There are various approaches to employee development; however, they tend to be divided into four main categories. According to Hollenbeck et al. (2021), these are formal education, evaluation, job experiences, and interpersonal relationships. First of all, organizations can promote staff development through different formal educational programs. These might include short-term courses by universities or consultants, executive MBA programs, and workshops created for employees of an organization specifically. Evaluation – gathering information and providing feedback to staff on their skills, behaviors, or communication styles – is another way to ensure employee development. Saylor Academy (n.d.) notes that, for evaluation to contribute to development, information has to be shared with the person being evaluated. In addition to this, one will need suggestions for addressing skills gaps and utilizing skills already acquired.
Moreover, employee development takes place through job experiences, which is a combination of problems, tasks, requirements, relationships, and other aspects of employees’ jobs. The use of job experiences suggests that development occurs when one’s skills and experience do not fully match those required for their current job (Shannon, 2017). Finally, employee skill development and an increase in knowledge about the company and its clients can be developed by working with a more experienced member of the organization. As per Hollenbeck et al. (2021), two types of such relationships are mentoring and coaching. A mentor is a senior employee, experienced and efficient, who helps a less experienced one, called a protégé. A coach is a colleague or a manager working with an individual to motivate them, help develop their skills, and deliver feedback and reinforcement.
If all these methods were to be combined into a formal development program, it would have its benefits. Hollenbeck et al. (2021) state that, when programs feature several methods, they usually cover all the skills that an organization wants its staff to possess. It means that companies train individuals with the exact skill sets that are a perfect fit for them and, therefore, do not have to worry about turnover. When it comes to employees, their satisfaction is likely to be enhanced when development programs focus on their improvement by utilizing various methods and techniques, making it a fascinating and challenging task. However, it is important for these programs to not be too challenging, otherwise, employees might fail to complete them and become discouraged from trying to become better.
References
Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B. A., Noe, R. A. (2021). Fundamentals of human resource management (9th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
Saylor Academy. (n.d.). Employee assessment.
Shannon, A. (2017). The benefits of coupling training and development with succession planning. Kent State University.