I, too, am new to this list. My name is Jessica Malone and I am a trainer
with the state of Maryland Highway Admin. Anyhow, we are currently
struggling to determine the answers to these questions at present. Here
are my thoughts:
You should encourage professional development because the benefits are
two-fold. First, the individual benefits by being more marketable both
internally and externally to the given organization. They build on their
knowledge base thus having more to work with, so to speak. The
organization benefits by having a 'pool' if you will, of qualified
individuals to move into higher positions as they open up, i.e. Succession
planning.
If professional development is not practiced, employees feel devalued (I
was a psych. major in college!) and don't have opportunities for growth
and continuous improvement. As well, the organization loses out because
they don't have the 'pool' of candidates I mentioned above.
As a trainer, your third question struck me the most. Here's a new idea:
Professional Development is not always training!!! It can be others forms
of learning through Employee Enrichment Programs, CBT (Computer Based
Training), Books ,seminars...Everyone learns differently. We are
addressing that here currently, and are looking to accomodate all
learners. If your professional development initiative doesn't address
that, it will ultimately leave a number of people out. Mentoring and
coaching programs are my personal favorites. I could go on and on, but I
won't. Good luck with your presentation.
Jessica Malone
>Why should you encourage your employees to participate in professional
>development?
>What are the consequences of not using professional development?
>What are the best sources of professional development - how should it
>be conducted?
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