Employee Development Is Crucial for the Success

Employee development is crucial for the success of a company or institution. Employee development provides for a work environment of educated, informed and like-minded individuals, all working to serve the greater purpose of the company for which they are employed. Employee development is a vital aspect in the success of any business, be it big or small, and it is more of an intellectual investment than a monetary one. With the implementation of an employee development program within a company, owners and investors will see that the benefits of employing such a program far outweigh the costs of implementation, providing for a more focused, driven and goal-oriented staff which serves its employer to the best of its ability.

Introduction

The University of Minnesota (2010) defines employee development as a "joint, on-going effort on the part of an employee and the organization for which he or she works to upgrade the employee's knowledge, skills and abilities" (UMN p.1 ). In viewing this definition, it is easy to see that such a skill-set is vital for maintaining a staff of individuals who are focused enough to lead a company to the goals in which it has set out for itself in its business plan. Employee development is crucial for the success of a company, as it provides for a work environment of educated, informed and like-minded individuals, who are all working to serve the greater purpose of the company for which they are employed. Employee development should not be viewed by a business owner as a cost, but as an investment, which not only pays for itself but continues to reap rewards for the business owner in the long run.

Costs and Benefits

When taking the time to develop a new aspect of a business, the costs and benefits must be assessed to assure that the benefits will ultimately outweigh the costs, and the implementation of an employee development program is no different. Employee development consists of pushing employees to their highest potential through training and motivation and ensuring that this new education is maintained and utilized in the workplace. In terms of employee development, the costs are truly minimal as it involves nothing more than in-house training and the development and honing of skills. Costs are often limited to the implementation of new programs within a business, the training that goes along with them, and the use of outside training or classes to increase employee knowledge. However, if no new programs exist, employee development can often be run in-house with extremely minimal costs.

The main benefit of utilizing an employee development program is enhanced performance among employees. When an employer sends employees to training or classes or leads workshops within his or her own company, employees garner new knowledge that can not only be applied to their current job, but new responsibilities as well. When an individual can function at their job to the highest of their ability, they achieve maximum results in terms of time management and productivity. An educated staff is one that asks fewer questions and takes more initiative, allowing employers to issue more responsibility to their staff without any uncertainty.

Methods

The methods in which employee development programs are run vary significantly from company to company and revolve around the style and tactics that are most comfortable for each company and their employees respectively. Though much of employee development revolves around increased training, the manner in which this training is provided is extremely crucial to how well the training is utilized in the long run. Certain methods and tactics to do so remain both cost efficient and widely used among many companies, and have proven themselves successful under many different circumstances.

One popular method for employee development is the managerial coaching method. Authors Heslin, Latham and Vandwalle (2006) note that employee coaching entails managers "providing one-on-one feedback and insights aimed at guiding and inspiring improvements in an employee's work performance" (p, 872). The authors note that with coaching from a manager or in-house authority figure within a company, there is less turnaround between what an employee may learn from an outside class or training program than what can be learned within the company itself. With managerial coaching, employees are taught to foster a sense of camaraderie within the company, working as a whole group toward a goal rather than individual entities. With this type of coaching tactic, incentives can be provided to employees as they build a sense of teamwork, working with each other as opposed to alongside each other.