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WENDY ELLEN INC.

October 2016 Newsletter
In This Issue
  • Thanks for Joining Us!
  • The Case for Investing in Professional Development
  • Six Stages of People Development
  • Cost-Effective Methods for Employee Training and Development
  • Quick Reference: The Positive Effects of Professional Development
  • Quick Reference: Ten Ways Personal Development Training Will Lead to Business Success
  • Coach’s Corner: Establishing a Career Vision
October 2016
Volume 3, Number 10

Thanks for Joining Us!

October is here and fall has arrived in all its glory. Changing seasons bring new focus, new ideas, and new enthusiasms. Similarly, focusing on a different element within your organization always changes things up and allows for new enthusiasm.

This month we focus on professional and personal development within your organization. Providing opportunities for your employees to expand their knowledge, skills, and abilities is priceless; the benefits far outweigh any expenses incurred. Keeping your business - and your staff - on the leading edge of techniques and technologies ensures success at all levels. In addition, staff who are offered professional development report they have increased job satisfaction, higher morale, and increased motivation. They also tend to stay with the company longer, resulting in lower employee turnover.

Do yourself and your employees a favour: Invest in professional development that works for your business.

Keep reading for more learning.

The Case for Investing in Professional Development

Often business people get so caught up in the day to day that they do not make the time, nor do they see the value, of taking the time to attend - and encourage their staff to attend - professional development programs that can help them manage and grow their business.

Below are four reasons why it’s so important to make time for professional development:

1. Increase knowledge base – you are an expert in one area, your business. Attending programs where you learn something new helps you to develop other areas of expertise that can help your business. Even if you learn of something you would never do yourself, having a basic understanding of what needs to be done and why, can save you money and heartache.

2. Meet new people and expand your network – opportunities to collaborate with others, obtain referrals, develop speaking or writing opportunities, discuss a business purchase or sale, etc. The list goes on and on. When you attend professional development programs there will be a lot of people you do not yet know. Network, meet others and see what opportunities are available for you to expand upon!

3. Expand your client base – developing new connections with people that may not be aware of your business can help you build your customer base, either through a direct sale or referrals. Building those relationships and getting to know other business people will help you build your reputation. The old adage “it is not what you know, but who you know” is so true when trying to expand your customer base.

4. Develop new resources – in addition to what you learn from the program content, you can also learn from the peers in attendance. You can develop a new vendor resource, get advice from others who have “been there, done that”, potentially find a good employee. Attending programs are a great way to delve into others knowledge base and areas of expertise.

Professional development plans require knowledge and detail.

Contact Wendy Ellen Inc. to start planning today!

Six Stages of People Development
Above is a simplified visual of the six stages of effective people development. Organizations often jump into professional development right at Stage Five. Adequate planning results in professional development that is not simply training for training's sake, but rather is focused, valued by staff, and delivers better outcomes for your organization. Take the time to create a development plan that gets the best results!

Source: www.procurement.gov.nz

Cost-Effective Methods for Employee Training and Development

Employee training and development needs to suit your organization's context, job descriptions, employment contracts and collective agreements. When selecting employee training and development methods, it is important to remember the learning process. There are many ways to provide employees with learning opportunities, including:

On-the-job experience
  • Committees
  • Conferences and forums
  • Critical incident notes
  • Field trips
  • Job aids
  • Job expanding
  • Job rotation
  • Job shadowing
  • Learning alerts
  • Peer-assisted learning
  • 'Stretch' assignments
  • Special projects
Relationships and feedback
  • Coaching
  • Mentoring
  • Networking
  • Performance appraisal

Classroom training
  • Courses, seminars, workshops
  • Lunch and learn sessions

Off-the-job learning
  • Courses offered by colleges or universities
  • Professional associations

Self study
  • Self-paced independent reading,
  • E-learning courses
  • Massive Open Online Courses
  • volunteer work

Creating the right personal development plans for you and your employees requires thorough analysis.

Contact Wendy Ellen Inc. for assistance today!


Quick Reference: The Positive Effects of Professional Development


Ongoing professional development is critical throughout your employees' career, both for the individual and also for your organization. It facilitates proactivity, professionalism, teamwork, efficiency, loyalty and better outcomes for everyone. Professional development:

¦ builds on existing skills and knowledge
¦ equips people to deal with specific tasks and challenges
¦ contributes to a skills toolbox that professionals can apply to any situation
¦ updates and refreshes best practice knowledge and technological skills
¦ closes skills and knowledge gaps
¦ broadens professionals’ areas of expertise and competence
¦ focuses on non-technical skills and abilities

On the flip side, not investing in professional development may result in the inability to respond to changes in volatile external factors; the loss of your competitive edge; vulnerability to competitors; the use of out-of-date tools, technologies and techniques; and problems developing robust succession plans.




Quick Reference: Ten Ways Personal Development Training Will Lead to Business Success


Personal development training influences every aspect of a life, from the emotional to the physical. In doing so, it has a profound impact on the energy, efficacy, and efficiency you bring to your work, so self-management techniques lay the foundation for enhancing skills in every aspect of your career. Here are 10 ways personal development training will lead to business success:

Cultivate a Positive Environment: Negative thinking is remarkably destructive to both working environments and creative thinking. With a proactive outlook, you will spend less time dwelling on what went wrong and more time looking ahead to making improvements.

Spark Creative Thinking: Businesses thrive on great ideas.

Focus on the Present: It is easy to become tangled in the unproductive web of reliving the past and trying to predict the future. Developing skills to focus helps you deal with matters in the present moment and put your efforts toward that which you have the power to change.

Inspire Gratitude: Simply taking a moment to be grateful for the daily victories, the skills of coworkers, kindnesses of clients, and the progress you are making will enhance your workspace and make your team more productive.

Develop Leadership Qualities: Learn to take the reins and have the confidence to direct the course of your career.

Accelerate Growth: Learn faster, develop skills in new areas, and move your career forward.

Develop Rational Decision-Making Abilities: Learning to think through complex problems in logical and methodical ways will make you a profoundly more effective leader in the workplace.

Learn How to Triage: Prioritization is the cornerstone of efficient working; learning to triage your priorities is essential in today’s fast-paced workplace.

Broaden Perspective: Learning to see beyond your own interests will help you understand the motivations of others and strategize more effectively in the workplace

Develop Purposeful Intentions: Taking the time to set a clear intention before you begin working on a task or project has a tremendous impact on efficiency and focus. Set clear goals and work smarter, not harder.
About Wendy Ellen Inc.

Wendy Ellen Inc. specializes in providing human resource and benefits management skills to small to mid-sized companies on an as-needed basis. From recruitment, Human Resource policy development and legislative compliance, employee retention and engagement, individual advisor/coaching, succession planning to employee development and performance, Wendy Ellen Inc. will help you protect your most valuable resource, your people.

Contact Us
http://www.wendyelleninc.ca
wendy@wendyelleninc.ca

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