Become a People Development Expert (Document Bundle)

Become a People Development Expert

People development is the process by which human resource departments equip employees with the skills, knowledge, and attitudes they need to reach business goals. People development is often used interchangeably with employee development which is about helping employees advance up in the organization. In contrast, people development is more so about closing skills gaps in the organization.

People development is part of a wider people strategy that the Academy to Innovate HR describes: "Your people strategy should unite your business and HR strategies."

There are several key reasons why your HR department needs to understand people development and how it relates to employee development. Some of the advantages of employee development include:

1. Productivity – demonstrating to employees that you care about their growth and development will boost their morale and willingness to work harder for your company. And better productivity means more revenue for your business.

2. Talent attraction – job seekers are searching for a company where they can develop their skills. Research by Gallup found that 59 percent of Millennials want to work for an organization that offers development opportunities. If your business builds a reputation for people development, more candidates will want to work for you.

3. Reduce turnover – for the past decade, career development has been one of the top reasons that employees leave organizations. By investing in opportunities for your employees to develop their skills, you can save your company a lot of money, time, and hassle by reducing the turnover rate.

There are many other benefits to people development, and your HR team must encourage employees to take advantage of development opportunities. This can increase the rate of participation and success and lead to better outcomes for your employees and your organization.

Interestingly, the University of Cambridge's Human Resource Office developed a Behavioural Attributes Framework that identifies four different levels of people development. The levels are summarized as follows:

Level A: A leader creates an environment where employees are motivated to achieve the organization's goals and their own personal development goals. They also continually look for ways to improve the organization's performance through its people.

Level B: A leader who encourages employees to pursue learning opportunities and invests time in helping them close skill gaps. They also give clear direction and guidance to help employees grow.

Level C: A leader who doesn't take an active role in people development but encourages employees to pursue learning opportunities they're passionate about.

Level D: The leader takes ownership of their own performance and is willing to help others if the opportunity presents itself.
Obviously, we want our leaders, managers, and influential employees to be somewhere between levels A and B.

An effective people development manager would focus on initiatives that don't just enroll employees in courses but create a learning culture. Let's unpack the benefits of this kind of people development plan on an organization.

‍Thank you for your attention.

Regards

UJ Consulting