Developing a Training and Organizational Development Manager

A development plan requires that you first know the individual, the requirements of the position and the gap between the requirements and the individuals knowledge, skills, and abilities (Noe, 2010).  Once this evaluation is completed, a plan can be utilized by the individual to close the gap.

Using my current role, Sr. Training and Development Manager, there are specific industry requirements.  ONET Online, a Department of Labor’s database of occupations provides detailed knowledge, skills, abilities (SKA) and other attributes for Training and Development Manager. Using this site, I have identified several gaps between my SKA’s and that of industry requirements, but will focus on three:  Coaching others; communicating with people outside of the organization; and updating and using relevant information (ONETonline.org, 2012).  These were chosen because they are activities that require practice and in some case some formal instruction. The plan has been laid out in a table format for easy reference (See Table 1).

Table 1

Developmental Opportunity	Activity	Timeline
Coaching and Developing Others	Attend coaching instruction from accredited program Manage coaching and development activities for assigned department or group of individuals. Evaluate employee for readiness to participate Identify up to 2 areas of focus of coaching and development that employee can agree with Work with employee to create a plan for improvement with clear milestones Work with employee and conduct weekly/bi-weekly check-ins to determine and document employee’s progress Prepare monthly reports on employee’s progress and submit to HR Manager	1st Quarter 2013 2nd – 4th Quarter 2013
Communicating with Persons outside of organization	Actively participate in benchmarking process for Continuous Improvement Interview up to 5 similar organizations and identify their methods and programs used for continuous improvement Document findings and report out to continuous improvement team	4th Quarter 2012 – 1st Quarter 2013
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	Identify and recommend at least two ways the organization can leverage learning technology to reduce the number of instructor-led classes while ensuring all required content is delivered Using the ways recommended, identify which instructor led classes would best fit this new training delivery format Develop a plan that includes resources required and timing for transferring the Instructor led training to the new technology platform	2nd Quarter 2013 – 4th quarter 2013

References:
11-3131.00 - Training and Development Managers (2012). ONET Online. Retrieved from http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-3131.00#Skills

Noe, R. A. (2010). Employee training and development (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.