15 September Effective Professional Development For Millenials September 15, 2020By ICI Administrator Aspire 0 By Josh Hallam, General Manager ICI Australia Successful professional development plans are specific to individual employees as opposed to a generic, organisation wide approach. While a single, generic approach may be simpler to execute, it is certainly not as effective, particularly when you are talking about our Millennials now aged between 24 and 39 years old. Managers and Leaders play an exceptionally important role in the development of their team and the most effective strategy is to align a personalised approach to each team member. This sounds daunting, but the benefits far outweigh the perception that this process is time consuming. Most managers today will be managing Millennials, those born between 1981 and 1996. Unfortunately, Millennials have a bad wrap when it comes to loyalty to an employer or a certain career, however, through adopting a personalised professional development approach to them and their role, engagement and retention levels significantly increase. Regular communication is a critical component to this approach, engaging in an open dialogue on a weekly basis to ‘check-in’. This can be as short as a 3 minute chat at the coffee machine with a more detailed conversation every quarter. It’s important the manager also takes time out every week/fortnight to document their observations and feedback. In addition to the coaching and mentoring from you as the manager, there are other areas to consider when aligning a development plan for your team member. What projects are they working on? Which supervisors/colleagues are they collaborating with? What formal development opportunities are in the pipeline? A mix of projects and collaborators is a great way for someone to be exposed to various technical disciplines, different areas of the business and enhance the opportunities for peer-to-peer learning. Formal professional development opportunities also need to be specific. As we move away from traditional formal qualifications and multi-year degrees, into a world of micro-credentials, specific units of learning based around key competencies allows for the individual to develop in the areas they both need and desire. For example, the Institute of Civil Infrastructure offers over 75 online Learning Courses, each with its own targeted focus across Technical Management, People Management and Business & Operations. This structure, particularly with is civil-specific nature, enables managers and individuals to build a tailored development plan that aligns to their role and their desired career path in the most effective way. Related Posts Continuing Professional Development Why choose continuing professional development to enhance your career journey? More now than ever, you need an edge over the competition to not only secure a new position but to provide proof to your employer why you deserve that pay rise or the current career advancement/promotion. EOFY Professional Development We know you need simple, effective solutions for continuous professional development. That’s why we’ve made it even easier for you to invest in your team at tax time! Be proactive, not reactive: Invest in your teams professional development As a professional in civil infrastructure, you know that our industry is facing a number of challenges, particularly around staff retention and the skills shortage That's why it's important to invest in your team to stay ahead of the curve and mitigate risk, regardless of their role role. The Single Most Important Element Of Any Professional Development You want to learn new skills, grow your capability and position yourself for more responsibility in a higher role. You seek professional development options, of which there is a myriad of options available to you. What is the key element in taking this step? What one single factor is the difference between development that will see you soar as opposed to sink? Professional Development for New Managers Aspire caught up with Colin Emerson, a leading trainer in the industry to talk about the importance of upskilling new managers early in their management career and why any professional development should be short, sharp and implementable the next day. 2023 winner of the ICI Continuing Professional Development Award Congratulations to Khashayar Khastoui of Haslin Constructions, the 2023 winner of the ICI Continuing Professional Development Award! Comment (0) Comments are closed.