Rapid changes in technology and business practices require a skilled and knowledgeable workforce with employees who are adaptive, flexible and focused on the future. Ensuring that employee development is current and effective can provide many challenges to small and large organizations alike.
Meeting these challenges requires a three prong approach which includes the organization, the manager and the employee. It is only through the active participation of all three, that the challenges can be met to the benefit of the organization and the employee.
The Organization: First in line is the organization. The organization is responsible for ensuring that policies and programs are in place to facilitate the continuing development of the employee. This gives an employee a starting point and a direction for setting a development path. These programs should include standardized assessments that will help employees and managers recognize skills that need enhancement or skills that must be acquired to meet new technological demands. Such individual assessments can lead to a formalized training needs assessment for the entire organization. According to Six Sigma Online, “conducting a training needs assessment will help you clearly define and understand what your employees need to know in order for your company to increase productivity.” This assessment will depict the different areas where training is relevant, places where it is readily available and what it will take to actually implement it.
The Manager: The responsibilities of the organization continue through the interaction that the manager initiates with the employee thereby creating the second step in meeting employee development needs. A manager’s responsibility in assessing employee developmental needs does not start and end with an annual performance review. It is an ongoing effort that includes working with employees to assess their skills and performance, and providing constructive feedback on where improvements or new skills are required. Managers should be aware of the training opportunities an organization offers and be ready to make recommendations to employees as needs and opportunities arise.
The Employee: The third and perhaps the most important prong in the approach is the employee. The employee needs to be encouraged by the organization, but must also take the initiative for assessing their own skills and training needs. The employee needs to learn tangible skills by seeking guidance from managers, mentors and peers as well as formalized training opportunities through the organization. It is the employee’s responsibility to take ownership of meeting his or her developmental needs to effectively hone needed skills.
Keeping pace with the ever changing workplace can be a daunting task. By spreading the responsibility between the organization, managers and employees, a collaborative and sustained approach can be achieved to meet the demanding challenges in the workplace and ensure that the developmental needs of employees are being met.
