How to train and develop staff

Councils with appropriately trained employees are better equipped to provide services to the community and it is therefore important to promote training and development and ensure that they are carried out consistently and effectively.

Indentify

• Identify training and development needs, taking into account Council objectives and the requirements of employees.

• Factor in elements such as budget, timeframe and relevance when deciding if training requests from employees can be approved.

• Be proactive in identifying training relating to changes in working methods, legislation, quality systems and new services being delivered by the council.

Plan

• Plan and organise training and development opportunities to meet these needs.

• Training need not require expensive courses; work shadowing and mentoring can provide focused and job related coaching

• Councils should establish training budgets as part of their staff development policies.

• Consider your policy for financial support and study leave and whether a training agreement is required.

Deliver

• Design and deliver training and development opportunities based on priorities.

• Prioritise training to support formal performance improvement plans

• Training and development may be carried out internally via coaching, shadowing, group learning or as self-directed learning, or may be external in the form of attending conferences and seminars or attending short or longer term courses and carrying out formal qualifications such as nationally recognised qualifications for Council employees.

Evaluate

• Ensure that processes are in place to evaluate the effectiveness of the training and devlopment opportunities.

• Encourage employees to record their own developement in a CPD (Continuing Professional Development) log.

Identifying training needs

There are a number of ways that developmental needs can be identified for example via:

• Staff induction and appraisal

• Interviews

• Supervision sessions

• Organisational goals, plans and strategies

• Workforce planning and change processes.

Financial assistance

Where you provide financial assistance towards the cost of tuition or course material, asking the employee to sign a Learning Agreement outlining the details and terms of the funding can ensure you can recoup some or all of the costs if the employee leaves in a specified timeframe or fails to complete the course.

This document was commissioned by the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) in 2019 for the purpose of its member councils and county associations. Every effort has been made to ensure that the contents of this document are correct at time of publication. NALC cannot accept responsibility for errors, omissions and changes to information subsequent to publication.

This document has been written by the HR Services Partnership – a company that provides HR advice and guidance to local (town and parish) councils. For more information about their services, contact them on 01403 240 205.

© NALC 2019