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Targets, objectives and feedback in development

When working with an employee to develop their potential and increase their productivity, it is important to use targets and objectives. Setting clear aims will help the person understand what they must be able to do and then use feedback and criticism to identify ways of improving going into the future.

By identifying current levels of performance and assessing knowledge, you can set SMART targets going forward. These can be for both the individual as well as the company that they are working for. These targets should be agreed upon by the employee as well as a relevant stakeholder within the organisation and must always align with the targets of the company as a whole.

Key Terms

Setting objectives is an incredibly powerful way of ensuring that an employee stays on track in their development. These can be set in any areas of their work and can relate to a variety of different practices. Rather than setting quite broad targets for an employee, you should aim to break down their development into smaller objectives that are easy to manage. For example, the main target of development could be to help someone become a stronger manager. To do this, small objectives should be set, such as improving communication methods or providing clearer strategies for those working in the company. These smaller objectives will be much more useful than the broad target of ‘become a better manager’.

Feedback will then be used to assess how the person has performed and if they have improved their work. So, using our same example, a trainee manager could be assessed on the clarity of instructions that are given by comparing these to previous tasks they have set for a team. You could also look at the number of meetings that have taken place and interview people in the team to see if they feel communication lines have been improved.

Supporting an individual’s learning and development

There are many ways in which a trainee can be supported throughout their development. Managers, colleagues and any other stakeholders that are in a business should help support learners, as training staff to a high standard benefits the entire organisation. Through the preparation of personal development plans, use of different training methods and feedback techniques, a trainee will be supported. But there are a number of other things which can be put in place, including:

  • Providing access to resources and time – allowing a trainee to access different resources within a company will go a long way to supporting their development. They will require the use of equipment that the organisation has in order to get to grips with methods as well as need help and guidance. Ensuring that the trainers and managers in the company have enough time for the learner is one of the most important things to remember when providing training opportunities. This access to time will ensure the person can gain help and advice whenever they need
  • Coaching and mentoring – when training for specific tasks, a company may have personnel who are experts. These individuals should be utilised to give coaching to those going through training in a business. By doing this, expertise can be passed down to new employees and best methods and techniques will be ever-present in the company
  • Feedback and guidance – having the time to give enough feedback to learners is also very important. Left to their own devices, new staff will struggle to understand where they are going wrong or what they have done well. By putting in place the right levels of guidance and giving feedback whenever possible, the individual will be supported throughout their learning and quickly gain new skills in an efficient manner

The link between training and motivation

Staff that are allowed the opportunity to train on the job will feel like they are investing time in themselves and improving. By doing this, the business will benefit from having employees that are much more motivated in their job and appreciative of the fact that the company is helping them to train. A business that invests in their employees will develop a caring culture and highly skilled employees that bring success to the business. As well as this, businesses will benefit from staff that are allowed the freedom to improve and move up in their career within the same company. This improves staff retention and results in employees that work with a company for a very long period of time; leading to reduced recruitment costs and higher levels of output.

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