Organizational development is a crucial part of running a healthy company. A vital component of organizational development is organizational development. Not only should your organization be growing and changing, but your employees should also be. To add employee development into your business plan, focus on these three areas.
Conducting formal ongoing employee training
Formal training gives employees the opportunity to improve their knowledge and skills to help them excel in the workplace. It empowers employees and motivates them to exceed expectations. In some organizations, training is limited to teaching new hires about their role and the associated duties. However, training should be given to every employee in the company to keep them up-to-date with corporate changes and market trends. Ongoing training can be done through online programs or in-person meetings and should be conducted regularly to keep employees engaged in the learning process.
Encourage teamwork across departments
When every department in the company works together, everyone benefits because of it. In many organizations, the different departments have little to no interaction with each other. This results in a fractured organization where coworkers are just that and not team members. Creating a culture that feels like one large team where work is interdependent on other members will help employees feel more connected to both each other and the workplace as a whole. It also benefits the goals of the organization. Having the marketing and sales team work closely together improves communication with customers and build stronger relationships, as the sales team knows what the customer is looking for and the marketing team can ensure that’s adequately communicated to them.
Encourage mentoring and coaching
These days, a good manager needs to be more than a good manager. They need to be a good mentor as well. Most employees don’t just want someone who will tell them what to do, but someone who will help them develop their skill set and overcome obstacles so they can be a better contributor to the company. Managers should be asking employees about any challenges they may be facing in their role and if they need assistance in overcoming them. This also means involving them in the learning process; ask your employees what it is they would like to learn more about to feel more prepared to do their job well. This type of mentorship helps employees feel more loyal to the company and their role.