Continual Professional Development (CPD) “investing in your greatest asset”

What is Continual Professional Development  Any educational activity which helps maintain, develop or increase knowledge, problem solving, technical skills, performance standards and competence to practice.

Educational (CPD) activities Formal Activities  Structured programs  Workshops  Conferences  Presentation of technical papers  Presentation of case studies  Workplace mentoring Informal Activities  Additional reading  Trial and error  Professional networking (a network of ‘go to guys’ for trouble shooting or advice)

Why provide CPD activities As a business with limited revenue and profits why spend the money on CPD? Answer:  Risk reduction – CPD will reduce likelihood  Increase in efficiency = decrease in costs  Flexible work force = Business diversification  Employee satisfaction  Investment in Employees = reward and recognition  Happy employee = productive employee

Why provide CPD activities Effectiveness of retention strategies as reported by agencies, 2010–11 Recruitment is a necessary activity but estimates of direct recruitment costs are high, at 15% to 25% of a position’s annual salary – Data provided by the Australian Public Service commission Recruitment and retention parliamentary report. Employee reasons to leave agency within the next two years, 2010–11

Why provide CPD activities

Who should do CPD and when  We never stop learning and our industry is always changing and evolving to reflect new technology, new processes and client demands. Who needs to do CPD:  Employers – To be able to modify business plans and practices to take advantage of changing markets.  Managers – to be able support and advise their employees and operate their team/departments more efficiently  Employees – increase efficiency and reduce risk.

How to select CPD activities With hundreds of options out there how do you select the CPD activities for you or your employees? Things to consider:  Industry demands / expectations / requirements (which is ever changing and evolving)  Personal / professional career pathway requirements  succession planning  Strengths / weaknesses / skill gaps

From concept to reality Setting SMART goals (useful for setting KPI’s ) S – Specific: clearly define the desired outcome when defining the overall goal i.e. “I want to increase profits by reducing cost and increasing efficiency” M – Measurable: All goals need to be measurable otherwise there is no incentive to achieve them. Imagine playing a game of football or cricket and not knowing the score. Where is the motivation to play or continue to play. A – Achievable: all goals must be achievable otherwise people will loose hope and give up. Also by making them achievable it comes with a sense of accomplishment and recognition by peers. R – Relevant: Objective must relate back to the team/company goals and objectives. It must also be relevant to the individual. T – Time based: a target date or milestone can motivate people and is a crucial factor in determining efficiency relative to a base line.

From concept to reality

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