As a newly minted cultivation culture, gap intelligence is driven to help employees do and be their best. We have created a culture for our employees that cater to their charitable, fitness, and social needs. Now, we have a professional development program in place to support our employees' growth and success. So, why should organizations care about professional development?
1. Knowledge is Power
Learning new skills on the job or sharpening rusty ones enables employees to stay up-to-date on their knowledge and industry, which in turn increases efficiency and productivity. Additionally, increasing collective knowledge of your team makes for better employees. Employees that develop expertise are likely to share that knowledge with the rest of the team, it is a win win.
2. Empowerment
The late Jim Rohn stated, “Work harder on yourself than you do in your job.” Providing employees with the necessary tools to navigate their careers at gap intelligence empowers people to create their own paths. With a “choose your own adventure” style, employees can seek out their areas of interest while having a cumulative impact on the organization. Offering professional development also energizes your staff to think creatively and stimulate innovation as employees have influence on their growth.
3. Engagement
By actively seeking additional training and professional development opportunities, employees directly contribute to the organization achieving its goals. Employees play a part in working on areas of interest and adding value to the organization. Employees then build confidence with their increased learning and new skills. Thus creating a more satisfied staff overall.
4. Growth
Professional development offers employees opportunities to expand in their currents skills and sharpen their roles. Through management courses, trainings, classes, seminars, or stretch assignments, employees are strengthening their knowledge and directly applying their skills to achieve results.
5. Succession Planning
Professional development programs are a great way to build up your employees and promote from within. Preparation for future roles through training and mentoring can position employees for a successful transition into another role. By delivering training and learning options to employees’, this shows that your organization cares about their career development.
Here at gap intelligence we are constantly looking for ways to build a strong foundation for our employees, and our professional development program aims to do that by fostering an atmosphere committed to continual learning and knowledge sharing. We recently created a repository of resources for our employees to access through an internal website! The platform hosts an array of information on external training courses, management resources, reading lists, and personality assessments. There is also an area on the website that allows employees to share their professional development opportunities with others.
After surveying employees to get their feedback to shape this program, we are in the process of establishing individual development plans as a roadmap for growth and opportunities. We are excited to see the results from these plans to drive engagement while impacting the business. So, how does your organization provide professional development opportunities? We would love to hear from you, so please comment below.
For more than 15 years, gap intelligence has served manufacturers and sellers by providing world-class services monitoring, reporting, and analyzing the 4P’s: prices, promotions, placements, and products. Email us at info@gapintelligence.com or call us at 619-574-1100 to learn more.
