your revenue goals. You want to be sure that the objective you set align with your employees’ personal career development plans. For example, if someone aspires to be in a management role, they will need to develop their leadership strengths. It is important to match the right people with the right roles.
Step 2: Assess Employees (Skills Gap Analysis)
A skill gap analysis is understanding what set of skills your people should acquire. So far, you have asked for their self-assessment. Their answers are a great guide to getting started. But we need more evidence.
Virtual communication tools
Online surveys and polls
Game-based learning platforms
Learning management systems
Performance management tools
Employees can use these tools to keep track of their development. They make it easier to track growth metrics, and help avoid micromanagement.
Step 3: Determine Employee Growth Resources
Now you know what your people should put their focus on. You can let them choose from a variety of learning experiences that best meet their learning style.
Online cources
Orientations
Webinars
Mentor programs
Workshops
Conferences
Having a workflow documentation across your organization helps your teams track their work in many scenarios. It also encourages cross-learning so anyone can learn how things work across the organization. Encourage team members to share knowledge among themselves. Organize regular open forums on specific problems and development ideas. Make them feel comfortable about coming up with experimental ideas and solutions on strategic and everyday matters.
Step 4: Estimate Costs and Timeframe
Step 5: Create Incentives
Recognition and rewards are powerful. Your employees’ growth plans should include a system for recognizing and rewarding those who show improvement. You must keep track of the following:
Completed courses
Certificates acquired
KPIs that indicate success in areas they’re working on
Level of support and guidance they provide for co-workers
Online and physical events they attend
Skill tests they take after they complete a program
Organize monthly/quarterly meetings where you can highlight milestones your team members reach. Give out rewards such as small gifts, gift cards, monetary rewards and other incentives to encourage future learning. You can also offer tuition reimburstment and flexible work hours. This way they know that the time and money they invest in formal education are reimbursed and favoured.
Share your personal growth plans to set an example for them. This is a great way to show your organization values professional and personal growth.
Step 6: How to Structure Employee Development Plan?
As you can see, there’s a lot of variance between employee development plans as they are highly dependent on the goals of the employee in question. However, every employee development plan should include:
Their long-term goals
Their short-term goals
Progress metrics
A timeline with milestones
A schedule for evaluating progress
Conclusion
Employee Growth Plans should be a regular part of your performance management strategy. Once you identify weak areas in your company’s overall performace, you should look for ways to improve them. Mentoring is a cheap and effective way to reach employee growth. Being partnered with a mentor is a chance for your employees to ask questions, be honest about what they want, to be open to changing bad behavior and to stabilize their learnings.
