In recent years personal development objectives have emerged as a powerful driver of organisational success and employee engagement. While personal development plans (PDPs) have traditionally been part of performance management systems, they often fall short, becoming mere formalities that are overlooked. This is where personal development objectives take centre stage, offering a more effective approach by being specific, measurable, and continually reviewed. A study by Udemy found that 80% of employees feel that learning and development opportunities would make them more engaged at work.
At OneAdvanced, we believe that turning PDP’s into actionable objectives empowers employees to take ownership of their growth. This transformation leads to enhanced accountability, productivity, and tangible results. By setting clear personal development objectives alongside performance goals, we help HR teams and employees identify training needs effectively, promoting a culture of continuous improvement.
Our intuitive platform, Performance & Talent, simplifies the process of setting agile, short-term goals, ensuring that each employee's journey is aligned with organisational priorities. But when implementing and creating personal development objectives within your organisation, be sure to follow our guidance below for optimal impact.
Define personal development objectives for employees
Establishing personal development objectives for employees is crucial, and HR professionals play a pivotal role in guiding this process. Recognising that employees may not have the same expertise in setting objectives, it is essential to effectively communicate what personal development objectives entail and their significance.
At OneAdvanced, we define personal development objectives as “specific areas in which you need to develop to achieve your performance objectives, career goals or to improve an aspect of your performance. A personal development objective could be about developing a specific skill or behaviour, or increasing your knowledge in a particular area”. In a nutshell, it means employees can enhance their skills, behaviours, or knowledge to meet performance targets, advance their careers, or improve specific aspects of their work.
To support this, provide employees with a range of accessible learning resources, ensuring that the information is clear and engaging. Videos serve as a particularly powerful medium for conveying HR concepts and should be utilised wherever possible to facilitate better understanding and participation.
Agree on development needs
Before you draw up personal development objectives, you first need to assess an employee’s development needs. The first step is to meet with the employee to get their perspective. Where do they feel confident? Where do they think they are lacking? What strengths do they wish they had but feel they have no time to explore or advance? Consider all ideas remotely tangential to the employee’s role and position at your company, or the position they are working towards.
Reviewing the employee's job description is a crucial step in pinpointing skills that need further development. This analysis, coupled with an honest discussion about the employee's career ambitions, allows you to tailor a development plan that aligns with both personal and organisational objectives. If an employee is keen to progress in a particular direction, ensure they have access to the necessary training, tools, and resources to cultivate the relevant skills, positioning them as a valuable asset for future opportunities.
Finally, revisit notes from prior 1-1 meetings to recall past interests or challenges the employee has faced. By integrating these insights, you can collaboratively determine the most effective path forward, supporting the employee's growth and contributing to the overall success of the organisation.
Encourage employees to take personal ownership of their objectives
When we create our own objectives, we are far more motivated to achieve them. This is why it’s essential that personal development objectives are driven by the individual rather than dictated from above. Having employees construct and arrive at their personal development objectives is a much more efficient approach when it comes to boosting productivity and performance. Although managers should be on hand to help and advise, employees should always be in the driving seat.
When asking employees to consider their personal development objectives, make it clear an objective doesn’t always have to relate to something they need to improve. It could equally be about further developing an existing strength or developing an entirely new skill.
Review personal development objectives regularly
Regular review of personal development objectives is essential for sustained growth and success. Rather than being an annual task, it should be part of a continuous dialogue between employees and managers. These regular check-ins offer valuable opportunities to assess progress, provide constructive feedback, and offer coaching support. They also help identify any obstacles to achieving goals and allow for the setting of new objectives once current ones are accomplished.
Industry leaders recommend frequent feedback sessions, with some advocating for fortnightly reviews and others for weekly one-on-ones. To streamline this process, ensure that employees have access to an online performance management system. This tool not only facilitates the tracking of objectives but also supports the organisation of regular meetings, aligning with best practices to drive both individual and organisational success.
Set the right personal development objectives
Setting personal development objectives that are both challenging and achievable is crucial for fostering growth and maintaining engagement. Research indicates that employees perform better and are more engaged when working towards ambitious goals. Therefore, when defining personal objectives, it is important to encourage employees to aim high, ensuring these objectives challenge them to grow.
However, it's essential to balance ambition with realism. Goals that extend beyond an employee's capabilities can lead to disillusionment and decreased motivation. During the goal-setting process, be extra mindful of perfectionists, they expect a lot from themselves and may hold themselves accountable for unreasonably high standards. It is important to strike the right balance.
What should personal development objectives look like?
Personal development objectives should be unique to each employee based on their strengths, weaknesses and interests. However, they should also align with your business strategy so that team members can see how their individual goals contribute to the organisation’s success. Keep the 5 A’s in mind when setting new goals:
- Assessable- objectives can be clearly measured, so employees and managers know when they’ve been achieved.
- Aspirational- goals are stretching and designed to drive high performance.
- Aligned- objectives align with broader organisational goals.
- Accountable- employees have control over objectives and a clear understanding of where they are accountable or where responsibility is shared with collaborators.
- Agile- objectives are achievable within the next one to four months and regularly reviewed to ensure they remain meaningful.
With Performance & Talent, gone are the days of setting year-long objectives that are often forgotten about, become irrelevant, or employees simply lose motivation with. Setting short term, agile goals means employees always know exactly what is expected of them is they don’t lose motivation, and they know their goals remain relevant and aligned to the organisation’s objectives.
How can OneAdvanced help you:
Embracing personal development objectives as a cornerstone of organisational strategy can significantly enhance both employee engagement and overall success. By shifting from traditional PDPs to objectives that are specific, measurable, and reviewed regularly, companies can build a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
OneAdvanced's Performance & Talent software is instrumental in this transformation. It empowers organisations to seamlessly integrate personal development objectives with performance goals, ensuring alignment with broader organisational priorities. This intuitive platform not only simplifies the goal-setting process but also enables HR teams to accurately assess training needs, driving sustainable growth and retention.
Discover how OneAdvanced's Performance & Talent software can revolutionise your approach to employee development, helping you cultivate a motivated, engaged, and high-performing workforce. If your company has not made full use of personal development objectives in the past and you would like to know more, get in touch. We’ll take you through a personalised demo of our software and show you how it could transform your business.