Career development is the process used to create opportunities for employees'

professional interests and capabilities and to help meet current and future business
needs.
Career development at Kellogg's is becoming a more formalized process. The
changes for 2004 are subtle and include:
A new, required form (Employee Profile) to be completed by all Kellogg's non-
production employees. The Employee Profile provides a snapshot of an employee's
career, including biographical information, work experiences, development plans,
and assessment on leadership competences and K-values.
The Individual Development Plan (IDP) has been incorporated into the Employee
Profile. It includes an overview of employee development for current accountabilities
and future career opportunities.
All people managers have a Performance Management Plan (PMP), which concerns
their accountability for the development of employees.
Development is a critical process because:
Change seems to be occurring at a faster rate than ever and employees must learn
to change and adapt quickly.
Relying solely on employees' current capabilities would place the company at a
competitive disadvantage.
Recent survey data indicated that Kellogg's employees have an interest in
development.
Focused development builds stronger teams and attracts and retains the best and
brightest talent.
What is an effective development plan?
Development requires more than just identifying the areas or competences that
are going to be developed. Just like a project at work, development is more
successful when there is a specific plan to accomplish the change in behavior.
Employees will have better success in development if their plan:
is tied to their PMP accountabilities;
has relevance to the business needs;
is limited to three or four areas for development;
has specific development actions required for each area;
consists of primarily experience-based development actions;
identifies the resources and support needed for each development action;
specifies a date for completion.
Kellogg's philosophy is that the manager and the employee share responsibility
for an employee's development. The employee is responsible for keeping skills
current and developing skills for future opportunities. Managers make sure
employees' expectations are realistic and opportunities to grow are offered and
supported.
Manager's and employee's responsibilities for employee's development
Manager's role                                    Employee's role
Review Employee Profile;                  Take responsibility for own
Complete the manager's page of       career;
the Employee Profile;                         Perform well in current role;
Review previous feedback and          Complete the employee page
development;                                      of the Employee Profile;
Consider possible development          Clarify career interests;
actions;                                                Determine realistic career goals;
Understand what is required to           Learn more about position
make development more                   requirements;
successful;                                          Consider possible development
Create key messages to share with               areas to focus on;
employee in meetings;                        Plan activities to improve in
Check with employees                       those areas;
intermittently to ensure they are         Schedule meeting with
pursuing development;                       manager for career discussion;
Provide resources, opportunities,       Send all relevant materials to
and support for development;             manager (e.g. self-assessment);
Offer coaching and feedback at        Follow up with manager if
appropriate times.                               obstacles are perceived;
                                  Present manager with potential
                                  solutions;
                                  Request feedback and direction.
Question
Ask yourself what could your organization learn from Kellog’s approach and
how this process might be enhanced in the future.?