Introduction
Learning is a process and this means that one cannot achieve it in a single day. It is continuous and scholars have argued that there is no end to learning in the sense that one cannot learn all that there is to know in the world. One therefore continues to learn throughout their life. Even when we go to school and specialize in a particular area, we still need to cement the skills and knowledge that we acquire by constantly refreshing and adding up on the knowledge that we already have.
Continuous Professional Development as the name suggests refers is an approach that has been adopted by many organizations the world over in order to help employees continually keep themselves abreast with what is happening in their areas of specialization. The world is dynamic and this means that some of the concepts learnt in school are bound to change with time.
The only way for those who have already left school and are already in the career field to keep themselves familiar with the changes that take place in their areas of specialization is through Continuous Professional Development. The focus of this discussion is to look at this concept in greater depth and also look at its benefits and especially for those who in human resource and how the concept of CPD can help one become an effective HR practitioner.
Background Information
The concept of Continuous Professional Development is an approach that involves a combination of ideas which help a professional take full charge and manage their continued learning as well personal growth. The main aim of this kind of program is to ensure that as one continues to practice in their specific career fields, they still continue to learn any important aspects that may help them become better in their field.
For those who take up this program, they gain a better standing professionally as one is able to pursue even greater goals in their career. Usually, the achievements that a person gains having enrolled in the Continuous Professional Development is compiled in a portfolio which then receives accreditation at the end of every year and this helps one advance in their career.
Benefits of Continuous Professional Development
Individual Benefits
Continuous Professional Development is not only beneficial due to the fact that it improves the professional standing of a person thereby helping one gain promotions and career advancements. As career fields continue to advance and become more dynamic, the level of competition has gone up and employers are now looking for a candidate who has got more than just mere papers from a graduate school. In addition, employers want to see someone who has continually enhanced and upgraded that which they have learnt in school.
Having been involved in this programme is therefore considered by many employers as competency that is basic for a person to qualify for particular position. Therefore, one of benefits that one enjoys having gone through this program is that one makes an investment for themselves and this helps one to keep the professional skills gained in skills up to date while familiarizing oneself with the new changes in the career field.
The other benefit is that one becomes better prepared for responsibilities that come with high ranks in one’s career. In so doing, it becomes easier for one to achieve the goals they have set in their career as one is able to remain focused on their development and the skills gained during training.
An individual who has gone through the Continuous Professional Development is also confident and is considered more credible. This is because such a person has continually cemented the foundation of their professional skills and experience thereby making their work to be more believable. Since such a person has a portfolio of all the kind of advancements that he or she has made over time, it becomes easy to monitor the progress that one has been making to demonstrate the proactive efforts that one has been making to enhance their skills.
Having kept a portfolio with which potential employers can keep track of a person’s performance an efforts over time better enhances one’s chances of not only clinching a lucrative job but also getting promoted thus attaining higher responsibilities and this helps one achieve their career goals. The portfolio is also used as tool to gain appraisal since potential employers have a track of your past development.
Organizational Benefits
Continuous Professional Development is not only beneficial to an individual but also to an organization. Usually, since this program is individual oriented, an organization allows individuals to concentrate on their personal growth as career people and the end result is that they become better employees and this is highly beneficial to any organization (Donki 124).
Therefore, Continuous Professional Development is instrumental in helping employees maximize on their potential by encouraging them to continually concentrate on their skills. What makes Continuous Professional Development effective and beneficial to organizations is the fact that is able to link the theory learnt to real field practice and also learning is out into actions.
The second benefit that organizations gain from Continuous Professional Development is that it helps those that have specialized in human resource to come up with goals that are specific, measurable achievable, realistic and time bound (SMART). This ensures that the kind of training offered by the organizations through the human resource department is one that is linked to the needs of the organization thereby assisting an organization in achieving its goals.
Continuous Professional Development is also said to contribute greatly to the development of employees in general. In so doing the employees get motivated and have greater morale to work. When employees are motivated and have greater morale to work, the organization benefits because the output of employees increase and this means that the profit margins of the organization will go up.
In addition, when employees of an organization are motivated, they help portray a good image of the company and this is important in branding the organization to its publics. This concept can therefore be said to be helpful in the sense of adding value to the organization as well as the staff. It also makes it easy for organizations to make employees remained focused for the year end appraisal.
CIPD HR Map
The CIPD HR Profession Map is highly integrated and comprehensive approach of the manner in which human resources adds value to an organization both on long term as well as short term basis.
The CIPD HR Map is important in helping people understand the skills required to be effective as a human resource practitioner.(Armstrong 120) This map makes a combination of high standards of competence in human resource as well as an alignment of the goals of an organization with the professional standards and this ensures that the performance of an organization is sustained.
The scope of this map is to focus on what the human resource practitioners specialize in and consider all the skills, knowledge and behavior that these practitioners require in order to be successful and most effective. The map further introduces a framework which is both flexible and clear as far as progression in career is concerned. This map acknowledges the fact the role played by human resource practitioners and the progression of career are different.
The map also ensures that not only are human resource practitioners supported but also the development of these professionals is accelerated (Donki 57). It has become necessary to internalize the HR Map and this has seen the launching of an online map known as HR Map allows practitioners to carry out a self assessment and also provides recommendations and solutions that are practical. Practitioners can then use the solutions and recommendations o develop their career further and achieve their professional goals and ambitions.
Professional Areas in the CIPD HR Map
The CIPD HR Map has got three main areas which are professional areas, behavior and bands and transitions. The professional areas are ten in total and under each area, there are specific activities which each human resource practitioner ought to be familiar with in order to be competent.
The behavior section on the other hand outlines the kind of behavior that a human resource practitioner ought to portray while engaging the activities outlined in the first section. The third section which is known as bands and transitions shows the hierarchy of the professionals and what needs to be done in order for one to go up the hierarchy. Some of the professional areas have been discussed below.
Strategies Insights and Solutions
Under this professional area, there is a deep understanding of the various strategies and solutions that ensure that the performance of an organization is maintained and that any barriers that may hinder or prohibit growth of an organization are eliminated (Armstrong 45). This area also employs various insights that ensure that both employees and customers are brought on board thereby ensuring harmony which promotes higher productivity and thus the escalation of profit margins.
Under this professional area, human resource practitioners endeavor to come up with strategies and solutions all of which are aimed at enhancing or making better the organizational environment. Some of the major aspects that are tacked in this professional area include gaining a clear understanding of the context, mainly external, under which an organization operates. This involves among others understanding the stakeholders of the organization as well as the publics of the organization.
The other issue of focus under this area is the drivers that bring about change or simply the drivers of change. This area also takes keen attention on the manner in which the horizon of the organization can be changed and the kind of impact such change is likely to bring to the organization. Also of focus under this professional area is the need to bring about promotion to the team that is in leadership so that it is able to come up with responses that would resolve crisis within the organization.
Leading, and Managing the Human Resources
This is a professional area that is quite wide. It has got several areas of focus. Generally however, this professional area deals with come up with skills of leadership and management of human resource. (Armstrong 54) Just like other departments in an organization, human resource department which is lead by human resource practitioners play an important role in enhancing development of an organization.
It is this department that is mandated with careful selection of employees who have got the right and relevant skills and experience to join the already existing team of employees. Being able to therefore select without any biases the correct employees who have got the skills required to add value to the organization is the business of this department.
One area that this aspect concentrates on is organizational design. This basically ensures that an organization has been designed properly in order to be able to achieve the goals set. It has been discovered by human resource practitioners that part of the reason why organizations do not succeed in achieving their set goals is because of inappropriate design of the organization.
An organization should be designed in such a manner that it is able to achieve the set goals and objectives both on long term as well as short term basis. This therefore requires a change not only in the structure of the organization but also the design of the jobs performed by employees, There is therefore need to align all the structures within an organization towards achievement of the set goals and objectives.
Usually, when concentrating on this area, the human resource practitioners always keep in mind the needs of the organization. This means all the strategies and plans that are put in place must be alleged to the organizational goals, objectives, vision and mission. Under this area, the practitioners further ensure that any barriers which m enhance ay in any way impede development, growth or progress of an organization are eliminated.
As already mentioned in the introduction part of this discussion, organizations have since realized that most of their employees normally have potential which is enhanced and cemented will add value to the organization. Therefore, the human resource department has been mandated to help employees discover their potential and use it o enhance their own growth and that of the organization at large.
When organizations come up with goals, both long term and short term, they rely on the employees to help the organization realize these goals. Therefore, it becomes of great necessity to arm the employees with necessary tools (skills) which will help them steer the organization into achieving the desired goals and objectives.
Conclusion
The CIPD HR Map continues to play a important role in ensuring that the human resource practitioners are well grounded in their profession and that they assist the employees in an organization to pursue their individual goals which in end helps improve the performance of the organization.
This map can therefore be said to be a benchmark which all human resource practitioners use to evaluate and see whether their organizations are headed for the right direction. When practitioners in the human resource field evaluate themselves and realize that they have not hit the standards that have been outlined in the HR Map, it makes them want to work harder and put even greater efforts in order to reach the target outlined.
This is a good approach as it helps human resource practitioners gauge themselves, employees in the organization and the organization in general in order to find out if there is any progress that is being achieved. If not, the human resource practitioners will need to relook on some or all aspects of the organization including the structure and design of the firm so as to establish exactly where the problem lies.
Unlike in the past, many organizations in today’s dynamic business world have embraced the HR Map having learnt and even witnessed the benefits that are gained as a result of this map. It is the primary aim of any organization to make profits.
While many organizations argue that the only way to make higher profits is to reduce the cost of production, this is however not the only factor that determines the profit margins of an organization. Other factors such as the strategies that organizations have put in place play and equally important role. The plans made by an organization must all be aligned and geared towards the achievement of the organizational goals.
Employee motivation is yet another factor that organizations must constantly keep in mind because the employees of the organization are the ones who oversee the realization of a company’s goals and objectives. Organizations are therefore encourages to have a HR Map which will act as a guide to the organization enabling the human resource practitioners in the organization to know where the organization is coming from and where it is headed in terms of achievement of its goals.
Works Cited
Armstrong, Michael. Armstrong’s Essential Human Resource Management Practice: A Guide to People Management. New York: Kogan Page Publishers, 2010
Donki, Richard. Future of Careers. London: CIPD Publishing, 2002