From Goals to Growth: The Impact of Individual Development Planning

Individual Development Planning (IDP) provides tailored support to help individuals identify and achieve their professional goals. This process is relevant to all companies and employees, irrespective of their role, industry, or size.

During the IDP process, employees work closely with a professional development consultant who facilitates the process. The primary objectives are (1) to create a clear path for individual growth and (2) to feed the company’s succession plan. The IDP process enables individuals to identify their unique goals, secure management support, access necessary resources, receive guidance, and obtain ongoing development assistance. By establishing IDPs inclusive of short-term (immediate), mid-term (1-3 years), and long-term (4+ years) goals, companies demonstrate their commitment to employee development, engagement, and retention.

Why Should You Invest in Individual Development Planning?

• Create and Identify Future Leaders: Having detailed IDPs that track a person’s progress will enable stakeholders to recognize rising stars within the company. The tracking reveals which individuals go above and beyond to take the initiative and ownership of accomplishing their development goals.
• Utilize No-Cost Resources Your Company Already Has: Leveraging talents within the organization to sharpen the skills of others can benefit both employees and the company. For example, Taylor has been working at a company for seven months, and the company scheduled an IDP meeting with Chatfield Global to make sure Taylor has all the resources needed to perform the job efficiently and effectively. After Taylor met with one of our consultants, we learned that Taylor feels a need to learn more about the financial side of the company and have a better understanding of how finance-related business processes are completed from start to finish.
  
  Meanwhile, Alex works in the finance department and has been with the company for five years. After having an IDP conversation with Alex, we learned that she is interested in training others but has limited opportunities to do so in her current role. Therefore, we paired Alex with Taylor to discuss Taylor’s knowledge gaps and areas of growth, and Alex provided the internal resources Taylor needed to grow her financial acumen. Both feel the company has heard their development goals and provided them with an opportunity to accomplish their professional goals and pursue their individual interests.
  

• Outside Perspective Fosters a Different Type of Trust: Employees are often concerned about sharing what they perceive as their weaknesses. Working with a consultant provides a safe space for employees to speak freely about their knowledge gaps, challenging work problems, and professional growth needs. By leveraging an external coach, the individual can link their developmental goals back to the company’s strategic and operational plans to deliver a win for both the employee and the company.
• Piece the Organizational Puzzle Together: By providing a broad-based professional development approach for your employees, your consultant will consolidate a picture of your company’s developmental needs, identify connections that boost productivity, build connections, and fill in skill gaps as seen from a bird’s-eye, external view.
• Offer Personalized Coaching Plans: IDPs provide one-on-one thought partnerships focused on a person’s career aspirations. There are no cookie-cutter solutions – each person has a unique combination of interests and abilities. Your IDP coach documents the current state of a person’s knowledge, skills, and abilities to create a detailed path with the employee to reach their goals. Asking the right questions, thinking about individual needs and passions, and getting it all on paper are the makings of a great IDP.
• Create the Framework for Success: Having goals is insufficient without the structure to achieve them. The IDP process provides tangible action steps and documented success measures that focus on achievement. Recurring IDP coaching check-ins are scheduled to ensure the plan progresses at the right pace and aligns with individual and company objectives.
• Drive Team Effectiveness and Remove Roadblocks: Your coach will ask the right questions that foster productive dialogue. Where internal team conflict, disconnect, or peer-based competitiveness get in the way of development, the coach will aid through an objective lens and foster a safe space to identify a workable solution for individual action or group intervention, if needed.
• Professional Development Retains Talent: Team members feel valued and a sense of belonging when their company provides opportunities for personal growth. When an employee feels their company invests in them, they are more likely to give discretionary effort on the job, continue working on their goals, and contribute to the success of the company.

Individual Development Planning is a powerful process that fosters growth for both employees and the organizations they serve. By investing in an IDP, companies create a supportive environment where employees can thrive, leading to higher engagement, increased retention, and the cultivation of future leaders. The benefits extend beyond individual achievements, as an IDP strengthens succession planning and aligns personal development with organizational goals. Ultimately, this personalized approach ensures that both the employee and the company can grow together, building a stronger, more connected workforce for the future.

Chatfield Global LLC specializes in Individual Development Plans, guiding the entire process from start to finish. If you see the benefit IDPs will have on your company, contact us today to start the conversation!