Handout 1: Identify personal and professional development requirements PowerPoint presentation Unit 345 (M&L 9): Manage personal and professional development Handout 1: Identify personal and professional development requirements

Continuous development Continuously trying to improve both your skills and the way you work Undertaking activities that improve your knowledge about yourself Developing your skills and realising your potential

Benefits of continuous development to you Opportunity to improve weaknesses and gain new skills Motivational effect Increased ability to embrace changes/challenges Possible financial reward/promotion Increased employability 3

Benefits to your organisation Improves employee skill base Continually matches employees’ skills to those required for the job Motivates staff and can therefore increase productivity May improve staff retention if employees feel they are valued

Informal evaluation To critically look at how you carried out a job To identify and analyse any problems that came up To analyse difficult or challenging tasks and identify factors that would have made them easier To analyse tasks that went well and identify the factors that contributed to the success

Appraisal/performance review Carried out by the line manager Formal evaluation Appraisal/performance review Carried out by the line manager Skills and performance assessed against the standards required by the job Feedback given to the individual Plan of action created to assist in the individual’s development or in improving personal performance An important aspect of this process, is that you realistically and honestly self-assess before the interview, ie you consider how you think you have performed in order to allow a balanced discussion to ensure your development needs and concerns are discussed.

What are your strengths and how can you prove this? Self-assessment What are you good at? What are your strengths and how can you prove this? What do you need to improve? What areas do you need to develop? Why do you feel they need to be improved? How can you improve your performance in that area and What assistance do you need? What future development would you like to have? What experience or skills do you feel you need to have to progress in the future? 7

Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats A SWOT analysis SWOT is principally a business tool but this form of self-assessment is a simple method of gathering and analysing facts about yourself. Strengths & Weaknesses: Consider and list the areas you know you perform well in, while also looking at the areas that still need development. You may even find that it is more important to further develop a strength than a particular area of weakness. Opportunities: possible promotion possible internal move to gain more experience new legislation that means you will require further training. Threats: possible changes within the company new processes requiring certain specific skills. 8

Training needs analysis Training and development must meet both individual needs as well as business needs. A training needs analysis (TNA) aims to identify the gap between the knowledge, skills and actual performance of the workforce and the knowledge, skills and performance the organisation requires to be most effective. Knowledge and skills Training gap Knowledge and skills possessed  required This gap needs to then be filled by identifying the appropriate training and development, taking into account the fact that people learn in different ways and that different methods should be employed. A TNA can be carried out on corporate needs, group needs or individual needs. Corporate needs can be identified by analysing the weaknesses or gaps in the knowledge and skills of eg the production staff; group needs by analysing weaknesses and gaps in the knowledge and skills of eg a specific job role. Individual needs can be identified by analysing weaknesses and gaps in the knowledge and skills of an individual. A TNA is therefore the process of identifying skills gaps resulting in the presentation of development priorities and plans. 9

Identify training needs, by eg: surveys/questionnaire How to carry out TNA Job analysis to identify the duties and the knowledge and skills required. Identify training needs, by eg: surveys/questionnaire individual interviews with managers and staff. In recognising the problems facing staff, assessing the skills they have and the training needed to meet the knowledge and skills the job requires, the organisation is then able to meet its business needs.

Information on professional development needs Identify trends and developments in the profession Evaluate current and future development needs relating to the role, the team and the organisation Sources of information on development requirements: HR department employment agencies and job advertisements trade associations and professional bodies sector skills council National Occupational Standards. Identify trends and developments – both in terms of your own job role and the industry sector of your organisation. These influence the professional development needed. Employment agencies and job adverts – a good source of information about the skills and qualifications required for the posts advertised. Trade associations and professional bodies – related to your own role or the industry sector of your organisation. Sector skills council – eg Skills CFA who set the standards relating to administrative qualification. National Occupational Standards – which specify the standard of performance and the knowledge and understanding required to carry out different job roles.