How Do You Support Personal/Professional Development?

Working with an organisation on their performance appraisal approach and their managers on how to increase the relevance and value of the process, we discussed how much can be done in one meeting with a staff member.  Even with significant preparation and a well-structured approach, the appraisal of the past performance and the goals setting for the coming period requires time, discussion, reflection and agreement.  Often at the end of this dialogue, a final question or questions usually seeks ‘what training or development would you like to receive in the coming year?’.  And this approach does not reflect a strong commitment to the individual’s continued learning or an understanding of one of the key motivators in retaining talented staff.

Increasingly, we are working with our clients to separate the discussion around personal and professional development from the appraisal meeting.  While the appraisal/goal setting discussion should come first, the development of the staff member’s talents into strengths and training to learn how to manage limitations must be linked to both their performance and career aspirations as well as the organisations objectives.

This developmental approach to performance appraisal relates to employees as individuals instead of the traditional organisational approach. This style is concerned with the use of performance appraisal as a contributor to employee motivation, development, and human resources planning. The development approach contains the following additional purposes:

1. Provides employees the opportunity to formally indicate the direction and level of their ambition.

2. Shows organisational interest in employee development, which is cited to help the enterprise retain ambitious, capable employees instead of losing the employees to competitors.

3. Provides a structure for communications between employees and management to help clarify expectations of the employee by management and the employee.

4. Provides satisfaction and encouragement to the employee who has been trying to perform well.

Staff surveys and contemporary research studies indicate that one of the key motivations of many staff today is their ability to learn and develop in their position.  Additionally, staffs want to see their manager as someone who is committed to their personal (career) and professional (operational skills) development via a coaching-style of relationship.

Can you realistically create a personal and professional development plan in the last few minutes of a performance appraisal?