Career and development

This section of the HR Toolkit provides tools for managers to support their employees in their professional development.

An organisation evolves with the development of its staff. However, employees do need support for their professional development. This requires a constructive, ongoing conversation about their professional development, clear and transparent policies, opportunities to grow and training opportunities.

Results from the university-wide staff survey show a varied picture on the points of concern regarding career and development. Insufficient facilities and opportunities to grow are themes employees indicate relatively often. Paying extra attention to this, for example by helping to think about future career steps, could make a positive difference for many employees. At the level of units and divisions, other or additional issues may obviously arise.

The central HR division offers expertise on this topic. Please e-mail hr-ontwikkeling [at] ru.nl (hr-ontwikkeling[at]ru[dot]nl).

Policy/management

Policy development and implementation

 

a) Strategic personnel planning

  • A (multi-year) planning of your organisation's required formation, competences and other personnel values, aligned with internal and external developments.

 

b) Career paths and job descriptions

  • A clear picture of the functions you use in your organisational unit, giving substance to the UFO (framework set by the collective labour agreement), including the paths between functions/promotion guidelines (e.g. tenure & career tracks) and the competences appropriate to each function level.

 

c) Training plan

  • The overview of the training you, as the organisation's leadership, consider desirable for the various positions, as well as the resources you make available for this purpose.

 

d) Development/(annual) appraisal cycle

  • The procedure you use as management regarding monitoring and supporting the professional development and performance of employees, whereby the conversation between the manager and individual employee is central.

Gain more knowledge and skills in policy and practice

 

a) Participation in three-day course 'Sustainable careers'

  • Top scientists provide you with tools for an appropriate HR policy and discuss the latest, relevant models. Afterwards, you will be completely up-to-date and can immediately start working with the best practices, a practical toolkit and applicable intervention options for the challenges surrounding sustainable employability in your own work context.
  • Target audience: executives and HR professionals.
  • More info: click here.

Team and individual

Further exploration of problems, causes and solutions

 

a) Have a conversation with your employee about his/her work package, habits and ambitions

  • Openly (continuing to) discuss this topic with your employee(s) and then linking it to concrete agreements, such as a mapped career path, is a crucial factor in successfully promoting professional development.
  • See also: e-Learning 'The Good Conversation'

 

b) Organise a counselling session with an in-house coach

  • Employees can sign up for an Advisory Meeting with an advisor/coach for questions relating to vitality or career or training advice. This could be a workshop, training (internal or external) or coaching. The advisor likes to think along how someone can stimulate further development in their own work context through small initiatives.
  • Target group: individual employees.
  • More info: click here.

Development interventions for individual employees

 

a) Training

  • Radboud University reimburses 50 to 100 per cent of training that the employee attends as part of career development. The reimbursement depends on the importance of the training for your job.
  • The training scheme and training application form can be found here.

 

b) Participation in learning activity on gROW

  • Many learning activities can be found through gROW to help guide careers.
  • Target group: all employees.
  • Overview e-learnings can be found here, overview workshops here.

 

c) Personal Leadership Training

  • Goal: you become aware of your own potential and strength, develop the courage to choose what is important to you, learn to balance your work and know what your obstacles are and how to deal with them. In this training you turn your insights into concrete actions.
  • Target audience: all employees with a healthy dose of self-reflection, who want to get a better grip on their work, career and development.
  • Format: an intake interview and 2.5 training days, provided by trainers from agency Stach.
  • More info: click here.

 

d) E-learning The power of failure

  • Goal: Be able to deal with disappointments and turn this into positive learning experiences.
  • Format: six-part e-learning, from Good Habitz.
  • More info: click here.

 

e) E-learning Ownership

  • Goal: encourage sense of responsibility, commitment and ownership.
  • Format: six-part e-learning, from Good Habitz.
  • More info: click here.

 

f) Guidance to other work (at end of contract)

  • If a contract is not renewed or the employee is dismissed, Radboud University supports the search for other work. The support is aimed at finding other work as soon as possible. The support ranges from career workshops and coaching to strengthening your CV together. Employees can receive counselling from the moment their contract ends within six months. If the need arises, counselling for other work can sometimes be used earlier. Guidance stops at the moment the employee no longer receives benefits.
  • More info: contact your department's HR-team.

Development interventions for teams

 

a) Team coaching

  • Want to work with your team to further develop as a collective and learn together? You can contact the advisers/coaches of the SBO (Strategy, Policy and Training) department. They can guide you and your team or advise you on how to take up team coaching.
  • Target group: all employees.
  • More info: e-mail margien.sybesma [at] ru.nl (margien[dot]sybesma[at]ru[dot]nl) 

 

b) Other interventions

  • More workshops, articles and other support on team development can be found on gROW channel 'Getting started with your team'. Topics include online collaboration, ownership, the power of failure and improving teamwork.
  • More info: click here.