Capability Development

An organization is as good as its employees. Employees are the most valuable assets, and all investment in technology and business can become inefficacious if the skills and capabilities of the people involved remain underdeveloped. The organisation’s responsibility doesn’t end with hiring people. With time, technology changes, business needs evolve, and this is where it becomes important to ensure that employees keep developing their skills. Capability development takes into consideration what is traditionally considered as professional development, such as, skills-based training, knowledge-based education, and experience, and branches out to other human aspects, like the previously acquired knowledge and skills the person brings to their role. In simple words, capability development is either helping the employees create a new capability or enhance an existing one.?All in all, it is a comprehensive approach to ensuring people’s growth and development, and effectiveness in their roles with the organisation.

ROI of employee development

Employee development isn’t just about developing organizational L&D strategies. It goes way beyond meeting with employees annually to discuss their shortcomings and highlighting improvement needs. When done right, even though employee development requires investment (time, effort and financing) from the company, those investments will more than pay off over the longer-term. Sometimes letting go of an employee with limited skills, or developing those skills to the organization’s standards, will both cost money. However, if those development efforts result in longer-term employee retention, that’s a win-win situation for everyone concerned.

Effective methods of career development

The 11 most effective methods of employee development are

1.Training- Training is an ideal employee development method when it comes to addressing both Hard (technical) and Soft (communications, conflict resolution, time management) skills.

2.Task/job rotations-This employee development method is the best way to train flexibility and adaptability. It is also great for extending an employee’s technical skills but, depending on the type of stretch goals set, could aid in developing other ancillary skills such as Time Management, Stress Management, and Conflict Resolution Skills.

Everything depends on the role/job for how applicable this is. For example, if you ask a developer to talk/negotiate with clients, he probably won’t be as great as the manager, but at least he’ll gain the project management skill to some extent.

3.Coaching- This is usually a very hands-on approach to skills development and ideal for developing skills like Technical and Analytical skills. Through employer-sponsored coaching camps, employees could also pick up invaluable Interpersonal and Conflict Resolution skills.

4.Mentoring- Because it requires senior leadership commitment, Mentoring is typically used to develop high-level skills such as Leadership, Strategic Management, Communication, Critical Thinking, and Long-term Vision articulation.Mentoring isn't very effective in developing skills required at lower levels of the organizational structure – such as Shop Floor Assistant or Accounting Supervisor. Coaching might be a better method for skills development at those levels.More experienced employees can mentor less experienced, younger employees and isn't necessarily restricted to management. It can be done at any professional level and is ideal for communication skills, leadership skills, and organizational skills. It can also be applied to teaching something new or even teaching creativity.

5.Workshops/Committees/Working-Groups: Workshops are great for developing a range of soft skills, such as Communications, Teamwork, Presentation, Public Speaking, Networking, and Leadership skills. It can also be used to polish Research and Analytical skills.

6.Simulations- Works for all types of skills. Group simulations can even be utilized to teach social skills.

7.Conferences- Dependent upon the conference’s applicability and specificity, they work for all types of skills, including hard and soft skills and personal development. It can additionally assist with communication skills.

8.On-the-job training- While on-job exposure is typically good for work-specific skills development, this method can also develop a broad variety of employee skills, including hard and soft skills. These range from technical skills,?leadership development, and analytical expertise as well as organizational skills such as time management, multi-tasking, and prioritization.

9.Self-study- This is a great means to develop creativity and curiosity, as employees will naturally choose topics of interest/passion. Depending on the material studied, however, it could be applicable to all skills.

10.360-degree performance review- Because of the fairly broad scope of feedback, this method relies upon, it is typically good for identifying skills gaps in people-facing roles, including Conflict Resolution, Communications, Tactfulness, and Interpersonal skills.

11.Career planning- When used in conjunction with other employee development methods, Career Planning can help identify and develop a broad spectrum of cross-organizational employee skills. Typically, Career Planning sessions identify soft skills like Communications, Interpersonal Skills, and Time Management for development in leadership roles, while hard/technical skills manifest themselves for development in front-line rank and file roles.

Identification of Employee Development Areas

It’s not enough to simply decide that your organization needs employee development, you must also be able to pinpoint which areas specifically need developing. Without a comprehensive understanding of that, you won’t be able to develop an effective?plan. Each of these critical areas includes many different types of skills, from?conflict management?to relationship building. Some are?soft skills, others are?hard skills, but in general, all of them will help your employees become more effective and ultimately lead to better business results.

The 7 key employee development areas of improvement are:

1.????Flexibility

2.????Communication skills

3.????Conflict Resolution, tactfulness, and work ethic

4.????Leadership Skills

5.????Organizational Skills

6.????Creativity Skills

7.????Stress Management

This list can be more or less depending on the job role and competency requirement for the role .

Remember a well-crafted strategy can take an organization to new heights

?