Published on June 27th, 2022
Did you know that the job outlook for HR specialists is expected to grow by 10% over the next decade? Human resources are vital for finding and screening job applicants.
However, they also play an important role in training and maximizing the potential of current employees. That’s where people development comes into play.
But, exactly what is people development? And how can strategies that use performance management systems help with this important area? In this article, we’ll be answering these questions and more.
That way, you can maximize the effectiveness of your current employees. Let’s get started!
What Is People Development?
Before diving into the strategies associated with people development, it’s important to understand exactly what it is.
People development refers to an HR practice that works for teaching employees skills, knowledge, and practices that can help them succeed at the company.
Many people often confuse people’s development with employee development. While these two concepts are similar, there’s an important distance.
Employee development is more about helping employees advance their way up through the company over time.
People development, on the other hand, is more about making sure everyone is equipped with the skills they need to succeed in their role.
You shouldn’t think about people development as a set of lesson plans to teach to the employees at your company. Rather, you should think of it as creating a plan that fosters a learning environment in your organization.
That way, everyone is equipped to achieve both the company goals, as well as any personal goals they might have.
How Can Performance Management Systems Help?
Before you get started on people development you first need to know where your employees are at in terms of their knowledge and performance. And the best way to do this is through performance management systems.
These are systems that track employee performance to make sure they align with current company standards. However, be careful around traditional performance management systems.
These systems tend to just look at annual reviews while ignoring things like company culture effects, poor management, and other extenuating circumstances.
Instead, choose a system that prioritizes the future of performance management. This type of system emphasizes transparency and feedback between HR and other employees.
Similar to a traditional system, it can help you find which low or middle performers are in your company. The difference is that you work directly with them to find out what skills need developing and whether or not they understand business goals.
This can be accomplished through a skills gap analysis. It takes a look at what skills employees currently have, and which ones they might benefit from.
Once narrow down this population and what they need to work on, then you can begin developing people development strategies to help them succeed.
Mentorship Programs
There are few ways to close the skills gap faster than assigning a low-level employee with a mentor to help them. Unlike online courses (which can be effective but boring) mentors make development engaging.
They do this by sharing experiences that are specifically relevant to your company. What’s more, they also provide an older sibling role in terms of making sure that their mentee is being held accountable for their learning.
Someone is much more likely to be motivated when they have a friend checking in on them versus abstract HR performance metrics. Plus, there’s the fact that your company’s retention rates will likely succeed.
An employee is much more likely to stay at a company if they know they have the potential to grow and advance. And mentors can help pave the way for these individuals to build the skills that they need to rise in a company structure.
Just make sure to spend some time developing a program. And think hard about which mentors you’re pairing with mentees. There should be a lot of overlap in their job responsibilities.
Learning Courses
Learning courses aren’t as engaging as mentorship programs. But, they’re still a great way to build a specific skill or teach a company concept.
If everyone works in the same office, then you can schedule the training courses during the day. For example, you might have a learning session on how to make your company a more inclusive place.
Or, you might have one that teaches aspects of new software. However, what should you do if you have employees that work remotely? The good news is that there are plenty of online learning courses you can take advantage of.
Just make sure that you aren’t giving your employees an information overload. Keep the courses brief and take breaks when you can. Otherwise, it will be money down the drain.
Knowledge Sharing Programs
Odds are you have a high-level manager or high-performing employee that has a lot of knowledge around a particular area. Why not take advantage of what they know?
Have them hold a training session where they teach what they know to other employees at the company. This has two benefits.
One, your employees get access to critical skills or concepts that are taught by someone who knows what they’re talking about. Two, it can help the knowledgeable individual with their presentation skills.
All too often, high-performing employees can have some trouble coming out of their social shells. So, this is a great excuse to get them to develop it.
We recommend this method of people development because it helps foster an environment that prioritizes learning and growth.
Appreciate Learning More About People Development? Keep Reading
We hope this article helped you learn more about the role performance management systems play in people development. There’s no denying that investing in your existing employee’s success will represent a significant cost.
But, at the end of the day, this is much preferable to losing these same employees from a lack of development.
Did you appreciate learning about this important HR concept? If the answer is yes, then you’ll enjoy some of the other topics on our site. Keep reading to find them.
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