Professional Development in Credit Crunch Times

With the economy in free fall, continuous professional development (CPD) has never been so important. Contrary to popular belief CPD isn't just about training. And it's a good job that it isn't as training budgets are being squeezed and activities curtailed. CPD is much more than this; it is a combination of approaches, ideas and techniques that will help you manage your own learning and growth in order to meet your goals. Potential activities include: coaching, networking, shadowing, volunteering, action learning, seeking feedback, modelling behaviour on exceptional professionals and regularly practicing a specific behaviour, undertaking special project work and mentoring.

The focus of CPD is firmly on results; the benefits that professional development can bring you and you alone. An important thing to remember is that one size doesn't fit all. Wherever you are in your career now and whatever you want to achieve in the future, your CPD should be tailored to your needs.

The benefits are clear to see and aren't just felt when you're going for promotion or looking for a new role with a different employer. Many employers now value learning as a core competency and will be looking to see what actions you have taken in the recent past.

CPD helps builds your personal brand. It will offer you confidence and credibility as you can view your progression by tracking your learning. A further benefit is that very often you can earn more by showcasing your achievements or at least it helps you stand out from the crowd. This can be a particularly useful tool when you are discussing your performance at appraisal time. It can also help you achieve your career goals by focusing on your training and development needs.

From the organisational perspective it allows you to cope positively with change by continually updating your skills set. In addition you can become more productive and efficient by reflecting on your learning and highlighting gaps in your knowledge and experience base and by taking appropriate actions to remedy.

Finally it is useful to remember that CPD isn't a fixed process. Instead it is a question of setting yourself SMART development goals and then charting your progress towards achieving them. It's about where you want to be and how you plan to get there. To be really effective, the approach should be based on reflection; a practice that focuses on outcomes and results, rather than 'time spent' or 'things done'.

Coaches at Meet Your Goals can help with all aspects of career and performance management and meetings can be conducted face to face, by email at Kathy.whymark@meetyourgoals.co.uk or by telephone 01428 653977/ 07826 077140..