MM Media
Employee Development
A crucial part of the performance appraisal process is the objective assessment of an
employee's developmental needs. Developmental objectives can be defined as what an
employee should do to improve present performance or prepare for future assignments.
The general goal of employee development should include but not be limited to the
following:
When preparing the developmental plan you should consider efforts to enrich the
employee's job as well as enhance existing performance opportunities. When preparing to
communicate developmental plans consider the following process:
Summarize the employee's most recent performance appraisal including strengths and
weaknesses against objectives previously set.
employee's developmental needs. Developmental objectives can be defined as what an
employee should do to improve present performance or prepare for future assignments.
The general goal of employee development should include but not be limited to the
following:
- Performance improvement on the present job
- Increased knowledge
- Develop new skills, or improve existing skills
- Increase problem solving ability
- Cross train for other positions
- Achieve readiness for promotion or additional responsibility
When preparing the developmental plan you should consider efforts to enrich the
employee's job as well as enhance existing performance opportunities. When preparing to
communicate developmental plans consider the following process:
Summarize the employee's most recent performance appraisal including strengths and
weaknesses against objectives previously set.
- Ask the employee to summarize his or her recent developmental activities and
developmental needs. - Discuss employee strengths.
- Encourage the employee to examine developmental options.
- Before discussing your suggestions solicit the opinion of the employee. Add your
thoughts after the employee indicates a readiness to hear them. - Help employees set targets. Ideally, the goals should come from both the employee
and the manager. Otherwise, commitment and drive may falter. - Reach agreement about developmental plans with the employee. Plans should spell
out what are the company's responsibilities and what is the responsibility of the
employee. - Finally, the manager should determine a mechanism that will allow follow-up on the
developmental plan progress. Quarterly updates are recommended to assess the
progress made during the previous quarter. The manager and employee should
reference specific behavioral examples that indicate progress towards developmental
objectives. If you are unable to reference specific examples of developmental
progress, consider re-evaluation of the developmental plan. Indicate specifically
which behaviors are instrumental in determining developmental progress.
The Plan
| Performance Appraisal |
 |  |  |  |  |  |