Developing Employees
7
OH 7-1
7-1
 Human Resources Management and Supervision
Develop Employees
OH 7-2
Why Employee Development?
 Employees require all skills needed for the job
 A skill gap is the difference between the skills an
employee presently has and the skills that are
needed.
 There are several ways that managers can learn
about skill gaps
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Personal observation.
Reports by supervisors.
Reports or complaints by other workers, customers, or
vendors.
Routine performance evaluations.
Why Employee Development?
 Advanced skills can increase productivity.
 Employees need different knowledge and skills.
 Changes in equipment or procedures may be made.
 New governmental regulations may be mandated.
 Employees desire different jobs.
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Employee Development Programs
 These can be formal or informal programs.
 They can and should involve all employees.
 The responsibility for employee development
rests with the operation, the supervisor, and the
employee; however, the employee carries most
of the responsibility for his or her development.
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Employee Development Process
Identify developmental goals.
Determine how to make improvements.
Evaluate the results.
Exhibit 7b on page 153 shows the steps of the employee
development process
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Employee Development Planning Meeting
 What—meeting to plan employee development
goals and how they will be achieved
 When—in conjunction with, but separate from,
an employee’s performance review
 How—a planned series of steps
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Development Planning Meeting Process
OH 7-8
Identify time
frame.
Discuss learning
styles.
Discuss
developmental
needs.
Select
developmental
methods.
Create list of
developmental
goals.
Set review/
completion date.
Preparing and Starting Employee
Development Planning Meetings
 Meet in a quiet and private place.
 Have a clear agenda, collect data about the
employee’s developmental needs, and use an
outline.
 State that you want to help the employee to
improve.
 Consider a time frame for development.
 Listen to the employee’s needs and concerns.
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An Employee Development
Planning Meeting
 Being prepared for
and sincerely
interested in helping
the employee to
improve will help to
assure a successful
meeting.
 Refer to page 155 of
the text
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Discussion Topics in
Goal-Setting Session
 Current work assignments and required
knowledge and skills
 Current skills and knowledge of the employee
 Corrective actions, if any, that are needed
 Employee’s career plans, and the skills and
knowledge required to meet his/her goals
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Types of Developmental Goals
 To attain a skill or knowledge
 To improve a skill or attitude
 Skills – Intellectual or physical actions that help
accomplish a goal.
 Knowledge – Information stored in a person’s mind,
such as facts, concepts, rules and procedures
 Attitudes – Feelings about facts or situations that
influence behaviors, such as liking to help people or
disliking being interrupted
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Setting Employee Development Goals
 Each employee’s goals will likely be unique, but
they should support the operation’s overall
goals.
 Managers can help staff establish personal and
professional goals and to align them correctly.
 Goals can be agreed upon formally (in writing)
or informally (verbal statement/agreement)
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Determining Opportunities for Development
 Within the operation, including general and
cross-training
 Opportunities within the community
 Formal education programs
 Trade/professional association resources
 Community library materials
 Internet resources
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Establishing and Implementing
the Development Plan
 The supervisor-employer agreement must
address
 The plan’s time frame and goals
 Method(s) for development
 How the method(s) will be monitored and measured
 The supervisor and employee should meet as
agreed to discuss progress and provide
feedback.
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Employee Development Method—
Cross-Training
Step 1 – Prepare a list of important skills in each
job.
Step 2 – Identify the employees to be crosstrained.
Step 3 – Implement cross-training opportunities.
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Employee Development Method—
Cross-Training
1. A training plan, job analysis, and/or job descriptions can
help to establish the foundation for a cross-training plan.
2. Remember that equal opportunity guidelines apply when
moving an employee into an different position and/or
cross-training him/her to do so.
3. An individual cross-training plan should be based upon
an employee’s previous training.
4. Recognize that productivity may be lower during cross-
training, and that the trainer must be taught how to train
the employee.
.
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Employee Development Method—
Coaching
Managers who coach, commit to helping their
employees improve
 Observe work behavior.
 Analyze work behavior.
 Describe behavior and consequences.
 Listen to employee’s side.
 Give feedback.
 Develop alternative corrections.
 Select correction to utilize.
 Set completion/review date.
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The Coaching Process
 Addresses performance behaviors rather than
personal traits
 Is needed for all hourly employees— not just
those aspiring to supervisory positions
 Provides feedback, makes suggestions for
changes, and helps the employee to improve
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Other Employee Development Methods
 Apprenticeship
 Informal learning
 Job rotation
 Mentoring
 On-the-job training
(OJT)
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 External
training/education
 Self-study
 Special projects
 Temporary
assignments
Employee Development Programs
Can Be Ineffective
 Managers must confront the challenge of determining
whether retraining will successfully address a specific
problem.
 Seldom does a single event or developmental program
move an employee all the way to the final goal. More
typically, several feedback and planning sessions must
be conducted during multiple improvement periods.
 It is difficult to modify attitudes.
 Training may not overcome physical capabilities and
aptitudes.
 Some people cannot learn certain things.
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Key Term Review
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•
Attitudes —feelings about facts or
situations that influence behaviors
•
Coaching —process of helping employees
grow by providing advice and feedback on
an individual basis
•
Cross-training —employee development
method through which employees learn a
job related to their own
Key Term Review
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•
Developmental goals —goals that describe the
skills, knowledge, and attitudes that must be
gained or improved to eliminate or reduce a
performance gap
•
Employee development goals —same as
development goals
•
Employee development process —process to
develop employees that involves identifying
developmental goals, determining how to make
improvements, and evaluating the results
Key Term Review continued
OH 7-24
•
Employment development program —
organized series of actions intended to
reduce a gap in an employee’s skills,
knowledge, or attitudes
•
Employee goals —goals that focus on an
employee’s personal issues beyond job
performance
•
Employee performance goals —goals
that focus on the tasks that an employee
must be able to perform as part of the job
Key Term Review continued
OH 7-25
•
Knowledge —information stored in a
person’s mind such as facts, concepts,
rules, and procedures
•
Skill gap —gap between the skills an
employee presently has and the skills that
are needed
•
Skills —intellectual or physical actions
that help accomplish a goal