Unit 4: Employee development

• Assessment centres: multiple exercises (in-basket, leaderless group discussion, presentations) observed by trained assessors to identify managerial potential.
• 360-degree feedback: ratings from supervisors, peers, subordinates, customers and self.
• Job experiences: stretch assignments outside one's comfort zone build skills; downward moves and temporary assignments (sabbaticals, projects) also develop.
• Mentoring: long-term career guidance from a senior; coaching: short-term performance improvement.

• Individual Development Plan (IDP): agreed between employee and manager — goals, actions, timelines, support.
• Succession planning: identifying and developing high-potential employees (HiPos) for key positions.
• Management development programmes (MDPs): structured programmes for managerial skills — leadership, decision-making, communication.
• Responsibilities: employee (owns development), manager (coach and supporter), HR (provides tools and programmes).

Case study method

A written description of a real or hypothetical business situation; trainees analyse problems and propose solutions (Harvard Business School).

• Develops: analytical thinking, decision-making, problem-solving, presenting arguments.
• Process: read the case → identify problems → analyse causes → generate alternatives → evaluate → recommend → discuss.
• Limitations: time-consuming, needs skilled facilitators, may not reflect real pressure.

Role play

Trainees act out roles in a realistic situation — a manager handling an angry customer, an appraisal interview, a negotiation.

• Develops: interpersonal and communication skills, empathy, handling conflict.
• Process: brief the scenario → assign roles → act out → observe → debrief and feedback.
• Limitations: some trainees feel self-conscious; may be treated as a game.

Also called T-group (training group) or laboratory training, developed by Kurt Lewin's associates at the National Training Laboratories (1946–47).

• Small unstructured groups of 10–15 people meet without an agenda; the trainer is a facilitator, not a leader.
• Members share feelings and give honest feedback on each other's behaviour.

Objectives

• Increase self-awareness and insight into one's behaviour.
• Increase sensitivity to others' feelings.
• Improve listening and interpersonal skills.
• Increase tolerance for differences; better group functioning.

Limitations

• Can cause emotional stress and anxiety.
• Changes may not transfer to the workplace.
• Depends heavily on the facilitator's skill.
• Questioned on ethics — invasion of privacy.

Business (management) games

Trainees are divided into teams representing competing firms; they make decisions (price, production, advertising, finance) over several rounds and see simulated results.

• Develops: strategic thinking, teamwork, decision-making under uncertainty, understanding interrelations among functions.
• Limitations: may overemphasise winning; simplified models; can be costly.

Behaviour modelling

Based on Bandura's social learning theory — people learn by observing a model, then practising.

• Used for supervisory skills — giving feedback, handling complaints, conducting interviews, coaching.
• Effective because it focuses on specific observable behaviours ("key learning points").

Other development techniques

• In-basket exercise: handling a pile of memos, emails and decisions under time pressure.
• Conferences and seminars, outbound (experiential) training, action learning (teams solve real organisational problems), job rotation for executives, university programmes.