If you don’t have individual professional development plans for your employees, you’re far from alone. A 2017 FMI survey found only 38% of respondents in the construction industry could define career paths for their employees.

Employee development is often overlooked in industries like construction, manufacturing, and engineering, and it shouldn’t be. As these industries face a skills gap, employee development can create a culture of growth and increase employee retention. Of course, employee development won't look the same in all these industries, or even at each company within an industry. That's why it’s important for HR to ensure that employee development programs meet the specific needs of employees.

Read on to learn why employee development is important in today’s construction, manufacturing, and engineering industries — and how you can tailor your employee development program to keep your employees engaged.

Why It’s Crucial to Get Employee Development Right

According to LinkedIn’s 2018 Workforce Learning Report, 94% of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in their careers. FMI’s 2017 study confirms the link between employee development, career paths, and employee retention. Of those who said they understood their career paths and opportunities within their companies, more than 80% expected to stay more than five years at their company.

Industries that face a skills gap have enough trouble finding workers — they cannot afford to let skilled workers go. It’s critical to engage employees and invest in them so they will stay at your organization. Having said that, only 55% of construction companies have a formal process for developing high-level employees.
It’s crucial to distinguish your organization through effective professional development, so your employees want to stay. Here’s how to do it.

1. Ask Employees What Kind of Professional Development They Want

Employee development should include structured coaching, mentoring, and career path planning. But it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution — professional development plans need to be personalized for each individual.

Managers need to understand that it is part of their responsibility to develop career path plans with and not for their employees. In many cases, managers may not be sure how to begin these conversations. Your HR department can coach them to ask their employees questions such as:

• What career goals do you have for the next three years?
• How do you see your career unfolding in this company?
• What resources or support would help you accomplish your professional goals?
• What would you like to learn more about? What skills would you like to further develop? How?

Managers should also outline all the available training and development opportunities at the company. Employees may think that training and development can only take place in the form of a course. If your company offers job shadowing, mentoring, or any other forms of development, managers should make sure employees are aware of these options so they’re more likely to take advantage of them.

Asking employees questions about their future at your company will begin a conversation that should culminate in a professional development plan. If you don’t already have development plans in place, create a form that offers an outline of a professional development path that employees and managers can fill in. Once this is completed, the form can be passed onto HR for review, additional input, and filing. Remember, an employee’s goals for their career path may change over time, so managers should review these individual plans with each employee on a regular basis to monitor progress towards their goals and make changes as needs or goals evolve.  

2. Make Time for Employee Development

LinkedIn’s report found that the number one reason employees felt held back from developing themselves wasn’t the lack of a development plan — it was the fact that they didn’t have the time to learn.

The first thing that comes to mind at the mention of professional development might be long, multi-day courses or conferences off-site, which may not be what’s best for employee learning. After all, 68% of employees prefer to learn at work.

When you build up an employee development program, try to consider how development could take place in small, manageable increments that fit into each workday. A few ideas to consider include:

• Involving employees at team meetings. Have a different team member give a presentation or lead a discussion at every team meeting. This helps employees develop their communication and leadership skills. It also builds confidence and offers them recognition for their skills and accomplishments.
• Using online learning tools for non-field staff. While it may not be feasible for field staff, others can benefit from using online learning tools which fit into their work schedules. Digital learning allows employees to go at their own pace to develop their skills from the comfort of their own desks. Microlearning, where information and learning are broken down into chunks that take around five minutes, is on the rise and may be a good fit for your company.
• Offering coaching and mentoring. Something as simple as meeting with a mentor over lunch once a month can have a huge impact on an employee’s development. Mentoring relationships also help mentors develop and grow because taking on the role of mentor improves communication, leadership, and other personal skills.
• Using the off-season for development. At the peak of the busy season, your employees may not have any time to spare for learning, so offer learning opportunities in a slow season instead. If your employees could benefit from longer, multi-day learning, the off-season is the time to do it.
• Providing regular feedback. It’s often cited that millennials value regular feedback, and the truth is all staff can benefit from regular check-ins with their managers to see how things are going and what can be improved. Consider asking managers to have weekly or bi-weekly check-ins with their staff to provide feedback and help their employees learn and grow.

Employees at your company no doubt have other ideas for how professional development can fit around their busy schedules. Ask them: what would make it easier for you to fit professional development into your workday? Then meet with your leadership team to consider whether you can make those ideas a reality.

Once you’re able to create a process for individual employee development plans and help support these learning goals, your employees will be happier, more productive, and more likely to stay with your company.