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Most large organisations have their own Training Department, although the hipster companies now look very chic. Learning and Development on the door. Whichever label you put on it means that people are actively and professionally committed to the development of employees. Then there are wonderful facilities available when it comes to development: annual development interviews, smart POPs and a wide menu of internal training courses.
In many smaller organisations, the trees grow a little less to the sky. There, employee development is a final item on the busy agenda and the somewhat tighter budget.
You often miss that fanatical HR advisor or training coordinator, who systematically monitors and maintains the level of knowledge. Nevertheless, it is especially important for employees in smaller companies to up to date to stay. People are less likely to fall back on a colleague's knowledge, and there is a wider range of tasks that require up-to-date knowledge on various fronts.
Fortunately, as an employer, you don't have to be a major player to still be able to stimulate your employees in their development. In this blog, we would like to give you tips to keep up.
At least once a year, consciously schedule time for a development interview with each employee. Ask specifically about ambitions and dreams for the future. They can be very different from person to person and phase of life.
While one employee may already find an English conversation course very exciting, another may aspire to a management position that requires training at higher professional education level. Join this and see for each individual how high the bar should and can be set.
During the conversation, see what you could facilitate the employee in and clearly record the agreements. If the training is important for the current position, it is quite common as an employer to bear the costs.
Is it really about a career wish that leads to a job that does not occur in the current organisation? Then you can agree to share the costs or, for example, to compensate for study time.
Also think about any subsidy options, or facilities from industry organisations, that may be able to make the training budget just a little bit wider.
Studying not only costs money, but also time and energy. Make it a little easier for your employee by literally offering extra space. Facilitate with study hours during working hours, possibly using an office space where you can take an online course or dive into the books.
Offering space figuratively is also very important.
Development is not always about following a course and getting a diploma. Often, practice is still the best learning experience.
Therefore, develop a corporate culture where mistakes can be made. Where it's normal to discuss your own blunders, including how a mistake has been corrected.
By sharing this candidly with colleagues, someone else can also learn from it.
Has an employee or team completed a training successfully? Don't let the moment go by, celebrate success.
Surprise with flowers, organise a festive drink or a nice lunch. And sprinkle with heartfelt compliments. Especially when a study had to be combined with a busy job, informal care or young family, the employee had to keep a lot of balls in the air. So it's best to pay attention to that.
Sometimes the prospect of a financial boost is extra motivating to continue studying. Once the milestone has been reached, it is important not to wait too long with that extra periodical or, in case of serious graduation, promotion. Avoid feeling disappointed and put your money where your mouth is.
No matter how small your organisation is, you are amazed at how much knowledge is already available. Years of experience, a past education or position, or even a hobby in their spare time: everyone has their own bag of knowledge and skills that could also be useful for another colleague.
By sharing this, that knowledge spreads through the organisation like an oil slick. It makes people more all-round, and a company less vulnerable.
So set up an online knowledge base that everyone has access to. In addition, ensure a clear layout and a good search function, so that the reader can quickly find what is needed at that moment. Invite colleagues to actively provide input to the knowledge base, it can be anything: need to know to be able to work in your industry, nice to have for deepening and further development. It certainly doesn't have to be all pompous literature.
You can easily build this in Pluvo with our library feature.
Practical tips for daily bottlenecks and humorous anecdotes, of course spiced up with some colorful photos or handy flowcharts, make it attractive to browse the knowledge base over and over again.
Sometimes an employee has so much talent that your organisation's coat will become too small. That doesn't have to be a bad thing, as long as you look at it with a real eye.
Calculate a possible switch to another employer, and don't let it stop your employee from developing. Preparing for a departure together makes you a good employer and offers the employee future prospects.
It's also smart: the employee remains motivated to work during employment, is good at passing on knowledge to other colleagues and recruiting a successor can be approached strategically.
The other side of the coin also occurs: you have drawn up an ambitious personal development plan that is not being achieved.
Investigate together what causes it. Sometimes the employee is overtaken by the wonderful twists and turns of life.
A changed family situation, health problems, or it was too busy at work. The great thing about a development plan is that it does not have to be cast in concrete. Adjust the POP by mutual agreement and slow down a bit. Baby steps can also be steps forward!
Share your questions and wishes via chat with us, we'll think along with you soon. You can also easily request a demo of our online knowledge sharing opportunities. No matter how big your organisation is, you never have to stop in your development!
