Personal Developmental Plan

The University of Minnesota (2009), based on the work of career development theorist Donald Super, outlines four stages of career development as follows:

• Exploration and Trial
• Establishment and Advancement
• Mid Career: Growth, Maintenance, Decline
• Disengagement

Based on this theory, my career point would currently lie at level 2 – Establishment and Advancement. At current, I know my exact career interest (Employee development & Performance Improvement) and my pursuit of this degree is part of my fulfillment of my career goals. However, while I am currently working in the Human Resources field, with responsibilities for training and development, I also function as an HR generalist, which means that my attention needs to be split between several functions simultaneously. Considering my career interest and my current employment context, the following is my proposed developmental program, based on developmental approaches proposed by Noe (2010):

1. Continued Formal Education – To improve competency in the areas of Performance Improvement and Employee Development in order to be better able to improve the organization's workforce and its competency. Educational pursuits with be self initiated with request for organizational support (such as tuition reimbursement, Study Leave, 'Flexi-hours');
2. Externships – Due to the fact that within my company, there has never been specific focus on Employee Development or Performance Improvement, being allowed to experience best practices at least one other company, would significantly aid in the application of theoretical knowledge;
3. Continued Job Assessment – This is already in place and aids in outlining my performance strengths and weaknesses. I would suggest enhancing the process by advancing developmental goals as well as the process for achieving these goals (Noe, 2010);
4. More specialized Job Experience and Responsibilities – Re-organize job from HR Generalist to HR Specialist, with a focus on Performance Improvement and Employee Development. This would allow for better development of these areas within the organization, as well as focused personal career advancement.

References:

Noe, R. A. (2010). Employee training and development (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

University of Minnesota (Office of Human Resources): Employee Development (2009). Retrieved from http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/toolkit