What is an individual development plan?
An individual or personal development plan is a formal document that summarises an employee’s projected growth. It acts as the official agreement between an employee and their employer or supervisor that they will improve or learn particular skills. It can also stipulate the level to which an employee’s overall performance should reach within a certain period. The details in an individual development plan may differ from one job to the other. There are some which cut across all employee types, while others fit certain tasks only.
Related: Onboarding Guide
Components of an individual development plan
There are four core components of any personal development plan which are:
Professional goals and aspirations
This includes a list of career objectives, targets and the dates set for their completion. When you articulate the goals that each of your employees has set, you can easily assess their feasibility and what they need to achieve them. You will also help them chart a course that will lead them to where they aim to be. For instance, leadership positions or skill development in similar roles.
Strengths and talents
You can rely on the employee’s list of strengths or their performance review, depending on which is available, to identify their specific skills, knowledge and talent. Offer positive feedback and motivate them to get ready for new challenges by stressing their strengths.
Action plans
Achievable and specific plans of action are essential as they are easy to monitor and assess. The common ones include getting a mentor, mentoring someone, finishing a development program, enrolling in a professional group, earning accreditations, training for other roles and educating others.
How to successfully implement individual development plans
The success of the personal development plans you help your employees to create largely depends on how well they understand and give their own input. They should own the process fully and be ready to receive constant feedback.
You can help to streamline the process for them in the following ways:
Related: How to Conduct an Employee Evaluation
1. Start with your own plan
You should lead by example to let your employees know this is an important process. As you develop your personal development plan, the employees under you will develop trust in the process and feel encouraged to develop theirs.
2. Prepare for your conversation
Ensure that you have the essential materials that your employees will need, such as development plan questionnaires. The questionnaires should have spaces to fill all the aspects stated in the components section.
3. Meet with your employee
Set at least an hour for each employee to ensure that you have adequate time with them to go over all the essential aspects of the personal development plan. Collaborate with them to reach their goals, rather than compel them. Make the session enjoyable, meaningful and collaborative for them to ensure that they plan aspirations that they really value.
4. Make a plan
Consider the feasibility of the objectives that an employee has to determine the best ways to attain them. Prioritise the goals that are beneficial to both the employee and the organisation, particularly the ones that have actionable steps.
5. Focus on behaviours
Behavioural goals impact the way the employees will accomplish business objectives. They should align with the culture of your organisation in terms of values, norms and expectations. This prevents disappointments later on, as the employees’ success in their goals will also benefit the company.
6. Set a calendar for accountability
Being accountable ensures that all progress is tracked, and all achievements noted. The best way to ensure accountability is by setting notifications or scheduling your evaluations within short time periods. This way, you ensure that the personal development plans work as intended and help your employees to grow.
7. Have regular meetings and make adjustments if needed
Since you need to keep the employees accountable, ensure that you meet several times within a year to review their personal development plans. A lot can happen in a year, and if they lose track of their plans, they will have a hard time being accountable if you only meet once every year. Therefore meet at least each quarter to keep them on track and make the adjustments.
Individual development plan template
Your employees can edit the following template to suit their specific individual development plans:
Name of employee: [First and last name]
Position and title: [Job title]
Date: [Date]
List of professional objectives and dreams:
List of strengths and opportunities:
List of opportunities for growth in the profession:
Specific actions or steps to achieve objectives:
Individual development plan example
Use the following example of a completed individual development plan to guide your employees on how to create their own:
Name of employee: Joe Kent
Position and title: Sales Representative
Date: 25/2/2020
List of professional objectives and dreams:
- Surpass expected performance outcomes in the current job position
- Get promoted into a managerial role within the organisation
List of strengths and opportunities:
- Organisational capabilities
- Time management capabilities
- Content management
- Great communication capabilities
List of opportunities for growth in the profession:
- Generate engaging content that can attract many leads and convert a higher number of the attracted leads
- Surpass the bare minimum in terms of client performance expectations
- Get promoted to manage the social media marketing department
- Specific actions or steps to achieve objectives
Individual Development Plan Templates for PDF & Word
Download these individual development plan templates to summarise an employee’s projected growth effectively.
*Indeed provides these examples as a courtesy to users of this site. Please note that we are not your HR or legal adviser, and none of these documents reflect current labor or employment regulations.
