Investing in staff development is essential for any business to grow. It helps create a stronger, more capable team that can adapt quickly to changing needs.
Having a structured approach will help create a supportive environment where everyone can thrive, giving your staff the chance to expand their skills, build confidence and feel valued in their roles.
There are many ways of achieving this, so here are some ideas that can be adapted to fit your specific needs. The main point is to have a layered approach over different timescales.
In this example, we have three elements:
- End of Day Reports
- One 2 One Meetings (1, 2 or 4 Weekly as Required)
- Staff Reviews (3, 6 or 12 Monthly as Required)
End of Day Reports
Here at Core, we use End of Day Reports to write up a quick summary of what we have worked on each day. If we expect staff to fill them out every day, they need to be quick and easy to complete:
We find these end of day reports really useful, especially when we get to the One 2 One meetings.
One 2 One Meetings
Regular One 2 One meetings with your direct manager or supervisor are a vital part of staff development. They help maintain focus on what’s important and keep everyone aligned, especially when things are moving fast and priorities are changing.
At Core, we have One 2 Ones every two weeks and we tend to base them around the following questions:
- What did we say would be your focus for the coming period (Previous One 2 One)?
- What have you been working on (End of Day Reports)?
- What went well or not so well?
- What is your focus for the coming period?
These questions help us understand what is working or not working. Are some things taking longer than expected? Are staff getting side tracked from their priorities by random urgent events?
It’s important to keep these meetings positive and focused. You don’t want them to become a blame game where staff feel they are being interrogated. But done well, they can uncover problems with planning or prioritisation, especially where staff are being given too many conflicting goals or don’t have enough knowledge or support to do what’s being asked of them.
Staff Reviews:
The final element is a longer-term formal review or appraisal. These might be Quarterly, Six Monthly or Annual. The details of these will vary widely from business to business. But Core has the flexibility to create a structure suitable for you.
Rather than give a detailed prescription in this section, we can try to identify some broad goals:
Clear Visibility:
Both staff and managers can see at a glance development progress, completed training, and performance goals.
Improved Engagement:
Staff who see their growth is being supported and tracked are more likely to feel valued and engaged. Leading to better job satisfaction and longer staff retention.
Support Career Progression:
Identify high-potential team members early and create tailored development plans to help them grow within your business.
Consistency Across Teams:
Ensure that all staff, regardless of their department or manager, experience a consistent and fair development process.
How Core Can Make This Easier?
CORE Software makes managing these processes easier in many ways:
Schedule and Automate Reminders: Set recurring 121s and receive automatic reminders so they never get missed.
Customisable Templates: Create and use templates to ensure meetings are consistent and meaningful across the organisation.
Record Discussions: Log meeting notes, agreed actions, and goals directly in the system to create a transparent and ongoing record of development conversations.
Track Progress: Managers and staff can review past meetings and follow up on agreed objectives, creating accountability and continuity.
Conclusion
This all sounds positive, but you might be wondering: What Are the Benefits of Tracking My Staff’s Development in One Easy-to-Use System?
In a world where employee experience matters more than ever, the CORE Software provides an intuitive, centralised, and efficient way to track and manage staff development. From managing one-to-one meetings to keeping a full history of training and performance, CORE helps you build a stronger, more capable workforce.
Call us today 0331 630 3326 or Contact Us to see how we can help you take control of your HR processes and empower your team’s growth with CORE Software.
