At CRC, you have opportunities to expand your professional skills and knowledge on the job. An important tool for your career growth is the Individual Development Plan.
An individual development plan (IDP) assists you in career and personal development. It helps you identify and reach short- and long-term career goals and improve your current job performance.
The IDP is not a performance evaluation tool or one-time activity – it’s an ongoing partnership between you and your manager. Through a five-step process, you and your manager create an IDP that meets both your and CRC’s goals and interests.
Determine your performance and development areas.
Work with your supervisor/manager to select three to four development focus areas that will help you accomplish your objectives and improve your current skills. Consider the following questions:
- In which areas would I like to develop greater skills and or/knowledge?
- Where is the biggest opportunity or current development gap?
- Which development needs should come first?
- What will provide the biggest benefit for me and for CRC?
Rate your current proficiency.
This is an opportunity to identify your strengths and talents and to determine your development needs. Use the Rate Your Skills Worksheet to rate your level of proficiency in each of your selected development focus areas.
Identify development activities.
There are many different ways to develop competencies and skills. Select activities that suit your needs and learning style:
- Cross-functional team assignments. Participate on a team that’s responsible for accomplishing an objective within a specific time frame and where each team member contributes a skill or competence not held by other team members.
- Cross-training/teaching. Training or teaching others internally or outside the organization is a valuable developmental experience.
- Formal learning or self study, such as:
- Research a topic and write an abstract or white paper.
- Attend a training program targeted to a specific need.
- Take a class (on-site or online) at a local college or university.
- Attend conferences or seminars to learn about current issues in your field.
- Try a new skill in a volunteer organization.
- Make presentations to civic or professional organizations.
- Complete after-work practice sessions.
- Independent reading. To make this more effective, discuss or re-teach what you learn with your manager or peer group.
- Professional group memberships. Attend meetings, discussions or presentations that relate to your selected development area.
- Mentoring. Work with a mentor who is skilled in an area that you are interested in developing.
Complete your IDP form.
Complete the Individual Development Plan to help you outline specific steps for your professional growth. You’ll document your development focus areas, skill rating, your learning and development activities, timing, success measures and follow-up activities.
Seek support and schedule progress discussions.
Meet with your manager to discuss your IDP. Use the following tips to help you make the most of your meeting:
- State your purpose and process for the IDP discussion. For example, “ I would like to talk about ideas for my development and get your feedback so that we can agree on next steps.”
- Give your manager an overview of each of the sections of the IDP form and explain how you determined your development needs and activities.
- Ask and listen. Invite your manager to share his or her perspective on your IDP and listen carefully to understand your manager’s perspective and reactions.
- Decide with your manager which ideas to incorporate into your plan and agree when you will send him or her the finalized IDP form.
- Thank your manager for his or her support and set a time to meet during the next quarter to check in on your progress.
