An employee may be facing some challenges in the workplace or want to gain a new set of skills to advance in a business. To address these goals, the employer or the employee may create a development plan consisting of professional goals and objectives. These plans may differ in structure depending on the needs of the business and the employee’s capabilities. Creating a plan using objectives and goals can help improve the employee’s efforts in the workplace, which is beneficial for both the employee and the company as a whole.

Learning New Programs or Software

One professional career objective or goal the employee may have is the ability to gain a new skill set that can help him advance in the given business and learn new valuable tools and knowledge. One method the employer can use to help the employee gain these skills is to send him to a training course. The course may stretch over a week or a month or more, so the employer can plan to give the employee more relevant work tasks to let him practice and utilize his new skills. With a given time frame, the employee may be qualified to take on more work.

Taking on a Different Role

The employee may have the objective to get promoted within the business in hopes of making personal career advancements. The employer and the employee can create a long-term plan that allows the employee to learn the operations of the business from an internal point-of-view. Steps can include allowing the employee to join business meetings and asking him to complete written business documents and provide his insight in discussions or on projects. The employee could make a slow transition within the company through the supervision of the employer.

Increasing Workload

An employee may no longer feel challenged with the work she is given by her employer. She may seek more professional challenges, while keeping her existing title and workload. Her objective can include gaining more work in her position and contributing in a positive manner to the tasks at hand in the business. The employer can create a plan that slowly increases the workload of the employee, so she can adjust to the new workload. If the workload becomes too much, the employer can ease the level so she does not feel overwhelmed.

Mentoring and Support

If the employee is determined to improve her work ethics and skills in her given position, the employer can provide an internal mentor in the business to support her when help or advice is needed. Some employers recognize that some jobs may have a learning curve, so they will offer mentoring services and support to help employees overcome this hurdle.