Who Owns Employee Development?

Who drives employee development at your organization - the organization or the employee?

Many organizations have employee-driven development programs. These organizations provide employees with training and development opportunities, but expect employees to identify their development needs, initiate discussions with their manager, and seek out relevant opportunities

I think this approach is seriously flawed. To explain, let's talk about kindergarten.

What I want to be when I grow up

Back in kindergarten, we had a "What do you want to be when you grow up?" day. I wanted to be a veterinarian. I loved animals, and the thought of helping sick animals seemed like the perfect gig. That dream lasted for over a decade. Then one day in high school I realized that I suck at biological science. If you want to be a vet, that’s kind of a big deal.

After several years of trying to rediscover "what I wanted to be," I ended up pursuing a degree in anthropology. I loved learning about human cultures and how they develop and change over time.

Junior year, I realized that I loved studying anthropology, but didn't actually want to be an anthropologist. I felt completely lost. My dad kept pushing me to look into human resources as a career. After a little pushing, I took an internship in human resources, just to see if I liked it.

I loved it. Human resources is very much the anthropology of the business world. When we recruit, we evaluate how people will fit into the organizational culture. When we develop strategic programs, we have to consider what effect the program will have on the culture and vice-versa.

My dad saw an intersection between my passions and skills that I hadn't ever considered. If he hadn't, I’d be digging up artifacts in a desert somewhere… and hating every minute of it.

The problem with employee-driven development

People don’t always realize what their strengths are, and they don’t always realize what’s holding them back. They also can't always connect the dots between their strengths and passions and new opportunities. Expecting employees to drive their own development is a lot like expecting a kindergartner to pick their profession. They may think they want to do something, and then one day they realize that their talents and their dreams don’t actually line up.

Don't get me wrong - employees should be active participants in development discussions. I think at some organizations, the process is the exact opposite of employee-driven development. Managers and the organization drive the entire process and employees don’t take ownership.

The ideal process is somewhere in the middle: Employees identify their passions, managers help them understand their strengths and weaknesses (and give them a little push every now and then), and organizations provide development opportunities that align passions with needs.

Editor's Note - This is a guest post by our friend Chris Ferdinandi of Renegade HR. By day, Chris is an associate HR generalist at EMC where he focuses on employee development, coaching, training, onboarding and employee relations. Chris' dad made him write this post for us... because well, his dad still directs his every career move. You know, classic millennial and helicopter parent. Gotta love it.