Use Summer Slow-Downs to Ramp-Up Staff Development

Shorter lines in the cafeteria, better parking spaces in the lot, and fewer Friday meetings on the calendar. Clear signs of summer. It seems that everyone’s on vacation—which may yield the gift of limited downtime to tackle some tasks you’ve placed on the backburner.

Our advice: Take advantage of slower times to ramp-up team members’ professional skills. Most employees have development goals on their performance plans. Revisit those goals with each team member and see how they can use the summer downtime to attend training courses or take on a stretch assignment. Or, work together to refresh the development plan based on new requirements of the employee’s job or your department.

Here are three tips for moving ahead:

1. Attend seminars or conferences. You don’t need to pay for a pricey out-of-town conference. Look to industry or association Web sites for upcoming courses or events in your area. Also, ask your Human Resources or Organizational Development group for any internal options for training.

2. Plug-in to online courses. Send your team to training without leaving the office. Web-based training or seminars are a powerful and cost-effective way to develop your staff. Again, your HR or OD departments might be able to point you toward online resources that the company has already purchased.

3. Be a bookworm. One of the most inexpensive development options is to read a book. Encourage your team to pickup titles that can broaden their skills, sharpen a specific knowledge area, or inspire them to take on a leadership role. Use your training and development budget to fund these books. It’s an inexpensive investment in your team’s future.

Learn More

• Check out our playbook for the Xs and Os of team engagement.