What is a people development plan?
A people development plan describes the learning priorities for the members of a team or department/faculty and the activities that will deliver these. These learning priorities are clearly linked to the department’s goals.
Why have a people development plan?
Having a people development plan that is part of any overarching plan or strategy you have for your department can help you to:
- Ensure you are making best use of your limited resources by prioritising the learning needs you and your team(s) have identified
- Link everyone’s learning to your overall goals as a department so that everyone understands how their learning contributes to the department’s success
- Demonstrate to an Athena SWAN panel that you are being strategic in your thinking about people development
How can I produce a people development plan for my team/department/faculty?
A people development plan should begin with your department/ faculty’s strategic objectives.
- What are you aiming to achieve?
- If you are to succeed, what knowledge, skills and behaviours will you need across the department and in your team?
- Where are your strengths and where are the gaps?
- What do you therefore need to prioritise in terms of developing your people?
- What do your PDR reviewers tell you are the learning priorities for your people?
- What are your staff experience/student surveys telling you about priorities for action?
Try our sample case study to see how one fictional department went about producing part of a people development plan.