Employee development today is more critical than it has ever been and it can be the difference between the edge your organization has over its competitors. An employee development plan is a structured approach to professional growth for your team and it comes with many benefits.
Not only do development plans provide a sense of direction for the workforce in their individual career journeys, but they also engage employees, improve productivity, and reduce turnover in the process. Microsoft Teams being the robust collaboration tool that it is, especially with the apps you can integrate into it, makes it a highly competitive tool for implementing employee development plans.
So let’s dive deeper into how you can best utilize Microsoft Teams to your advantage, implement employee development plans, and engage your workforce!
Table of Contents
Why use Microsoft Teams for employee development plans?
Microsoft Teams offers a beneficial environment for employee development due to various reasons. First of all the seamless collaboration opportunity between teammates cultivates harmony and teamwork. As you’re working, your development plans can always be easily accessible and in the front and center.
The ease of use and readily available nature of the space allow for easy follow-ups and encourage accountability. This is an integral element in making any employee development plan a successful journey. Last but not least, by seamlessly integrating performance management solutions like Teamflect, Teams becomes a powerful tool for you to adapt your workforce to and customize development plans for sustained success.
Step 1: Setting Up for Continuous Performance Management
Employee development is a continuous cycle which is why it shouldn’t be discussed only when you’re planning but is considered all throughout a project and during project closure. This is exactly why we should be continuously managing performance throughout the review period.
How do we do that you ask? By implementing the highest rates tool inside Microsoft Teams, Teamflect. So go ahead and search for Teamflect inside Teams and download the app.
Once you search for Teamflect by clicking on the plus icon inside Microsoft Teams, you’ll be able to get started on using the tool immediately. All you have to do is log in with your Microsoft Teams credentials.
On your homepage, you will discover a complete collection of all your existing data within the app. Teamflect simplifies the integration of your organizational chart and related company information by automatically importing data from Entra ID.
Within Teamflect, the goals module is prominently located at the top of the menu bar on the left-hand side. You can also access your goals in other modules, particularly during meetings when presenting them.
This feature is available in Outlook as well, with your meetings synchronized to your Outlook calendar!
Step 2: Evaluating Performance Effectively
This is what you’re met with inside Teamflect’s review module where you can start evaluations immediately. But, one crucial step before setting up a development plan is to make sure we’re measuring performance correctly. So, Teamflect has put together a view where everything you need is readily available inside your reviews as well. Let’s take a closer look.
Goal Completion Rate
With Teamflect’s all-in-one approach, you can see everything about an employee’s progress within your team. One example is a detailed view of the goals that were assigned to them and their current progress with those objectives.
Make sure to take note of which goals were achieved and which were underperformed before you enter the review period, so that you can effectively make your evaluations and set a course moving forward.
Role-Related Competencies
For every role within an organization, there is a set of competencies that employees must possess to fully meet the responsibilities associated with that role.
Using the Teamflect app, you can scan your organization chart to generate the required competencies, responsibilities, and job descriptions for each position. These competencies can then be incorporated into performance appraisals as part of the evaluation process.
360-Degree Feedback Results
Teamflect also offers a 360-degree feedback option if you choose to use it to make sure you get the most thorough review experience possible. You can utilize this feature right inside the review itself, and gain an even more well-rounded set of data about your employee.
Initiate 360-degree feedback cycles in advance of performance appraisals and go over the input from the reviewee’s direct reports, peers, and managers, alongside the feedback from external parties they’ve interacted with. This data will provide you with a holistic view of the reviewees performance.
9-Box Talent Grid
9-box reviews offer a visual snapshot of employees’ performance and potential, giving a comprehensive overview of your team’s talent landscape. Of course, to make sure you’re getting the most information possible before your evaluation, Teamflect has embedded the feature inside reviews.
As you gain a deeper understanding of the levels of your employees’ performance, you’ll be able to make much more informed and well-rounded decisions about your workforce’s performance and strategize better for their employee development plans.
Step 3: Setting Development Goals
As you’re conducting your reviews, there is also the ability to attach goals during the review in accordance with the development plan you’ll likely be setting according to the results of your evaluations.
As you click on create a new goal, you’ll be met with a highly customizable pop-up that you can adjust in accordance with,
- The type of goal, whether it is individual, department, company, or team goal.
- Decide on a description that best reflects the core of your objective.
- Set up how you wish to measure the progress and set a target if necessary.
- Create a link between the goal you’re creating and other goals by selecting related parent goals.
- Customize a timeline of your choice for your objective.
By utilizing all available information such as goals, performance reviews, 360-degree feedback, and the 9-box talent review, you’ll be able to make data-driven decisions that will help you design the most beneficial and efficient employee development plan possible. Implement Teamflect today, so you can get planning!
