Vancouver telecommunications firm picks up ASTD award
At Telus, the Vancouver-based telecommunications firm recently awarded a BEST award by American Society for Training and Development, employees at all levels are expected to create a customized career development plan, which sets out personal objectives for both performance and learning, said vice-president of employee development Josh Blair.
But that’s the third step in a four-step process designed to align individual performance goals with corporate strategy. The first step involves learning what the corporate strategy is, and employees have a range of opportunities to do that via regular performance meetings with a team leader, a weekly online video, an online magazine, weekly e-letters from the CEO, or a portal providing information on business units, human resources, news developments and share prices.
At the second step, employees measure themselves using a Telus self-assessment tool, a 360-degree feedback process or through discussions with their managers.
The third step is to create a career development plan, which Blair described as “a contract between the team member and their manager as to what learning they’ll do in the next year, and what learning will be made available.” And finally, between 60 and 90 days after a learning event, the employee has to sit down with his manager to assess whether the training has led to a behavioural change.
“Often during these learning events, you’ll learn certain things for which you’re fully prepared and you’ll change your behaviour and performance right away. And other times you learn you still have a lot to learn. At that point, you agree to an action plan that is captured in your customized career development plan to move forward. It’s, again, the concept that every learning event has to translate into a performance improvement or more learning.”
But that’s the third step in a four-step process designed to align individual performance goals with corporate strategy. The first step involves learning what the corporate strategy is, and employees have a range of opportunities to do that via regular performance meetings with a team leader, a weekly online video, an online magazine, weekly e-letters from the CEO, or a portal providing information on business units, human resources, news developments and share prices.
At the second step, employees measure themselves using a Telus self-assessment tool, a 360-degree feedback process or through discussions with their managers.
The third step is to create a career development plan, which Blair described as “a contract between the team member and their manager as to what learning they’ll do in the next year, and what learning will be made available.” And finally, between 60 and 90 days after a learning event, the employee has to sit down with his manager to assess whether the training has led to a behavioural change.
“Often during these learning events, you’ll learn certain things for which you’re fully prepared and you’ll change your behaviour and performance right away. And other times you learn you still have a lot to learn. At that point, you agree to an action plan that is captured in your customized career development plan to move forward. It’s, again, the concept that every learning event has to translate into a performance improvement or more learning.”
