Professional development is a phase of personal growth that responds to the needs for self-improvement that each individual experiences; Likewise, the professional development of the staff of an organization is part of the human resource development processes and is the result of the investment that companies make in the people that make them up and that, through their work, they enhance them.
Professional development has its origin in career planning and includes the aspects that a person enriches or improves with a view to achieving objectives within the organization. It can be given through individual efforts or through the support of the company where you work.
Individual professional development
Growing up as people and realizing yourself in your jobs are some of the inherent needs of individuals. Self-realization occurs in a large percentage when we feel full in the work we do.
It begins in each person by their willingness to achieve goals and by the acceptance of responsibilities that this entails. Several steps can be taken, considering possible outcomes:
Obtaining better levels of performance
It is the surest way to achieve promotions and recognition at work.
Closer relationship with decision makers
By being better known by the people who carry out promotions and transfers, they increase their development possibilities,
There is little willingness to promote unknown people
An employee can increase the degree to which he is known through performance, through written reports, oral presentations, work on committees and special commissions, and hours devoted to daily work.
Developing a feeling of loyalty to the organization
Many people put their professional interests before the organization to which they belong. Although the goal of keeping turnover levels to a minimum possible is highly appreciated, most people who manage to climb executive positions have worked for more than one company. Increasingly, the average employee feels left out of the organization they serve. Executives in large organizations increasingly tend to view their human resources with the same attitude with which they decide to acquire new equipment. In Eastern companies, the general feeling is of intense adherence and loyalty to the company in which they work.
Disclaimers
When the employee believes that better opportunities exist in another organization, they may be forced to resign. Some change companies as part of a consistent strategy. This technique can only be used with caution and always taking care not to create the impression of lack of stability. The organization very rarely benefits from the new experiences and knowledge of the person who leaves, since the percentage of those who return after a few years is very low.
Resources to experts in the field (Mentors)
Young employees often use the experience and advice of older people, who do not necessarily have a higher hierarchical level. This type of informal association depends largely on purely personal factors.
Resources to key subordinates (Right arms)
Successful managers often rely on subordinates who effectively contribute to the development of their superiors. Sometimes the subordinate possesses valuable specialized knowledge, at other times her administrative skills are combined with a great deal of personal loyalty. The professional impulse that the boss receives in this type of association usually includes the subordinate. Procedures tend to be very expeditious, and there is a general tendency to improve performance. Personal associations of this type often correspond to a feeling of loyalty that excludes many of the members of the organization.
Opportunities for progress
When employees improve their qualifications they complement the goals of your organization. Both the experience in new positions and the acquisition of new knowledge and skills are vehicles for personal growth.
In the following webinar Professor José Canseco, from the EAE Business School, makes an introduction to the subject answering the question: How do I design my professional development plan? Very interesting exhibition when it comes to carving out your own career path.
Professional development encouraged by personnel department
Professional development should not be based solely on individual efforts. The organization has well-defined objectives and can encourage its members to contribute to achieving them.
This has a double effect: preventing employees' efforts from being dispersed, leading them to goals and fields that are foreign to those set by the company, and ensuring that everyone is well aware of the opportunities presented by the organization.
Management support
Management support is essential in professional development plans, unless the support of company managers is supported, efforts by the personnel department will have little effect. General management must go far beyond just tolerating these activities, an active interest in the development and growth of all employees is essential.
The international field
One of the most important aspects is exposure to other cultures. A limited degree of exposure and information about what is happening in other areas necessarily leads to a limited range of possibilities in the international field. Undoubtedly, foreign languages are an element of first importance to access the international field.
Feedback
Without feedback that allows him to know how his professional performance is judged in the company, the employee has little chance of knowing if he is on the right path. The personnel department can provide feedback through the performance parameters that govern the company and through information regarding the policies for promoting and granting new positions.
Information regarding promotions
If an employee is promoted, it can provoke feelings of inadequacy among the applicants for the vacancy, who are entitled to receive feedback in this regard. In this case, the feedback meets three objectives:
- Confirm applicants for promotions that the company appreciates their efforts and consider them for future promotions. Explain why a particular employee was selected. Orient applicants regarding the specific skills and knowledge they must acquire to obtain promotion in the future.
The other type of feedback refers to job performance, probably the most important of how many the employee receives.
We recommend the video-seminar Professional Career Planning in the Company, by Bureau Veritas Business School, through which you will learn how to develop the professional career of workers within an organization, you will learn to analyze how to coordinate the general strategies of the company with the needs of personnel and to plan the training and self-improvement of the workers they wish to promote. (35 minutes)
