How to Follow Up After Career Development Discussions
Recently I’ve written about why managers must have career development discussions with all their employees and explained how to conquer your fears about these conversations and prepare yourself with a list of good questions to ask each employee, but that’s not all successful leaders need to know. If you want to be a great manager and an effective leader in your organization, you need to understand that development discussions aren’t just one-time, or even once-a-year, events -- they’re a central element of an ongoing professional development process.Following up immediately after career development discussions shows your employees you genuinely care about their professional development and are willing to make an effort to support them in it. Continuing to follow up in the weeks and months until your next round of development discussions reinforces that message and helps ensure your employees will keep on track with their professional development for their own improvement as well as that of your team and the entire organization.
What to Do ASAP After a Career Development Discussion
A productive development discussion will bring up additional resources and information an employee needs to improve and grow. These can include introductions to other people in the company, links to websites, books or other written information. You should gather these resources and share them with your employee immediately after your development discussion wraps up.Next, you should review what your employee said about his professional goals and check for alignment with your department and the company’s strategic business objectives. If you can align his development with strategic business objectives, you not only create organizational success, but you help him gain some visibility in the organization for his development.Finally, you should provide your employee with additional information about the company and the career paths available to him. Help him to understand where the organization is heading, its strategic priorities and where he can make a significant contribution toward achieving them.
Regular Steps to Take Between Career Development Discussions
Once an employee has that essential information in hand, it’s up to her to put it to use and work on her professional development, but you still have a role to play. You need to keep actively engaged in her progress, and recognize her achievements towards her development goals.It’s essential you revisit the plan and offer her constructive, non-judgmental feedback on her progress. You should also offer action-oriented feedback by making recommendations of specific steps she can take to improve her performance and make progress toward achieving her career goals. When something isn’t working, discuss it and work together to explore alternatives.Let us know if you’d like our help coaching your organization’s managers on how to have career development discussions and guide employees’ professional growth.Success Labs is a full-service, strategic organizational and leadership development company located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For more than 25 years, our expert team of consultants has worked with hundreds of companies to explore their business potential and improve their company and cultural performance. Contact us to get proactive about your people strategy.
