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3 Critical Employee Development Strategies for High-Impact Executives | Engage Mentoring

Written by Alison Martin | Nov 8, 2022 5:00:00 AM

The world of work is changing at a rapid pace. It’s changing so much that many professionals feel overwhelmed and underprepared for the future. This can be a big problem for CEOs who have to manage their teams on all levels—from the senior executives down through middle management.

To be a high-impact executive, you need to continually adapt and build a team of high-impact employees. Developing yourself and your employees is critical to your success and that of your team.

But how do you go about developing your employees? What are the best strategies to use? And how can you be sure that your employees are getting the most out of the development process?

In this article, we’ll explore 3 critical employee development strategies for high-impact executives.


The Need for Employee Development

It’s no secret that high-impact executives need a team of skilled and dedicated employees to help them achieve their goals. But what’s less obvious is that these executives also need to invest in their employees’ development.

After all, employee development is one of the most effective ways to ensure your team’s success. And when your team is successful, you’re successful.


What Is Employee Development?


Employee development is all about helping your employees grow and reach their potential. It’s about equipping them with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in their roles and meet the organization’s goals.

But it’s about more than just training your employees on the job skills they need. It’s also about developing their personal and professional skills. This includes things like coaching, mentoring, and giving them feedback.

Employee development is a process that should be ongoing. It’s something that should be top of mind for managers and executives alike because it has a direct impact on the success of your business.


The Three Critical Employee Development Strategies

Here are the three most critical employee development strategies:

1. On-the-job training

This is one of the most critical strategies, and it’s the perfect way to help employees integrate into your company culture.

On-the-job training (OJT) is a formal learning program where workers learn how to do their jobs by practicing them in the workplace. Employees are trained by their supervisor or manager, who may also serve as an instructor. OJT can be used for any skill that requires practice and feedback over time, including critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills.

2. Coaching and mentoring

Coaching and mentoring is a one-on-one relationship between a mentor and a mentee. It’s about sharing knowledge, experience, and expertise. This type of coaching aims to help employees grow in their careers by providing them with guidance on becoming more effective leaders at work.

Mentors should be senior to the person being mentored and in a position where they can provide valuable advice to both parties involved. They should also have relevant industry experience that will help guide the younger employee through their professional development journey.

Mentors can help build great teams by providing regular feedback on performance issues so that everyone understands what needs improving.

3. Professional development

Employees need to constantly learn and expand their horizons to achieve their goals. Professional development is a continuous process—your employees should never stop learning! If you’re not already doing so, consider having your employees take courses and workshops to learn emerging best practices. These are great ways to keep up with the latest developments in your field while also building connections with other professionals with similar interests and values.


How to Implement These Strategies in Your Organization


You might be wondering how you can implement these strategies in your organization. It’s not as difficult as you might think.

First, talk to your managers and get their buy-in. It’s crucial that they understand the importance of employee development and are on board with the program.

Second, lay out some clear goals and objectives for the program. You want everyone to clearly understand what’s expected of them.

And finally, make sure you have the resources in place to support the program. This might include training programs for managers and employees or funding for tuition reimbursement or professional development courses.


Measuring the Impact of Employee Development

When you’re looking to measure the impact of employee development, there are a few key factors you need to consider:

First, how has the employee grown and developed? Has their skill set expanded? Can they now take on new tasks and challenges?

Second, how has the team benefited from the employee’s growth? Has the team’s productivity increased? Are they now able to handle more work?

And finally, how has the company benefited from the employee’s growth? Is the company now able to serve its customers better? Has its bottom line improved?

When you can answer these questions, you’ll have a good idea of how effective your employee development strategy has been.


Streamlined Employee Development is the Key

You need to have a process in place to develop your employees if you want to achieve your goals and achieve sustainable success. Implementing on-the-job training, coaching and mentoring, and professional development will help you develop your employees into high-impact employees who can help you reach your goals.