We don’t need to tell you that the HR landscape is shifting. Where employees once strived to “climb the corporate ladder,” today they climb not just up, but also left and right and diagonally and every other which way. Their long-term goals are no longer to rise through the ranks of one organization, but rather to hone their professional skills and take them on the road, always searching for bigger, better opportunities.
This new, non-linear employee development trend makes training more challenging than ever. No longer can companies implement an employee development plan targeted to a specific career path. But what kind of training and development program can companies create when no two employees travel the same path to professional success?
Here is some advice for shifting your company’s employee training and development programs to better align with the career paths your employees are traveling today:
1. Accept that your employees will most likely not be around for life. Find out what, exactly, your new hire is looking to get out of the role—and support them. Employees who feel understood and uplifted will always perform better for your organization. Knowing that an employee will move on someday is no reason to invest any less in their training and development. Plan monthly meetings to discuss goals, achievements, and to keep their eye on the bottom line.
2. Embrace micro-learning. As employees move laterally throughout your company, they will develop a broad range of professional skills, rather than deepen their understanding of any one career path. Track your employees as they develop new skills and make sure your employee development plan rewards left-to-right learning in some way. Encourage collaboration and job shadowing between employees in different corporate silos—it will keep everyone’s skills sharp…and make them sharper by the day.
3. Sometimes, the best fit is a freelancer. If you are hiring for a project-based task, the individual who can best supply that effort may be a freelancer. Hiring freelancers and temporary employees allows your organization to adapt quickly and better meet the ever-changing demands of the business world.
4. Take employee training and development outside the organization. No one company can develop an employee development plan that meets the unique needs of its individual leaders and employees. Instead, consider a program like out Team Empowerment Academy, which is a virtual employee development plan with weekly masterclasses and over 175 additional training tools. techniques, workshops and training courses. That way, no matter the direction your employees want to evolve in, they’ll have access to valuable tools that will support them on their journey.
As a hiring and staffing company, we know better than anyone how the corporate landscape is changing, and how to adapt your HR strategy to not just survive, but thrive in this new world. If your organization is struggling to keep up with fast-changing employee training and development needs, schedule a free consultation with one of our expert management consultants. Sometimes, an outside perspective is all it takes to take your business to the next level.
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