In today’s competitive environment, aligning an individual team member’s goals with your company’s strategy is crucial for thriving and success. Robust capability development planning is an effective way to achieve this alignment.
What even is capability development, you ask?
Capability development covers a range of activities designed to enhance your team’s skills, knowledge, and competencies. This includes training, mentoring, coaching, and on-the-job learning. The goal is to create a loyal, engaged workforce that continually develops to meet the current and future needs of your company.
Aligning individual and organisational goals in your company
Well-structured capability development planning begins with a thorough capability assessment and gap analysis. This assessment identifies your workforce’s current competencies and compares them to what your company and industry needs, now and in the long term. By finding the gaps, you can tailor your plans, projects and budgets to address specific development areas and identify key people who could increase existing knowledge and expertise to enhance these.
The role of individual career planning within organisational success
Employee career planning is a critical component of capability development. It encourages the development of team members who are motivated and engaged, as they can see a clear pathway for their career progression within your company.
Remember, employee turnover is expensive – keeping and investing in good people is much more cost-effective!
Catherine Stapleton, People Solutions Architect
Who is responsible for capability development?
Senior Leaders and Leadership Teams
Leadership teams need clarity and consensus around the company’s needs and to be regularly checking on the short and long-term goals. This means looking to the horizon, using 90-day plans and a clear longer-term strategy. Without this, there is nothing to assess capability against.
HR Team (virtual or in-house) or Learning & Development Specialists
Your HR team (irrespective of whether they are in-house or virtual like us at Stapleton Consulting) are vital in translating the strategy and company’s needs into a capability framework and development plans. As your HR team, we then work with team leaders, managers and the leadership team to do a full capability assessment of the skills your current workforce offers and identify the gaps and opportunities. There can sometimes be some surprises as the CVs for your team are not necessarily at the top of your mind once recruitment is done and dusted.
Once the gaps and needs are matched with your team members, your HR team is responsible for organising training programs, facilitating mentoring and coaching opportunities, and ensuring that the development initiatives stay aligned with the company’s strategy.
Team Leaders and Managers
Team leaders and managers play a critical role in understanding each of their team members, the company’s strategy, and spotting potential solutions to capability gaps. They must enable open and constructive dialogue about personal and professional goals and aspirations with their team members. Armed with this insight team leaders can collaborate with HR and the leadership team to identify where individual aspirations and capability gaps overlap. This then creates an opportunity for purposeful win-win development plans.
Your managers need regular touchpoints, such as monthly 1:1s and six-monthly or quarterly reviews, to ensure that each team member is on track with their development plans and performance and to provide the necessary support.
Implementing effective development plans
Capability development should involve a mix of informal and formal learning experiences. According to the Centre for Creative Leadership, the 70-20-10 model is a research-based, classic guideline for developing professionals. This model represents that 70% of learning comes from on-the-job experiences, 20% from interactions with others (such as mentoring and coaching), and 10% from formal training. This blend ensures that employees have not only theoretical knowledge, but also practical skills that are directly applicable to their roles.
To adapt and grow, leaders need to be constantly involved in new experiences and challenges that foster learning. Some of these new opportunities will come their way through new jobs, crises, or significant challenges.
Center for Creative Leadership
70% On-the-job training: Practical experience is invaluable. It allows your team members to apply new skills in real-time, receive immediate feedback, and make adjustments as necessary.
20% Mentoring and coaching: These interactions provide personalised guidance and support, helping individuals navigate their career paths and be supported to overcome challenges. Mentoring also fosters a culture of knowledge-sharing and collaboration within your company, which increases engagement and productivity.
10% Formal training: Structured training programs, such as workshops and courses, are essential for building foundational knowledge and introducing new concepts.
How do we measure and know if it works?
The effectiveness of capability development planning is measured through individual and organisational performance. At the team member level, success can be seen in enhanced job outcomes, increased job satisfaction, engagement and loyalty. For the organisation, the benefits include improved productivity and performance, higher employee retention rates, and the ability to meet strategic goals more effectively.
At Stapleton Consulting, we understand the importance of aligning your team member’s aspirations with your company’s goals. Our approach to capability development is designed to create a harmonious balance where both employees and organisations can flourish. By investing in your people, in line with capability planning, you are investing in your company at the same time. Once again, everyone can sleep soundly, knowing exactly where they stand and how to move forward together.
Ready to take your team’s capabilities to the next level? Let Stapleton Consulting help you align your team members’ goals with your company’s strategy. Contact us today to start building a stronger, more engaged workforce that drives your business forward.
Let’s move forward together.
