Professional Development: A tool to retain employees
We are well into the Great Resignation, and everyone is talking about retaining employees. Professional development is one way to retain employees, increase productivity, and support organizational growth.
Several factors go into employee satisfaction, like pay, company culture, and flexibility. However, your team members are looking for ways to increase their competencies. Offering meaningful professional development opportunities allows employees to learn new skills and grow while thinking about how they can apply those skills in your organization. Below are some ways to incorporate professional development into your work culture.
Team Growth
Align your professional development with your strategic goals. For instance, if you have a goal of developing three new programs over the next five years, then look for ways to learn more about program design together.
When you spend time learning a new topic as a team, it offers shared language and creates a sense of collective excitement. But, it takes your strategic goal and changes it from Go, design programs! to Here is our shared philosophy around effective program design and the tools we are going to use to accomplish our goal!
There are several ways to engage in team professional development. For example, bring in a consultant, attend a conference, participate in an online course, or simply read a book together.
Individual Growth
In addition to team growth, your employees likely have skills they want to learn more about individually. At the beginning of each fiscal year, work with each team member one-on-one to create their professional development goals. Ask your staff what they want to learn more about to advance in their role and encourage them to tie their growth to your strategic goals.
For instance, your team may be developing three new programs over the next five years, but your marketing manager may want to learn more about segmented marketing streams and tools. By supporting their continued education, your marketing manager will be able to help create hype around your new program launches and even drive philanthropic support.
Be clear about your professional development policies. First, tell your staff your expectations. For instance, “We have a growth mindset here at XYZ organization and want each staff member to engage in a professional development opportunity each year.” Then, be clear about how much you will cover. For example, “That is why we’ve budgeted $200 for you to use on a topic of your choice.”
Giving your staff members the tools to do their job well helps them feel supported. Additionally, allowing your team members to have a say in training they want to gain increases autonomy. When these two aspects go hand-in-hand, you are more likely to retain employees.
Contact us today for more information on professional development facilitation with Spark Group Consulting.
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