As a leader, you want your team to be successful; not only for their personal development but also for the good of the organization. When your team is competent, your job as their leader can be focused on advanced learning, better patient care and even growing the business. In order for your team to improve, it’s important to create employee development plans to outline goals and actionable items. Here are four ways to design the plans necessary for your team to succeed:
1. Consider all types of training and development. Don’t think you have to send your people to a week-long class to improve their skills. You can close the office, bring in an instructor and have a hands-on experience while learning new things. Or you can pay for them to take an online course. Consider pairing your employees with counterparts with more experience in a particular area; just make sure you flip the script so everyone feels their knowledge is valued.
2. Keep communication open with your employees. They want to share their goals with you, but don’t want to be treated differently for expressing an interest in a leadership role. Or maybe they are very content with their current role and want to stay put. You need all levels of ambition to work within your team; otherwise, you’ll never have a steady group of employees or have one step up to a leadership position. Let them tell you what they want and where they see themselves in a couple of years. Praise their efforts when you see their strengths shining through so they are aware of where they are strongest and can capitalize on that.
3. Be realistic. Just because someone on your team aspires to a certain role, doesn’t mean they are ready for it. When you keep communication open, you’ll hear about their long-term desires and you can help them prepare for what they want. If they want to be in a leadership role, you can provide them with opportunities for more certifications, more responsibility and even manager training. Take into consideration how their advancement will affect others and plan accordingly. You may need to shuffle team members around a bit, but to get an efficient team, it can be worth the effort.
4. Consider your business goals. Hopefully you have set your business up for success with the right goals and a strong business plan. If this is the case, you need to maintain those goals when creating employee development plans. Your team needs to be on the same page as you or else everyone will be moving in a different direction. This won’t help the individual or the business. Goals are critical to align so that progress is made and morale is maintained.
As a leader, you are responsible for the well-being of your team when they are in your employ. Working with them to achieve personal goals as well as professional will benefit them and you. Align your goals so you can both be happy in your daily work.
Do you need to hire quality people for your team? Contact the professionals at WSi Healthcare to find new, qualified team members to improve your business and create growth in many areas.