A key component of staff career development programs are employee objectives. Managers and employees can work together to create developmental plans during the annual review based on performance goals and then monitor employee progress throughout the year. For example, an employee would receive additional job responsibilities as part of her objective to move into a managerial position. Developing strong employee objectives is key in creating comprehensive training programs.
Monitoring Work Accuracy
Job duties must be performed accurately to be useful in employee development. Refining work accuracy helps the employee to develop good work habits and to create the comprehensive understanding needed to advance in his position. For example, a warehouse employee takes responsibility for packing orders because that allows the company to trace any mistakes. The manager includes monitoring the number of shipping errors as a performance measurement tool to improve accuracy.
The manager and employee meet weekly to compare the employee’s actual accuracy numbers to the objective and determine if any changes to the employee’s approach are needed.
Training to Match Career Goals
An employee’s training objective needs to match her career goals. For example, if an employee in the accounting department would like to specialize in payroll services, then the manager and employee can create a training program that will help reach that goal. Training objectives consist of training offered by the company and third-party resources such as college courses or training seminars.
Improving Employee Reliability
A worker who avoids taking unscheduled time off, who arrives to work on time and who takes only scheduled breaks can become a productive part of the company’s future. Reliability objectives work towards developing good habits in the staff. Improving employee reliability creates a workplace atmosphere of discipline that benefits the company and the employees. Discipline benefits the company because it improves productivity and lowers business costs through increased worker efficiency.
Encouraging reliability lowers the cost of hiring temporary replacement staff, or having to hire part-time employees to cover for habitually absent staff members. Employees benefit by being able to focus on improving their skill set and avoiding disciplinary action by management.
Managerial Candidates
The future of a company relies on strong leadership. Employees that display the characteristics of good leaders can be given objectives to help them develop their managerial talents. These objectives can include managerial training, becoming the leader of a work group and developing an understanding of other job duties to become a well-rounded resource for other employees. Managerial candidates can also be given more prominent roles in departmental meetings to gain an understanding of how to properly conduct company business.
