Improving personal and professional skills to meet goals

Improving personal and professional skills to meet goals To achieve the personal goals and organisational goals each individual needs a set of certain skills to carry out his / her duties and responsibilities. The improved level of skills the organisation employees have, the more the chances of getting goals and objectives achieved. So for both individual and organisation the personal and professional skills advancement always remains of high importance. The requirement from this assignment is to produce a Personal Development Plan for medium term and demonstrate the steps taken within the plan. Explain methods to improve personal and professional skills to meet organisational and own goals and objectives. Personal and professional skills are those skills which are owned by individuals, personal skills are commonly by nature, but can be developed through certain processes and activities, when an individual use his personal skills for his organisational or professional goals / objectives, then it is referred as professional skill. The most common personal and professional skills are communication skills, management skills, interpersonal relations, innovative skills, analytical problem solving, decision making, social skills, pro activity and much more. Skills development method Skills development methods and techniques are the activities or actions taken by an individual or an organisation to explore the hidden potential of their employees and make their capacity more for performing certain task and activities to achieve the organisational goals and objectives. Through skills development methods and techniques increase the knowledge and skills through a consistent process of learning and education. A professional development program boosts the individuals career, through travel, research, workshops and seminars and by working with professionals who are experienced. People take up a professional development course to build their expertise in business, teaching and nursing and contribute to organizational development. Following are the details of various personal and professional skills development methods use in different organizations to achieve the organizational and individual career goals. Class room Courses / Certificates this method widely used now days at almost all good organisations, to provide their employees the opportunity to enhance their skills and learn the latest knowledge through formal class room courses and they are awarded certificate which may help them in getting better positions in future. Crew Development Program is use by the different multi-national organisations, in which they train their current employees working at operational level in order to take some management position at tactic level or strategic level. For example Mc Donalds, has a very structured program in which they train their crew member for future leadership and management of the company, and is also a very successful one because 40 % of the top 50 mangers of Mc Donalds worldwide join this organisation as crew member. Training and Development is a key method to improve skills of employees, to improve the employees basic skills initially the pre job training is provided and to enhance the capabilities of employees on job training is provided also a series of skill development activities is carried out. Leadership Development Program is an important program in practice in good and well structured organisations. In this program they select the potential employees for taking over the future management positions and then provide them training, and educate them on how to carry out management activities. Social Gatherings is also an important activity through which these companies try to socialise their employees, and provide them opportunity to attend these gatherings alongside with their families to give them insight on how to socialise with different people and for their company they value the most. College / University Placement is the method of skills development in which different organisation arrange different courses for their employees in collaboration with good universities or other degree awarding institutes to cope them with latest knowledge and skills of their field. Award Winning: To have a healthy competitive environment among their employees which may result in the personal and professional skill development, the method of award winning strategy in which the employees producing good results are awarded benefits (both financial and vertical movement in the management hierarchy) is very helpful. For example Mc Donalds have award winning scheme, employees producing better results are awarded benefits as financial, promotions etc. while to provide their employees an opportunity for distance learning they also have e-learning strategy and online resources. Personal Skill Audit Skills audit is a process that can be used to identify the skill gaps for an individual. The outcome is a training and development needs analysis that identifies where training and development programs are needed. Skills audit results in An understanding of the skills required and the gaps the organization currently has. A targeted analysis of development needs. A listing of skills which need development. Information that can be used for dynamic succession planning. Skills Audit Form I have developed the following skills audit form, after completion of this form this provides me clear understanding of my current skills level, my strengths and weaknesses and will definitely help in identification of the Skills Audit Form 1 = wide experience 3 = a little experience 5 = dont know 2 = some experience 4 = no experience Name: Date: Work as part of a team 1 2 3 4 build and develop working relationships with academic staff, peers and colleagues work effectively with others to complete tasks and achieve results empower others to work together as part of a team or group recognise and understand when compromise and accommodating others is necessary interact well with others and work co-operatively as a team member understand how to gain the attention of others in a team or group when required understand how to contribute effectively and co-operatively with others even if they do not share the same ideas and ways of working express self effectively in a group and in one-to-one situations have an understanding of team roles Use your problem solving abilities 1 2 3 4 use an appropriate approach to questioning in order to gain information from which to draw conclusions use an objective approach to relate to others in order to achieve goals make good use of verbal reasoning skills, able to handle complex data and make selective use of information explore more than one solution in order to solve a problem consider the ideas of others to help solve problems manage the process of problem solving over a period of time demonstrate resilience and lateral thinking abilities when applied to problem solving Apply your communication skills, both orally and written, and use ICT 1 2 3 4 5 understand the differences in presenting types of documents, e.g. reports, essays, dissertations, summaries check written work for errors before submission use a range of ICT packages to support work express and convey ideas appropriately and accurately in writing successfully give a presentation or demonstration demonstrate that information being received is understood by using a range of verbal and non-verbal signals understand when people have taken account of your views and you of theirs Reflect upon and review your own personal and career development 1 2 3 4 5 recognise and develop skills and competencies required for learning and future employment develop opportunities for learning activities through current and future roles recognise the importance and value of activities outside the curriculum, e.g. work experience, sports, clubs identify when extra support and help may be useful understand the importance of actively reviewing and maintaining your own development plan in order to set appropriate learning targets maintain positive attitudes to work and understand when a task has not been completed well and identify changes for the future understand how to gain feedback on work or performance Work autonomously and set your own goals 1 2 3 4 5 aspire to and maintain a results-driven approach where appropriate focus on results and performance indicators and use different strategies to achieve targets apply suitable approaches and put in extra effort if required in order to meet tight deadlines work without close supervision and use own initiative identify resources required to complete a set task harness motivation and hard work to assist in the completion of work objectives Plan, monitor and evaluate in order to influence change 1 2 3 4 5 make use of effective planning and preparation in order to anticipate and overcome problems maintain effectiveness in changing environments make appropriate adjustments when undertaking tasks set own goals and review these systematically adjust to meet different work styles work alongside colleagues in different environments Develop time management and organisational skills 1 2 3 4 5 establish a course of action for self and others to achieve goals plan and prepare effectively for assignments, including use of appropriate resources plan day in order to manage time more effectively prioritise own and others work meet set deadlines and understand the process required to meet project outcomes keep track of work schedules and deadlines by applying multi-tasking abilities Creatively apply your academic knowledge in work and non-work related settings 1 2 3 4 5 generate and recognize best practice and apply imaginative ideas to different situations work out a preferred course of action think laterally and encourage others to do so and consider how they approach an unconventional task present complex and unusual ideas to friends and colleagues Understand business environments and other organizations 1 2 3 4 5 understand what is entailed in working in an organization understand the perspectives and expectations of employers, customers, suppliers and employees appreciate business activities such as selling and marketing, budgeting and finance and how these interrelate with one another have an understanding of business issues, such as profit, revenue, productivity, company image have an understanding of own personal budget and awareness of financial trends, e.g. interest rates understand how the significance and impact of an organizations internal politics and business strategy can affect everyday work keep up to date with current affairs affecting businesses