What is Training? What is Development?
Although the words training and development are often used together, they mean different things. Training is teaching someone or a group of people a certain skill or behavior; while development includes someone’s formal education, past job experiences and web of relationships, skills, abilities, and personality traits they have that might help them progress in the future, may that be on a personal or professional level.
Performance appraisals are a good tool to give employees a feedback about their job. The most important thing in an appraisal is to show employees how well they do their job versus what is expected of them at work. If there is a discrepancy between the two, the best the company can do is offer an opportunity for professional development for the employee.
Performance appraisals should be conducted as often as possible to help show employees where they stand and for the company to see who and how much development does someone need in order to be the most successful.
Opportunities for development also motivate employees to learn more and do better, which in turn lowers turnover rate and absenteeism, saving money for the company and making the atmosphere a good and pleasant one.
Succession Plan
A succession plan is a method or system used to identify, track, and develop high-potential employees. These employees are talented enough or show signs of good management skills and would be able to move into higher positions or handle a promotion really well. The role of these succession plans is to prepare replacements for unforeseen or planned job openings due to turnover or business growth.
The developmental opportunities these succession plans offer make sure that the company has no problems running smoothly in case a manager has to be replaced for some reason, and the mandatory preparation of the high-potential employees helps avoid promoting someone to a managerial position, who is not prepared enough for it and may cause trouble down the road.
This plan also helps keep talented people at the company, because it offers career advancement for those who seek or earn it, thus lowering turnover rate. The issue with the succession plan is whether to make the list public or not. Making a list of high-potential employees public will help with identifying who actually wants to advance in that business and who doesn’t, but it might discourage people not on the list from performing well, or might make them leave the company. A good strategy is not telling much detail about their possible advancement but giving them important assignments to really prepare them for what’s to come.