Do you have a requirement to undertake CPD as part of your role? Do you have a minimum number of hours per year you need to undertake? If so, how many have you undertaken to date for this year - if you are anything like the majority of the workforce, you may not yet have done any this year! Good old CPD, it's the first thing to get deprioritised when we are busy....and we are always busy....
I've recently been supporting a client launch a Continuous Professional Development (CPD) initiative, and given my previous experiences with it, I thought it would make a great topic for this weeks blog.
As with any initiative we are considering investing resources in, its important to start with the "why" - why should any organisation proactively encourage colleagues to take time out to learn?
The why is straightforward enough, improving knowledge and skills across a business will lead to:-
Improved productivity - reducing errors, identifying efficiencies and better ways of working and increasing mobility
Better engagement – colleagues will feel valued by the organisation
Retention – when employees feel they are being invested in they are more likely to stay – reducing your training time and costs in the long run
Enhanced reputation – demonstrating to your clients you care about quality and meeting regulatory requirements
Competitive advantage – improving skills will help innovation and can lead to you outperforming competitors
However, if you want colleagues to engage, they need to also see a benefit to them. Key benefits you may wish to highlight are increased confidence, enhanced career prospects, becoming "change ready", access to new opportunities and professional growth.
But it's one thing buying into the theory, how do we make time to do it when there are barely enough hours in the day to do what we are already committed to?!
I am currently reading Atomic Habits by James Clear (its on my CPD plan!) and the book reminds me that its the small, incremental, everyday routines that compound into massive results over time. So - maybe I don't have capacity to attend a 2 day training course this month, but listening to a podcast on a key topic twice a week on my commute, or reading 3-4 pages of a book for 10 minutes every morning is going to scale up pretty quickly.....and will probably add a lot more value to me than spending those 10 minutes scrolling mindlessly through facebook!
A key way to encourage people to undertake CPD is to give autonomy on what they learn and how they learn - you may have watched a Dan Pink You Tube video "Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose" and will remember that Autonomy is one of the three biggest motivators. You may also have heard of the Google 20% initiative, where google invite colleagues to invest 20% of their time learning and exploring what interests them, with the only caveat that they should then share what they learn for the benefit of the company (Gmail was allegedly born from this initiative). Encourage colleagues to consider what they are passionate about, and how they can combine their passion with their work. Maybe you have a team member passionate about climate change - by attending a climate seminar as part of their CPD plan, they may become the perfect person to help you reach waste goals and reduce your carbon footprint!
When working in the bank, I had an expectation to complete CPD - and if I am honest, I remember most years sitting the night before my annual review and quickly writing various "stuff" on a plan (which I may or may not have actually completed....!) It was only when my mindset shifted into understanding that it was MY plan, and that I have the autonomy to spend time learning about what I was interested in that my motivation shifted. I took time out to look at what internal training was available and wrote a list of the books I wanted to read that year.
We all like to learn in different ways. If you don't like reading, don't commit to reading a book - have a look on YouTube instead and chances are there will be a 10 minute video outlining the headlines. Prefer to learn by doing? Go and shadow a colleague for a day or offer to cover for someone who is taking annual leave. Enjoy collaboration? Have a look for a workshop or seminar you can attend. Linked in is a great way to find other professionals interested in what interests you.
Finally, the point of CPD is not simply to learn - its to apply what you learn! Ask yourself after every book, course, podcast or seminar - "What did I learn, and how will I apply that?" If you can't apply it, how useful actually was it....
The one certain thing about CPD, is that it never ends! As the world changes and evolves so must we. Even if you are already rocking your dream job, to stay relevant you must continually sharpen your saw. So what are you waiting for - go and open that book!
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