A career development plan is a list of long and short-term goals that you establish with the employee for their current role or even a future role they are interested in.

The benefits of career development plans ✅ 

• Most people want to progress in their careers. A career development plan signals that you see them as a long-term and sustainable investment and that you are interested in their growth. 
• Makes people feel valued and believed in.
• It helps people view their work as more than just a "job".
• It is always less costly to upskill your employees rather than hiring externally.
• Helping people grow their skills makes them better at their job.
• Career development opportunities make people stay longer.

A career development plan can sometimes feel impractical because what if the employee decides to leave the company after all that planning? 🤔

People move between jobs in their careers. That is just reality. We can, however, help nurture and grow our employees, which is beneficial for both leaders and employees.

Plus, if talking about career aspirations and goals outside your company isn't taboo, you will end up with a network of strong and skilled ex-employees with whom you have a positive relationship. 
It is a very powerful resource🤝

In short, building strong and confident team members will always pay off in the long run!

Here are the steps

1. Analyze the current position📝

Before an official Career Development Meeting, ask the team member to assess their own position.

Ask them to write down a list of the duties they have now and how close it is to the job's description. Ask them as well to identify the skills they need to do their job well, what they are currently very good at, and where they think they might need more professional development. 

This is important knowledge for a leader to understand team members' capabilities and workload.

2. Ask them to reflect on themselves and their goals 🎯

Before the meeting, ask the team members to reflect and come up with responses to the following questions. They may want to take some time to really reflect and research themselves and their answers.

• What is the ultimate goal in your career?
• What are, in your opinion, some of the short- and long-term goals you need to reach along the way?
• Which short-term goal do you feel is the most reachable at the moment?
• What skills or experience do you need to do to reach it?
• What steps could we take for you to gain these skills or experiences?
• What obstacles do you think are preventing you from gaining the skills and experience you want to get from your current role?
• How do you think we could help you face these challenges?

3. Evaluate what goals are achievable in your organization💭

You should now have a meeting and discuss the questions and responses from your employee.

After that meeting, you should evaluate which development goals the company can help the team members achieve, what skills can be developed and the opportunities you can offer them.

It is important in this evaluation to take a holistic look at what the company could look like in the next five years and what roles the team members could move to or between. 

You can also consult with other people in leadership positions in the company and consult on which developmental opportunities can be offered and what are the steps of the process.

4. Formulate and implement the Career Development Plan🤝

Here is where the fun starts, where you formulate the plan together.

Meet with the team member again and discuss their goals and the development opportunities the company can provide them with.

You should find out together what opportunities the team member wants to take, but remember, it is totally up to each person to decide which opportunities they want to accept. It is, after all, the team members that learn and grow by using the opportunities. So don't be put off if the team member doesn't accept everything or finds some opportunities more appealing than others.

Agree on a plan and next steps together. 

5. Follow up👋

Have regular follow-up sessions with the team member to discuss milestones, check in on their career development process, and see the next steps and if you should adjust some of the goals. Do follow-ups at least quarterly.

Make sure to let your team member know they can always contact you for an extra meeting. Just in case something is hindering the plan or if they want to seek a new career development opportunity or simply ask for advice.

Make sure you have oversight of the career development plan and don't forget to acknowledge and celebrate the progress your team member is making!🎊