24 April 2019

Professional development plan: example

professional development plan example

A professional development plan starts by documenting objectives, required skills and competence development. It should also include the goals that a staff member should meet to support continuous improvement and professional development.

Any professional development plan should be created by the manager who works closely with the staff member. It will be up to this person to identifying the skills and resources needed to support that individual's career goals, and the business needs of the organisation.

Table of contents

Professional development plan: example of a start

Any professional development plan begins when a new member joins the team. That is the start of its design and implementation.

Furthermore, all staff members must have a «live» professional development plan. Planning should not just occur after it has been identified that a member of staff needs to improve, but rather each plan should be reviewed on an ongoing basis throughout the year, with at least one interim review discussion between the staff member and supervisor before the end of the annual performance appraisal period.

Steps for creating a professional development plan

The steps to create a career development plan (sample template) for one employee is five:

  1. Request a staff member's self-assessment.
  2. Develop an assessment of the individual's skill level.
  3. Assess the department's and organisation's needs.
  4. Explore development opportunities with the staff member.
  5. Record and analyse the staff member's progress.

Step one: request a self-assessment from the staff member

You should start by asking the staff member to fill in a Self-assessment of your interests, skills, values, and personality. When assessing your answers, these questions should be taken into account:

  • What skills, career opportunities and technologies interest the individual?
  • Do these skills, interests, or goals support the organisation's needs and objectives?
  • What are the short-term and long-term steps to get there?

Step Two: Develop your assessment of the individual's skill level

Based on the staff member's self-assessment, their work record, and his/her own observations, it would be necessary to determine the skill level of the staff member in the following categories:

  • Technical skills: skills needed to do the job.
  • Social Skills: How does that person work with others?
  • Aptitudes: natural talents, special abilities to do, or learn to do certain kinds of things.
  • Attitude: perspective, feelings, mentality, way of thinking and point of view.

Step three: Assess departmental and organisational needs

For professional development to be successful, the needs and interests of the staff member must be applied to address the organisation's objectives.

The staff member's career path should align with the organisation's workforce needs. creating a career development plan, The following objectives should be considered:

  • Business goals
  • Departmental targets
  • Team goals
  • Individual targets

Step four: Explore development opportunities with the staff member

Explore the professional development opportunities available with the staff member. This, In the professional development plan, it would be, for example, offering training programmes, providing new projects and responsibilities, or even volunteering opportunities.  

A professional development plan, an example from any organisation, should not remain a one-off document. which is completed when the talent is onboarded into the company. This plan should continue to be reviewed periodically to help identify what the staff member is doing well, develop their skills, correct any issues that may arise, and help them develop new skills that will improve personal performance and organisational outcomes.

Edenred Spain