Insights from Engagedly’s State of AI in HRM, 2nd Edition Survey.
Learning and development form an integral component of an organization. Employee learning and development programs are the key drivers of organizations’ success.
Not only do these programs foster a culture of continuous learning, but they also boost employee engagement and help reduce employee turnover. A recent Great Place to Work LinkedIn poll shows how important learning and growth opportunities can be for a company’s bottom line.
By investing in the professional growth and skill enhancement of employees, organizations create an environment that encourages loyalty and job satisfaction.
Furthermore, learning and development initiatives align with strategic goals, ensuring that the workforce is equipped with the latest knowledge and capabilities needed to address industry challenges and stay ahead in a competitive landscape.
An individual development plan, or IDP, is a documented process to help employees advance professionally in their careers. It involves drafting a plan to improve an employee’s performance by setting short-term and long-term goals.
An IDP is neither a performance evaluation process nor a one-time activity. Instead, it’s a continuous process that requires active participation and collaboration between the employee and the supervisor.
IDP aims to strengthen employee and employer contributions toward business objectives through mentoring, coaching, and continuous feedback. Through personalized mentoring, employees gain valuable insights, guidance, and support from seasoned professionals, enhancing their skills and knowledge. This not only accelerates their professional development but also cultivates a culture of collaboration within the workplace.
To learn more about what an Individual Development Plan is and why it’s essential for both employees and employers, check out this detailed guide.
A recent study indicates that employees who are offered professional development opportunities are likely to be 15% more engaged in the workplace. This ultimately leads to a 34% higher retention rate. IDPs help employers create a highly engaged workforce by offering a defined roadmap for achieving certain professional and personal goals and objectives. They also offer metrics to gauge employees’ progress regularly and effectively.
Crafting an Individual Development Plan (IDP) is a strategic process designed to propel personal and professional growth. IDP plan templates provide a structured framework for individuals to outline their career aspirations, identify areas for improvement, and set specific goals.
These templates guide the creation of a roadmap, ensuring a systematic approach to skill enhancement and career advancement. The following section highlights the key sections of an IDP template:
Also read: Unlock Employee Development with Engagedly’s IDP
Long-Term Goals | ||||
Generate more revenue through an increased conversion rate. | ||||
Short-Term Goals | ||||
Improve communication, networking, and technical skills. | ||||
Goal | Objective | Resources | Progress Tracking Metrics | Completion Date |
Improve Communication skills | Work with senior sales representatives to learn effective communication practices. | Job shadowing and training program to learn communication skills. Provide resources to improve understanding of various terminologies. |
Feedback from supervisor Number of leads converted |
XYZ Date |
Improve Networking Skills | Attend conferences and seminars to build a network. | The fee to attend conferences and other official gatherings, travel allowance, and time to attend the events. | Number of leads generated | XYZ Date |
Improve Technical skills | Gain product knowledge for a better understanding. | Technical courses through a learning management system | Knowledge acquired | XYZ Date |
Long-Term Goals | ||||
Reduce operational costs. | ||||
Short-Term Goals | ||||
Reduce supply costs. | ||||
Goal | Objective | Resources | Progress Tracking Metrics | Completion Date |
Reduce the purchase of supplies | Work with the department to identify unnecessary supplies. Monitor monthly purchases and consumption. Identify the need and place an order accordingly. |
Department survey to assess the use of supplies. A course on inventory management. |
Reduced purchase of supplies | XYZ Date |
Long-Term Goals | ||||
Reduce the organizational skill gap. | ||||
Short-Term Goals | ||||
Introduce necessary training programs and deliver quality training. | ||||
Goal | Objective | Resources | Progress Tracking Metrics | Completion Date |
Keeping the workforce updated with the latest industry trends, skills, and knowledge | Teach new skills to employees to improve their work speed and knowledge about the job role.
Conduct an off-site training program. |
Travel costs and paid leaves to attend online training and certification courses.
Cost of inviting professors or industry experts to deliver lectures. |
Conducting online or offline exams after course completion
Tracking performance before and after training sessions |
XYZ Date |
Improving the effectiveness of training sessions | Conduct “train the trainer” programs.
Take feedback on training delivery management. Survey employees to see if the training sessions are adding value to their job roles. |
Preparing and circulating online and offline survey forms.
Analyzing the information received. |
Employee engagement metrics: absenteeism rate, turnover, eNPS, and number of people enrolling in a training program. | XYZ Date |
Long-Term Goals | ||||
Improve IT management. | ||||
Short-Term Goals | ||||
Improve soft skills, learn new technology, and acquire leadership skills. | ||||
Goal | Objective | Resources | Progress Tracking Metrics | Completion Date |
Improve soft skills | Have better communication with the team. | Soft skills training | Team member feedback | XYZ Date |
Learn new technology or programming language | Learn new programming language to handle diverse teams and roles. | Courses and certification fees | Successful completion of courses | XYZ Date |
Acquire leadership skills | Gain leadership skills by working on small-sized products. | Projects to lead
Support from senior developers and leaders |
Feedback from the team | XYZ Date |
Long-Term Goals | ||||
Get promoted to the position of senior manager. | ||||
Short-Term Goals | ||||
Improve soft skills, learn new technology, and acquire managerial skills. | ||||
Goal | Objective | Resources | Progress Tracking Metrics | Completion Date |
Improve communication skills | Have better communication with the team. | Soft skills training | Team member feedback | XYZ Date |
Acquire managerial and technical skills | Work closely with line management.
Take certification courses. Renew all overdue certificates and licenses. Participate in the decision-making process. |
Courses and certification fees | Successful completion of courses | XYZ Date |
Date | DD/MM/YYYY |
Employee Name | XYZ |
Designation | Junior Accountant |
Goals | Fine-tuning existing skills for career advancement |
Training and Development Needs | Accounting fundamental training programs
Tax consultation training On-the-job training for understanding financial transactions Online courses to strengthen concepts of investment planning |
Estimated Costs | Estimated cost for each training program and online course |
Completion Date | DD/MM/YYYY |
Manager Notes | |
Funds and resources for providing training are available in the organization.
Mr. ABC can introduce on-the-job training. |
Employee Name | ||
Designation | ||
Department | ||
Team Leader | ||
Onboarding Checklist | Status | Priority level |
Give an introductory lecture on the company’s vision, mission, achievements, and history. | ||
Introduce yourself to the team members. | ||
Give an office tour. | ||
Provide employee handbooks. | ||
Introduction to Office Practicalities | Status | Priority level |
Assign a workstation. | ||
Provide desktop credentials. | ||
Generate employee IDs. | ||
Inform employees about the company policy on leave, working hours, compensation, and benefits. | ||
Training Needs | Status | Priority level |
Introduce hires to the company’s training software. | ||
Generate credentials for accessing training modules and literature. |
IDP is a great tool to empower employees, improve engagement, and propel organizational performance. The systematic approach fosters a high-performance culture where employees understand their goals and expected performance and contribute to the organization’s success.
Helping organizations derive maximum benefit from their IDP, Engagedly’s IDP Module enables organizational openness, cooperation, and alignment.
Our platform facilitates extensive cooperation, offers seamless interfaces, and delivers a comprehensive picture of organizational goals and useful tools such as feedback, guidance, and visual graphs to track outcomes.
A performance evaluation process reviews an employee’s performance based on pre-decided parameters. Based on the performance review, the employee undergoes a performance corrective plan. On the other hand, an individual development plan serves as a roadmap for an employee to work toward completing personal and organizational goals.
An IDP provides clear goals and a structured roadmap for skill development, which enhances performance by focusing on individual strengths and areas for improvement.
Key components include employee profiling, career goals, strengths and weaknesses assessment, development opportunities, and an action plan with measurable objectives.
SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals. These five words mention benchmarks that help in the goal-setting process.
Srikant Chellappa is the Co-Founder and CEO at Engagedly and is a passionate entrepreneur and people leader. He is an author, producer/director of 6 feature films, a music album with his band Manchester Underground, and is the host of The People Strategy Leaders Podcast. He is currently working on his next book, Ikigai at the Workplace, which is slated for release in the fall of 2024.
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