Employee development is one of the most important principles in organizational success. Investing in the growth and enhancement of employees’ skills and competencies not only boosts their individual achievement but also drives overall company performance. By providing ongoing opportunities for employees to grow and develop, businesses ensure that their workforce remains adaptable and capable of navigating the ever-evolving market landscape.
Employee development also plays a crucial role in retaining top talent. When people are confident that their employer is committed to their professional growth, job satisfaction and loyalty increase, reducing turnover rates. This creates a more stable and experienced workforce, which in turn minimizes the costs associated with recruitment, hiring, and training. In essence, prioritizing employee development not only enhances individual and team capabilities but also strengthens the company’s competitive edge and resilience.
How Omnia Can Help Optimize Your Employee Development Programs
Omnia’s behavioral assessment measures the following key components: level of assertiveness, communication and problem-solving styles, pace, and desired level of structure. Each of these characteristics can provide a wealth of insight into how to tailor development programs toward each individual employee, making them more engaged, productive, and successful.
Level of Assertiveness
An employee with a high level of assertiveness enjoys pursuing new challenges and taking risks. They enjoy having chances to take the lead and stand out for achieving ambitious objectives. You may want to consider developing these employees for eventual leadership.
They can sometimes set their sights quite high and want to tackle goals that are not realistic, so when developing these personnel, coach them on strategies for evaluating their plans to confirm they are feasible and worth the time and effort to pursue. Because they are often so focused on individual achievement, they may benefit from mentorship on collaboration to develop them into effective team members who contribute toward shared projects without taking them over.
Employees with low levels of assertiveness are more cautious and prefer working toward goals that benefit the team as a whole. They are supportive and not ones to take unnecessary risks, so you may want to think about developing them for responsibilities and jobs that require a team-minded, service-driven, collaborative approach.
Staff with low assertiveness can often feel intimidated by bold initiatives and by having to take charge or act in a forceful way. Their development plans should include objectives that are relatively low-risk as well as a few stretch goals to grow their confidence, but in a way that feels safe to them. If you see potential for growth into leadership, start by letting them oversee a project, coordinate departmental operations, or take on team lead responsibilities to cultivate those skills.
Communication and Problem-solving
Members of your team who are outgoing and people driven enjoy interacting with others. They often have a socially intuitive problem-solving style, meaning they may take intangibles, like how a decision will impact others personally, into account when evaluating issues. They might easily “read the room” and may use emotionally compelling language effectively. When setting a development program for these employees, they may excel in —and enjoy— roles and duties that require networking, relationship building, and picking up on social cues.
A challenge to consider when developing these individuals is their potential to feel isolated when working on solo assignments. In their development plans, include coaching on tactics for minimizing social distractions and maintaining task focus. They may benefit from taking short “people breaks” to feel energized, but ensure they can also realign their concentration back to the work at hand afterwards.
Employees who are reserved, concise communicators are also objective, fact-driven problem solvers. They are comfortable handling work that requires solitary concentration, and they may be inspired by researching and analyzing data to resolve issues. They keep conversations on topic and do not typically make much small talk. Consider developing these employees for jobs and responsibilities that involve investigating information and becoming a subject matter expert in a specific area.
Because they may need time to get to know others before forming connections with them, these individuals may benefit from coaching on rapport building as part of their development program. Designating times to work on solo assignments may be an effective way for them to regroup after interacting with others for an extended period. Also, if these staff members are overly technical when explaining concepts, consider role-playing ways of relaying information in an easily understood way.
Pace
People who operate in a methodical way are persistent in completing long-range assignments and objectives. They often have strong follow-up skills and favor feeling a sense of consistency within their job. They may be the most motivated to work on one or two long-term goals. Consider targeting them toward projects and positions that require follow-through and perseverance, especially when results do not come quickly.
These employees’ desire for routine and predictability can make it challenging for them to handle multiple job responsibilities at once. Their development plans should include strategies for managing several assignments with differing timetables. Also, it may be helpful to them to be coached on how to prioritize tasks and determine which requests or activities should be placed on hold in order to complete more time-sensitive or important demands.
Fast-paced employees are inspired when they can experience a frequent, ongoing sense of accomplishment, so they enjoy handling many activities at once — all the better if they are tasks that can be completed quickly. They would prefer working on numerous short-term goals as a way to grow and add variety within their job.
In terms of a development plan, these individuals may benefit from also handling longer-range projects to give them a chance to practice tracking their progress, following up on lengthy tasks, and staying the course when assignments cannot be finished as rapidly as they would like. Consider coaching them on using organizational and task-management apps.
Desired Level of Structure
Employees who have high standards for the accuracy of their work results often seek a high level of structure within their roles. They want to know exactly how they are expected to handle their responsibilities so they can minimize the potential for errors and produce polished results. When creating a development plan for these members of the team, start off with clear instructions and regular meetings to review their progress and answer any questions they may have.
As they progress through the development program, though, give them less direction and more encouragement to arrive at decisions on their own. Being responsible for tasks or choices that have clear procedures to follow can feel safer initially. But as they become more self-assured in their decision making, offer them assignments that give them opportunities to use some trial and error or to create new processes independently to grow those abilities.
People who enjoy working autonomously and having freedom to self-manage do not seek much structure. They are motivated by getting results in their own way, and they can often adjust tactics based on each unique situation. They should enjoy opportunities to innovate and try new methodologies, and they prefer focusing on the overview and getting to the end results.
Their development plan should also include training on determining which details are significant within their current and potential future jobs so they do not lose sight of them in favor of the big picture. Coach these employees on strategies for reviewing their efforts to confirm they did not accidentally make any mistakes or overlook important items. Also, help them determine which processes are essential to follow, perhaps explaining the reasoning for this, as well as which are more like guidelines that have some room for interpretation or adjustment.
Effective employee development plans should incorporate a combination of goals and activities that motivate individuals by playing to each person’s strengths as well as opportunities to improve their challenge areas. Omnia’s behavioral assessment can help you identify both for every employee, allowing you to customize their development programs in a way that is meaningful to them and valuable to your organization. Reach out to one of our expert team members today and let us show you how to get started!
