SECTION
8.35 THE INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN
Last
Update: 2/04
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The Individual Development Plan (IDP) |
“Learning
is not compulsory but neither is survival.” - W. Edwards Deming
“Nothing is more terrible than activity without insight.”
- Thomas Carlyle
Some positions and some circumstances may not require an in-depth development plan. Maybe just a few bullet statements are needed to indicate what the employee needs to focus on in the future and for what purpose (performance improvement, enhancement of current skills, anticipation of new skills to be required in the future, or self-enrichment). For these cases, the “Development Plans” box in Part 3 of the Individual Performance Evaluation will probably suffice.
When the situation calls for a more detailed plan, you may want to provide the employee with an Individual Development Plan (IDP). The Individual Development Plan (IDP) is an organized approach to training and development designed to improve the employee’s professional skills and the agency’s productivity. This is a joint process, both in design and execution, in that the supervisor is more familiar with the agency’s job requirements and future directions and the employee is more aware of specific, individual needs and aspirations. The main purpose is short-term (for the upcoming evaluation period) and aimed primarily at enhancing the agency’s productivity. However, other components may be added, such as long-term goals (1-3 years after the upcoming evaluation period) aimed at the individual’s career development or enrichment. The more these factors can be integrated with the core development plan, the more comprehensive the approach.
The following process is a model.
Use what works for your individual situation. Human resources are a major
investment made by your organization to accomplish its mission. So taking
whatever time and effort are necessary to design, implement, and monitor the
IDP makes sense from a return on investment perspective.
The process involves the following
steps:
1.
Prepare the Individual Performance Evaluation at the
conclusion of the employee’s evaluation period. The Individual Performance
Evaluation includes the Individual Development Plan (IDP) as a segment of Part
3. The IDP can consist solely of what you include here, or it can be expanded
to be a more detailed document using the format suggested below.
2.
Consider each area of the employee’s performance from
the following perspectives and determine which should be developed in the
upcoming evaluation period:
·
Strengths that, if enhanced, will contribute to the
overall mission of the organization and increase productivity.
·
New skills that will be needed in the upcoming
evaluation period.
·
Areas of performance/skills that need to be improved.
The above constitute the Purpose of the development
activity. Some additional needs that contribute to establishing the Purpose may
include:
·
Needed to fulfill the mission
·
Change in technology
·
New assignment
·
Future staffing need
·
Leadership development
·
Relationship building
3.
Once the determinations in #2 have been made, list
possible methods to facilitate this development: formal training, on-the-job
training, self-development, mentoring or coaching, development
activities/learning experiences, or other activities.
Formal
training – is any training conducted in a group setting. This may
include academic college coursework, adult education, etc.
Advantages:
·
It is presumed to be offered by credible, trained or
otherwise informed sources.
·
It is presented in ongoing segments known in advance.
·
Typically, it is measurable through grades,
accreditations, or pass/fail mechanisms.
Disadvantages:
·
Potential cost.
·
Scheduling problems (it may take the employee away
from other work activities or it may not be offered at the time needed).
·
At times, inability to control the curriculum and
address specific learning objectives identified by the supervisor.
On-the-job
training – is a form of individualized training, usually structured,
that takes place in the actual work setting while the employee performs regular
job duties. The supervisor or a designated peer usually provides this type of
training.
Advantages:
·
It can be customized to the specific training need.
·
It can be provided on a timely basis.
·
It can be provided by the person(s) most likely to
possess the appropriate skills.
Disadvantages:
·
If the wrong person is chosen to provide the
training, the ability of the person to present it skillfully significantly
decreases.
·
The seriousness given the training by the supervisor,
the trainer, and the employee.
Self-development – is any form of training or
development the employee initiates and obtains on his or her own. For instance,
an employee who completed only a year of college before being hired into the
current position may decide he or she wants to finish the college degree and
takes classes on non-work time. The knowledges and skills the employee gains by
going back to college may indirectly benefit job performance.
Advantages:
·
The cost is borne by the employee on non-work time.
·
Typically, because it is the employee’s own time and
money being invested, employees are highly motivated to do well.
Disadvantages:
·
Lack of control over the type of development selected
and the timing, because the individual employee determines when and what types
of development opportunities to pursue. This is where joint design of the IDP
is important; it provides you with the opportunity not only to help the
employee consider career growth aspirations but also to map out how to get
there. Supervisors are not precluded from discussing self-development options
and how they might relate to both current and future job enhancement. You just
can’t require the employee to select this option unless it is offered on work
time and at the expense of the organization.
Mentoring/coaching – is a
less structured form of on-the-job training that extends beyond learning
specific skills or processes. The purpose of mentoring or coaching is to
provide the employee with ongoing feedback about progress in specific job
requirements. This may occur through formal or informal discussions that allow
the employee the opportunity to learn and refine her or his knowledge base by
asking questions of the mentor/coach, through observation, or through completion
of short tasks or assignments to “try out” a particular skill or sub-task. A mentor
is generally a more senior employee selected by the employee (or the
supervisor) who provides advice or counsel about specific problems or issues
based on his or her own experience. A coach is more likely to be
selected by the supervisor and tends to take a more pro-active role in
providing the employee with feedback about performance or advice and counsel or
helping the employee determine their career goals and how to reach them.
Advantages:
·
Being able to provide on-the-spot or otherwise timely
feedback to specific work questions or problems.
·
Establishing a “link” to the organization to help
anchor the employee.
·
The ability to stick with problematic issues until
the employee gets them right.
Disadvantages:
·
The time commitment of the mentor/coach that is
necessary to provide adequate feedback.
·
The possible negative impact on the employee if the
mentor/coach is not effective, is not committed, or does not get along with the
employee.
Development activities/learning activities – are
generally ways of modifying current job responsibilities to help the employee
develop new skills for anticipated job responsibilities, job growth, or higher
job opportunities.
Examples include:
·
Shadowing a more senior employee or an employee with
more expertise or experience in a particular skill, process, or program area.
·
Task force or special project assignments that will
expose the employee to other qualified individuals and provide the opportunity
to try out new ideas and skills away from the daily job.
·
Details rotational assignments that expose the
employee to several different functional or program areas outside his or her
current job.
·
Special individual projects resulting not only in the
development of products that will assist the employee with current job
responsibilities but, through doing them, give the employee the chance to learn
and experiment with new ideas, processes and technology.
The kinds of activities described above are sometimes referred to as “stretch assignments” in that they require the employee to reach beyond current performance in order to enhance her or his knowledge and skills.
Advantages:
·
The opportunity to demonstrate capabilities in ways
current job responsibilities might preclude.
Disadvantages:
·
The time commitment.
·
More importantly, the possibility that the activity
is not well thought out or managed, does not result in learning or results
worth the investment, or does not relate to the needed skills.
Other activities –
encompass the spectrum of other actions available to the employee such as:
·
Self-instructional books, audio tapes or
computer-assisted learning (such as on-line training offered by ITE and PDS).
·
Exposure to new program areas through involvement in
professional organizations. (This may be on the employee’s own time with the
membership fee being at the employee’s expense.)
· Participating on various types of committees other than task forces.
Advantages:
· Open-ended and quite flexible, depending on the need and available resources.
Disadvantages:
· There needs to be a clear-cut nexus between the activity and the learning objective, or the experience may not benefit the employee or the organization.
4.
Once the learning methods described above have been
selected, you need to refine these to specific activities that have measurable
results and time frames. Be clear about expectations. For instance, telling a
more senior employee to train the employee on the XYZ process is too vague
unless you include as the expected result that, once trained, the employee will
be able to complete the process on his or her own in less than two hours with
no errors.
5.
Involve the employee in the design of the IDP. You
may want to do this early in the process, when you have only identified major
areas where development should take place and let the employee propose the more
specific ways to accomplish this. Or, you may prefer to design the plan and
then have the employee review it and provide input.
6.
Ensure that you have higher management support for
the IDP, including the time commitment and use of resources.
7.
You and the employee sign the IDP to document your
mutual agreement with it and commitment to completing it. Clarify
responsibilities with the employee. If you need to set some of the steps in
motion, be sure to follow through; if follow through will be the responsibility
of the employee, be sure that is understood.
8.
Set up a reporting system so that you know the
employee’s progress at any given time and can make adjustments to the plan as
needed.
The IDP should include the
following components:
·
Personal information: name, class title, agency,
period to be covered.
·
Short-term development goals – usually these will be
one or more competencies to be developed, enhanced, or improved within the
upcoming evaluation period; indicate the purpose of each goal.
·
Results expected and measures.
·
Method and/or activity(ies) for developing each
competency identified.
·
Time frames.
Other components may also be added, such as:
·
Long-term (1-3 years beyond the upcoming evaluation
period) developmental goals and purpose.
·
Who will provide the training or activities.
·
Estimated costs and who will pay.
·
Priority (essential, needed, helpful – although some
might reason that anything included on the IDP is essential and therefore a
high priority).
·
Completion date.
·
Evidence of completion/accomplishment.
Though you want the IDP to be
thorough and cover the individual’s major development needs, try to keep it
brief and to the point so that it does not give the impression of being
unwieldy or overwhelming. Focus on key areas to be developed.
The following is a sample format. You may modify it as needed.
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Employee |
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Department |
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Position Title |
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Period Covered |
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to |
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Development
Goal |
Purpose |
Method or
Activity |
Results
Expected/Measures |
Time
Frame |
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Supervisor’s
Signature |
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Date |
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Employee’s
Signature |
|
Date |
Whether the type of development
you envision for the employee is to help her or him improve past performance,
enhance current capabilities, expose the employee to skills needed in the
future, or simply provide enrichment opportunities that make the current job
more interesting, fun, or meaningful, what you will probably focus on
developing are competencies. Competencies are observable
and measurable knowledges, abilities, skills, and behaviors that must be
applied to achieve results aligned with the goals of the organization.
The Competency Library used by the
State of
Competencies
are fairly broad. You may find that, in addition to including the definition in
the IDP, you will want to include some sub-tasks, or behavioral indicators,
to help clarify what exactly you want the employee to develop. (These will
eventually be part of the Competency Library as well, as it is developed
further.) This is all stated in the “Development Goal.” Once this is laid out,
determining the purpose and method/activity for accomplishing it will be
easier.
The following sample lays out the
information described above:
|
Example
of Results Comments and Rating: |
Although Terry completed this strategy as specified in the Performance Plan, it was accomplished without checking with all the appropriate parties to obtain their input and assure the proposed result did not interfere with their program areas. Meets expectations
|
Example
of Corresponding IDP |
|
Development
Goal |
Purpose |
Method or
Activity |
Results
Expected/Measures |
Time
Frame |
|
Enhance Inter-personal
Skills Develops
and maintains effective relationships with others |
To
ensure that future projects take into consideration the needs and concerns of
other units |
Planning
phase of future projects will include identification of affected internal
parties Progress
reports of future projects will be distributed to the affected parties
identified above |
List
completed All
affected parties identified per supervisor review Progress
reports distributed at least three times |
Planning
phase of projects undertaken in next evaluation period Within
next evaluation period |
|
Enhance Customer Service Skills Works
with individuals who use or receive the services or products that your work
unit produces to assess their needs, provide information or assistance,
resolve their problems, or satisfy their expectations |
Same
as above |
Will
take a PDS course in Customer Services |
Will
be able to list three actions he can take to improve his customer service
skills |
By
March 1, 2004 |
“Best-laid plans….” You know the rest. But especially in the case of development plans, even the most clear-cut, well-intentioned, well-written plan will go no further, if you don’t set in place the expectations and wherewithal for how it will happen. And then make sure that is the case. Monitoring progress may involve no more than meeting with the employee to discuss, modify and sign the plan and then empowering the employee to take it from there. But the level of accountability you expect from the employee needs to be communicated clearly.
You may decide to play a more active role in
monitoring progress, particularly where performance improvement is concerned,
where a major commitment of resources is involved or where the results of the
development plan are critical to other endeavors.
Methods of
monitoring might include:
·
Periodic meetings with the employee to check on
progress.
·
Requiring a note or memo from the employee as each
activity is completed or if problems arise.
·
Having the employee update the IDP on a periodic
basis.
·
Checking periodically with the development provider
(for instance, if someone is to serve as a mentor for the employee, staying in
touch with that individual to make sure the relationship is working).