How to set up a business skills development plan?

In a world where technologies and markets are evolving at the speed of light, skills development is a crucial issue in order to remain competitive and innovative. Just imagine: your team is an orchestra, with each member playing an essential instrument to create a harmonious symphony. Without continuous skill development, it is as if some musicians are playing wrong or with instruments that are out of tune.

For HR leaders and decision makers, drawing up a skills development plan may seem complex, but it's also a fantastic opportunity to strengthen the team and ensure business growth. This article is there to support you, step by step, in setting up an effective and sustainable plan.

We'll start by assessing skills needs, a kind of diagnosis to understand where the gaps are and how to address them. Then, we'll set clear goals, because without a destination, it's hard to chart the course. We will then explore the different training methods and technological tools that can transform your approach to skills development. Finally, we will discuss monitoring and evaluation strategies to ensure that your efforts are successful.

1. Assessment of skills needs

The first step in setting up a skills development plan is to assess the skills needs of your business. This assessment is crucial for identify the gaps between the current skills of your employees and those required to achieve the strategic goals of your business.

Skills gap analysis

Skill gap analysis involves comparing the current skills of your employees with those needed for their current and future roles. For example, if your business is moving towards greater use of digital technologies, it is critical to identify employees who lack digital skills and to schedule training to fill these gaps.

To carry out this analysis, several methods can be used:

• Quizzes and self-assessments : Ask your employees to fill out questionnaires to assess their current skills and identify areas where they feel less confident.
• Individual interviews : Meet with your employees to discuss their skills and training needs.
• Observation and feedback from managers : Managers can provide valuable information about the skills of their teams and the areas in need of improvement.

The analysis of skills gaps can also be based on technological tools. For example, The LMS Didask offers functionalities to map skills and visualize gaps, thus facilitating the identification of training needs.

Identify strategic competencies

Once skill gaps have been identified, it is important to determine which skills are strategically crucial for your business. These skills vary according to the sector of activity and the objectives of the company. For example, in the service sector, skills such as customer relationship management and cross-cultural communication can be essential.

To learn more about the importance of properly assessing skills, read our article on The three recommendations for properly evaluating skills acquisition.

2. Define goals and priorities

After assessing skills needs, the next step is to define clear goals and prioritize which skills to develop.

Establishing clear and measurable goals

Setting clear and measurable goals is essential to guide development efforts. For example, if the goal is to improve the digital skills of employees, a clear goal could be for 80% of employees to take and complete certified digital skills training by the end of the year.

The goals should be aligned with the company's overall strategy and meet the needs identified during the analysis of skills gaps. Using key performance indicators (KPIs) is essential to monitor progress and adjust plans accordingly.

You can also use the objective method SMART (specific - measurable - achievable - realistic - realistic - time bound/specific - measurable - achievable - realistic - time-bound)

Prioritization of skills to be developed

Not all skills have the same impact on business performance. It is therefore crucial to prioritize skills to be developed according to their strategic importance. For example, in a technology company, skills in programming and agile project management may be a priority.

To determine priorities, consider the following criteria:

• Impact on strategic goals : What is the contribution of this competence to the company's goals?
• Emergency : How quickly should this skill be developed to meet current and future needs?
• Availability of resources : Do you have the necessary resources (time, budget, trainers) to develop this skill?

To deepen your knowledge on skills development and optimization, I invite you to read our article on optimizing skills development.

By defining clear objectives and prioritizing the skills to be developed, you will thus have the foundations of an effective skills development plan that is aligned with the strategic needs of your business. To find out how the Didask LMS can help you define these goals, be sure to visit our Didask LMS page.
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3. Design and implementation of the development plan

Once skills development goals are defined, it is time to design and implement an effective plan. This means choosing the appropriate training methods and ensuring that all relevant actors are engaged.

Choice of training methods

There are a variety of methods for developing employee skills, each of which has its advantages. For example:

• Face-to-face training : Ideal for technical skills that require a practical demonstration. It also promotes direct interactions and networking.
• E-learning : Now indispensable today, e-learning allows employees to train at their own pace, wherever they are. This makes the choice of LMS-type solutions very strategic for businesses. A good LMS should offer maximum flexibility and quality educational resources.
• Blended learning : A combination of face-to-face training and e-learning, this method makes it possible to take advantage of the advantages of both approaches for comprehensive and flexible training.

To identify the respective advantages of each method, I refer you to our article Digitalization of training: why and when to use asynchronous e-learning?

Selection of technological tools

The choice of technological tools is crucial for the success of the skills development plan. A powerful LMS makes it possible to centralize training, monitor learners' progress and provide feedback in real time. THEEducational AI, such as the one integrated in the LMS Didask, can greatly facilitate this process. It allows not only to personalize training courses, but also to automatically create educational content from existing documents (slides, PDFs, docs, etc.). This guarantees a very high level of quality, involving all employees and offering a significant return on investment (ROI) thanks to increased efficiency. Also, make sure that your LMS can also manage your face-to-face training, like Didask, and thus have all your data grouped together in one place.To choose the right one, we give you our advice in our articles LMS: the features that matter for businesses and LMS, LXP, LCMS, authoring tool... How do you choose your learning equipment?

CTA Learn more about the Didask LMS

Strategies for engaging stakeholders

The commitment of leaders, managers and employees is gist. Here are some strategies for doing so:

• Clear communication of goals : Explain why skill development is important and how it will benefit everyone.
• Involvement of managers : Managers play a key role in motivating their teams and supporting them in their training journey.
• Useful training for missions : Motivate employees by offering them training relevant to their missions. This allows them to see the immediate and concrete usefulness of what they are learning, and to feel that they are really making progress. You will see, it is much more effective in the long run than communication tricks. To find out more about how employee motivation works, I recommend reading our article on Motivation, concentration and attention.

4. Monitoring and evaluation of results

Monitoring and evaluation are critical steps to ensure that the skills development plan meets its goals.

Monitoring progress

Use key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the effectiveness of training courses. For example:

• Training completion rate : Percentage of employees who have completed training.
• Learner satisfaction score : Feedback from employees on the quality of training.
• Performance improvement : Assessment of progress in targeted skills.

Good follow-up also involves observing Expected changes on the ground following the training. For example, after training in project management, one might expect better project planning and execution, reduced delays, and increased customer satisfaction. These changes are tangible indicators that the skills acquired are actually being put into practice. To learn more about this topic, check out our article on the expected change and the impact of e-learning.

Of course, the Didask LMS allows you to monitor these KPIs in real time, offering detailed reports to adjust the training plan accordingly.

Return on investment (ROI)

An essential aspect of evaluation is measuring the return on investment (ROI). This includes the analysis of costs in relation to the benefits obtained through training. Metrics like increasing productivity, reducing errors and downtime, and improving employee satisfaction are concrete measures of ROI.

Ongoing assessment

Ongoing assessment ensures that the skills development plan remains relevant and effective. It includes:

• the reassessment of skills needs : Adjust goals and priorities according to technological developments and business needs.
• the adaptation of training methods : Modify the methods and tools used based on learner feedback and observed results.

Conclusion

A well-designed and implemented skills development plan therefore not only fills skills gaps, but also motivates employees and supports business growth. By following the steps in this article, you can create a dynamic and adaptable learning environment. By adopting a strategic approach and using the right tools, you can turn skills development into a powerful driver for the success of your business.

To find out how the Didask LMS can help you set up an effective skills development plan, visit our site www.didask.com or book a demo today.

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