Core Competencies

our top 3-5 goals or objectives in thissection. The aim is to help you focus on your top priorities for the year. Ifyou feel it is absolutely necessary to list all your goals then do so. This section formsthe foundation of your employee development plan and provides the linkage between your needsand that of the business. Lose this link and your risk developing yourself out of context.If you don't know what they are or having difficulty writing them down then ask your manager for their input.

Core competencies - are skills and characteristics you need to be successful in a position and can be a combination of both leadership and technical competencies. You should find out what core competencies you need for your position and list them in the employee development plan. The next step is to assess your gaps for each competency.

Competency gaps - review your competence level and list those competencies that need further development and the specific gaps you have within each competency. This exercise should be closely tied to your goals and objectives such that the competency you are planning on developing will enable you to achieve better business results. This is a continuous closed-loop process where you review your key goals and objectives, assess the core competencies you will need for them and if there are any gaps identifying them in your employee development plan.

Plan to close each gap - an important aspect of your employee development plan is what you plan on doing to close each of your core competency gaps. There is a variety of career development techniques you can use depending on the type of gap you are trying to close. Select the most appropriate one.

Target completion and status - use this section of your employee development plan to record the date of when you intend on closing your competency gap. You can use the status section and the Red/Yellow/Green indicators to assess if your plan is on track or not.

Manager involvement - this is really important! The employee development plan is your plan but it is not complete unless you have reviewed it with your manager. After all, you will need your manager's support in implementing the plan and the earlier you get their involvement the better it will be. Keep your manager involved in this process. Don't be afraid of having a good discussion or even a debate about each other's views during thisprocess as it will lead to a better outcome. It is much easier to have some level ofprior discussion and debate than have your manager completely reject your employeedevelopment plan as you are about to implement some of the actions.