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Reports and analyzes

22 June 2021

How to prepare the development programme well?

Labour market increasingly becomes more dynamic, that is why continuous training of the employees and preparing them for changes is important. Developing both technical abilities and soft skills is significant. Particular care should be taken to make the trainings effective and as useful for the employees as possible. The key to conducting a training programme which brings quantifiable benefits is to prepare it properly

The starting point for implementing development activities should be identification of the needs. The tools that are useful in this role are: employee surveys, interim evaluations, 360-degree feedback or employee opinion surveys. They make it possible to verify expectations of the employees about their own development and to identify the abilities the development of which will benefit the company. They help to recognize which departments and persons need support. Determining wants and needs is also useful in defining the situation, possibilities and amount of time and expense needed. Moreover, such studies conducted before the start of the project will make a good base for measuring the effects of the initiative after finishing the programme.

Kolejnym krokiem jest zestawienie otrzymanych wyników z celami firmy i ustalenie oczekiwanych rezultatów. Dobrze, aby w proces wyznaczania celów byli zaangażowani nie tylko pracownicy działu szkoleń i firma zewnętrzna, ale przede wszystkim przełożeni uczestników szkolenia. Kierownicy powinni przygotować zestaw efektów, których spodziewają się po szkoleniu. Właściwie zdefiniowany cel jest dobrze opisany w ujęciu jakościowym i ilościowym, osiągalny, realistyczny, określony w czasie oraz akceptowany przez osoby, które mają go osiągnąć. Precyzyjne zdefiniowanie celów na poziomie organizacji to kluczowy element efektywnego programu rozwojowego.

The next step is to compare the obtained results with the company’s goals and to determine the expected results. It is recommended that not only the employees of the training department and the external company, but most of all the supervisors of the training participants are involved in the process of goal setting. Managers need to prepare a set of results that they expect from the training. A properly defined goal is well described in qualitative and quantitative terms, achievable, realistic, time-bound, and accepted by those who are expected to achieve it. Accurately defining goals at the organization level is a key element of an effective development program.

If the goals of the program have been specified, you can move on to the selection of the development method. Depending on the identified needs and intentions, we can choose from such forms as workshops, coaching or e-learning training. The form should be closely matched to the needs that were examined at the first stage and to the target group. Having defined the form of the project, we can proceed to determine the details: the content, the schedule, the choice of a trainer, etc., remembering that they should be synchronized with what we want to achieve. With such preparation, you can proceed to the implementation of training, consolidation of knowledge and assessment of results. The consolidation of the acquired information is extremely important from the point of view of two aspects. First, it serves to consolidate the acquired information and to translate it into everyday practice. Second, it motivates to start further development activities. Good reinforcement tools are phone calls with the trainer, text messages, follow-up workshops, or individual post-training commitments. Examining the results – evaluation – is one of the most important stages of the whole process, if only because it gives feedback on the usefulness and effectiveness of the actions taken. It determines the overall value of the program in terms of benefits and cost-effectiveness, and also serves to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the training.

Defining the participants’ expectations, the organization’s specifics and the provider’s capabilities gives almost one hundred percent certainty of a successful development program. Bearing in mind these three areas, we will avoid ineffective actions and badly invested money. Proper preparation is an extremely important process in terms of the company’s business goals, as well as individual employee development, mostly because it allows to adjust the training methods to the actual needs of the company, and also creates a ground for further examination of the results

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