Personal development plans for employees help people identify and work on areas for improvement.
Developing new skills, acquiring knowledge, and upgrading existing skills can help increase their productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness in the workplace.
Then let’s start with today’s best company story – LinkedIn. At LinkedIn, Talent is the number one operating priority. Personal development plans for employees they have created have helped them grow larger, from 1000 employees to 8000 today. So, what are their secrets?
Linkedin’s “InDay” Program Helps People and Company Grow
That’s the jargon for how LinkedIn gets bigger by focusing on its people. Yes, talent is LinkedIn’s top human capital development focus. The story began when LinkedIn prioritized employee growth and development through its “InDay” program.
LinkedIn’s “InDay” program, short for “Investment Day,” is an initiative that allows employees to spend one day a month on personal development activities.
These professional development plans allow employees to invest in their growth and wellness, fostering a culture of continuous learning and self-betterment within the company.
Throughout InDay, employees are encouraged to focus on activities that align with their goals and interests.
They can choose how to spend the day, whether participating in workshops, taking online courses, participating in networking opportunities, or working on passionate projects.
In conclusion, “InDay” allows individuals to own their growth journey and explore new skills and areas of interest outside their day-to-day responsibilities.
Adopting “InDay” for Personal Development Plans for Employees
If you are looking for a way to build great investment in your people’s growth, here are some ideas from LinkedIn on how you can champion your employees:
Communicate the Purpose
Communicate the purpose and benefits of adopting an “InDay” approach to employee development plans. Explain that this is a dedicated day or time when employees can focus on their growth and development goals.
Allocate Resources People Need
Provide employees with the resources they need to make the most of their “Investment Day.” This can include access to learning platforms, e-courses, training materials, and other relevant resources.
Consider partnering on external learning platforms or offering subscriptions to industry-specific resources to improve employee learning opportunities. In “InDay,” LinkedIn uses Lynda.com as its learning platform.
Set Up a “No Meetings” Day
Cancel any non-critical meetings and allow your employees to devote an hour or two to enrich their learning through an online course available today.
Then what’s the point? In this way, the time devoted to InDay contributes to people’s professional growth and supports their performance objectives without distraction.
Offer Support and Mentoring
Provide support and mentoring to employees as part of their “Investment Day” pathway. Managers or experienced colleagues can provide advice, suggest resources and provide feedback on an employee’s personal development plans.
Also, encourage employees to seek mentoring relationships to improve their growth and development.
Empower People with Flexibility and Autonomy
LinkedIn also provides employees the flexibility and autonomy to determine how they use their “InDay’ time. They trust employees to choose responsibly based on their professional growth and goals.
This independence promotes a sense of belonging and empowerment, resulting in more committed and motivated employees.
Integrate InDay as Part of Performance Development
Finally, LinkedIn is fully integrating InDay into its performance development framework. They align employee career development plans with their performance objectives and offer regular opportunities for feedback and evaluation.
By incorporating InDay into the overall performance management process, LinkedIn ensures that people development is critical to employee success.
Many businesses are trying to figure out the best model for personal development plans for employees. Understanding the success of LinkedIn enables us to find and adopt their way to apply it to our organization.
