By: Meredith Flory

As your company expands, employee growth won’t only be connected to the number of employees you have, but to their expectations for career progression, benefits, and skill-building as well. As a small business or entrepreneur, you don’t have to fear employee growth; rather, it shows your dedication to quality work and the development of your team, which aids your customers. If you’re in a position to start providing professional development opportunities, here are three suggestions for making it a part of your company culture.

Consider Your Goals for Professional Development 

Just as you have measurable goals for sales and services, developing professional development programs requires considering cost, time, and measurable outcomes. There are multiple types of professional development, some that focus on the individual, some that focus on skills and networking, and others that the team participates in together. As you develop a professional development program, consider the following to get the most out of your plan:

  • What is your budget, cost, and available time? Do you want to spend money on specific classes or conferences to then offer to employees, or do you want to provide funds for employees to request when they find their own opportunities?
  • Where do you see a need for improvement? If you have a specific skill in mind that you see a pattern of employees needing assistance with, you can enter professional development programs with a measurable goal in mind. This goal might be related to growth if there is a new technology or skill your company will be implementing, or it might be a professional skill where your employees need more experience or coaching.
  • Can you attach professional development to company growth? If you foresee growth that will lead to new positions, developing needed management skills in current employees may allow you to promote from within and encourage company loyalty.
  • Plan for time to offer opportunities for feedback, both named and anonymous, for any programs you will offer.

Include Professional Development as a Piece of Your Benefits Package

Employees who are left to better their education and professional skills with their own time and money are likely not to do so or to feel freer to use those developed skills elsewhere. Providing funding—or time off separate from the employee’s vacation time for professional development through conferences and classes—shows that you are dedicated to their growth, likely to promote internally, and understand the need for rest. These benefits may be different based on the size of your company, but some routes to consider are the following:

  • Allocate time specifically for classes and conferences.
  • Provide partial or full funding for educational opportunities.
  • Nominate or provide references for leadership courses.
  • Host in-house seminars without the expectation that all employees will work late or from home due to the time missed. Skill development is part of the employee’s job that will help the company grow.

Use Employee-Gained Knowledge for the Benefit of the Company

If you are encouraging and supporting avenues for professional development, take advantage of the knowledge gained for the company. If employees are attending conferences or seminars, request that they share a review or summary in the employee newsletter or at a meeting. Not only will you get more “bang for your buck” as those individuals share the specific knowledge they gained with your entire team, but you will also be able to keep track of whether those particular workshops or conferences are events worth continuing to send employees to. Ask employees to teach a skill or speak to their strengths at events like learning lunches, in-house training sessions, or employee retreats. Furthermore, ensure professional development is a part of employee evaluations. Knowing additional training or education will be seen as a positive part of their job performance encourages employees to seek out training that will directly aid the skill sets needed on the team and lets people know they are free to ask for training support because it is seen as part of their job.

As you develop your plan, don’t forget that Powerhouse Planning can help your company as you grow. We can facilitate events related to training support and team building for in-house professional development catered specifically to your needs. If you would like to implement a program that allows employees to seek out professional development programs, our business growth services can help you develop that plan.