Dive Brief:
- Employers may omit critical topics when they devise professional development strategies for their workers. To that end, five members of the Forbes Human Resource Council highlighted subjects they believe are often overlooked.
- Lisa Whealon of GL Group, Inc., said companies can do a better job of educating employees about corporate culture — particularly when it comes to organizational shifts. Bridgette Wilder of Media Fusion shared the importance of employees aligning their personal brand with that of the company.
- Todd Richardson of Emplify and Rick Devine of TalentSky Inc. both stressed the importance of embracing new technology and giving employees training on the future of their roles. Sarah O'Neill of Digital Trends stressed the importance of developing leaders. Introducing all of these topics as part of regular training materials should be the norm.
Dive Insight:
These topics can easily be overlooked in employee development because of the emphasis placed on technical skills, software training and other aspects that have a better return on investment, in the eyes of most companies.
Even so, soft skills have undoubtedly grown as a focal point for learning initiatives, as leaders in the industry confirmed. Qualities like leadership, team building and verbal communication are increasingly important.
The same topics that are overlooked by companies should be designed to produce higher levels of employee engagement and retention. Training can only be effective if it is viewed as something that will pay off in an employee's future — not just the short term.
