What Should Good Professional Development Achieve?
A GOOD PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSE SHOULD COVER THESE THREE BASES FOR YOUR COMPANY.
A good professional development course should cover three key bases. It should teach valuable skills by building on employees’ existing skills, strengthen employees' ability to work and problem solve together through team and cross-team building, and show employees that they are valued thereby strengthening their connection to the company.
Building Skills
Which Skills?
It’s important to invest in developing employee skills that are valuable to both the company and the employee themselves. When an employee recognizes the value in what they are learning they will be more committed, put more in, and then get more out, which creates a better return on investment for everyone involved. A course that doesn't engage employees is a waste of participants’ time and company resources.
How?
Beyond simply focusing on skills that interest employees, courses need to approach the material in a way that connects and encourages. In other words, good professional development should be both challenging and fun. There is no better way to keep participants interested and encourage progress than to make sure they are having fun and being challenged, but not too challenged. Building on employees existing skills is important for making sure that courses present reasonable challenges and provide opportunities to experience success.
What presents the right level of challenge and fun will be somewhat different for each group and each company. So, while it is important to have a clear goal for any training course, flexibility is also key. Encouraging feedback and adapting materials and methods to suit companies and participants are necessary factors in reaching any development goal.
Team and Cross-Team Building
A good professional development course should create an environment that encourages an open exchange of thoughts and ideas. This allows participants to learn from each other as well as the instructor. This kind of supportive, interactive learning environment can make it possible for participants to develop more than just the specific skills being taught.
Learning from and supporting each other in a professional development course is a great team and even cross-team building experience. Strengthening connections between employees, in turn, strengthens their abilities to work and problem solve together as well as enjoy their experience at work.
Showing Employees They are Valued
Providing employees with strong, relevant, and enjoyable professional development options is a great way to show them that they are valued and considered worth investing in. Feeling valued and connected to their colleagues, in turn, strengthens their connection and commitment to the company, creating a better working environment for everyone and providing employers with stronger long term results.
The right professional development course can cover all three bases for your company. From building the advertised skills with employees through creating a stronger, more fulfilling and fruitful work environment.
-Elaine W. Long
