How to Incorporate Professional Development into Your Office

According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), “Employee development is almost universally recognized as a strategic tool for an organization's continuing growth, productivity and ability to retain valuable employees.” When your employees are learning and growing, educating themselves day after day, the company as a whole grows, too.

There’s many additional reasons for a company to concern itself with the professional development of its employees. For instance, when a company cares about career development, it is more likely to notice upcoming changes in technology, work environment changes, social and demographic trends, and the upcoming needs for a variety of different kinds of jobs. For the employee, there’s a number of benefits as well. Employees feel more engaged when they recognize that their employer is concerned about their well-being. When employees know that the company they work for actually wants them to go after their individual career goals and, even more, provides them with ways to reach those goals, morale, productivity, and motivation is improved organization-wide. So, how can a company begin incorporating professional development into the office?

1. Determine the employee development budget

How much of the company’s resources can be devoted to professional development? Once this question is answered, so can the remaining questions.

2. Determine which skills are the priority 

Try developing a system for this step. Have a brainstorming session and write down all the different skills that come up in the session. Have a record on file; later, you’ll be able to track which skills you’ve been building and which could use more attention.

3. Plan for development that meets both the employees’ goals and the mission of the company

SHRM states, “Recognize and use the departmental goals and objectives as a basis for developing employees.” When your company does that, it’s a win-win situation.

4. Determine which tools/resources your company will use for development purposes 

There’s a number of different options you can pursue. Here’s the short list:
• In-service training
• Tuition reimbursement programs
• Webinars
• Seminars
• Cross-training
• Mentoring
• Job rotation
• Internships

Depending on the type of professional development that your company chooses to incorporate, you’ll need to consider a number of additional questions. For instance, if you decide to host a seminar, where will you have the event? We answered this question in our latest blog post, “10 Questions to Ask When Choosing a Business Venue.” Check it out here. Here at the Delafield Brewhaus, we have private dining options available for business lunches, meetings, seminars, conferences, and more. The Brewhaus offers a full range of services to make an event like a professional development seminar successful. Learn more here.

5. Monitor your employees’ continuing performance to evaluate and refine future professional development opportunities. 

Incorporating professional development in the office is not a one-time thing. For it to be effective, it needs to happen throughout the year, month after month. Keep improving with each professional development opportunity by taking notes, monitoring differences, and evaluating the results. There’s always opportunity for growth – it’s just easier to find when you’re watching for it!

If you’re ready to plan a professional development event for your company, consider Delafield Brewhaus for your business event venue. Get in touch with us by calling 262-646-7821.