Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is the act of developing your professional practice. It helps you keep your skills, competencies, and knowledge updated. It is essential that your CPD is tracked as a reflection on what you have learned and how it can aid your professional development. Let us see how reflecting on CPD can help develop the workforce.
The Growing Importance of CPD for Employers
Most modern workforces are looking towards employee upskilling. And this makes perfect sense. After all, organizations that have formal employee upskilling programs in place are 17% more productive than those that don’t. Its implication is that employers are responsible for the continued professional development of their employees.
In most professional settings, CPD is essential, and therefore, employers need to focus on ensuring a constantly developing workforce.
This means that employees undergo CPD training annually, and employers have to keep track of the continued growth of the workforce.
CPD tracking essentially assists in the identification of potential workplace skill gaps and highlights the areas in which improvement is required. Thus, to ensure continued skill growth of the workforce, a learning culture needs to be established, supported by growth tracking activities, enabled by a training management system.
How CPD Tracking Benefits Employers
CPD tracking has practical benefits for employers. As an employer, understanding the skill gaps in your workforce and ensuring continuous learning for the employees can ensure different positive effects. Increased productivity, enhanced efficiency and performance, and so on can aid you to create a valuable workforce.
CPD tracking software exists which can enable the review of CPD systems and track growth resulting from the learning practices of the workforce. Such software can provide a centralized CPD management system, which evaluates the growth of employees throughout their professional development journeys.
Thus, through the application of such CPD software, the continuous development process becomes an integrated CPD management system, measuring from the start of the growth program through to the results.
Demonstrates Organisational Commitment to Employee Growth
How does a CPD tracker impact how your company’s commitment to workforce development is perceived?
As industries undergo rapid changes and it becomes necessary that employees are aided to keep up with the changes. Employees undergoing continuous skill development are retained by the company more easily. Thus, CPD facilitates retention, which further represents company commitment to growth.
As per a 2022 HRCI report, companies with effective CPD initiatives have improved employee retention by 30%. Thus, companies with a continuing professional development training system are promoting investment in the future of the workforce.
A survey report by a reputed recruitment platform has also revealed that companies with a CPD system maintained by tracking a continuing professional development record have shown a 24% higher retention capability than companies that have not shown the same level of commitment to employee growth.
But why such a trend? Employees want to feel they are contributing to their organizations, and are eager to take on additional training that helps them achieve this goal. The numbers don’t lie:
- On-the-job training is preferred by 68% of employees. In fact, this takes practical precedence; 70% of professional learning is gained through hands-on work.
- 92% feel that regular training sessions keep them more engaged at work
- A staggering 90% employees state that development opportunities keep them in the organization.
Improves Workforce Productivity and Efficiency
CPD initiatives generally promote a structured approach where learning is associated with professional growth. Tracking the progress using a professional development tracking software helps evaluate the growth in employee skills and productivity.
Professional development software that tracks the CPD initiatives of companies can also help them review the effectiveness of their initiatives, fostering increased employee engagement.
Maintaining these continuous practices can leverage employees’ strengths to adapt to industry changes. Employees’ effectiveness in their roles can increase due to continued professional development, and productivity can be raised.
Supports Talent Retention and Career Progression
Both the UK and the EU are embracing significant employee upskilling due to the challenges observed in talent acquisition and retention.
75% of the companies in Europe are struggling with acquiring the right talent. Additionally, only 37% of adults undergo regular CPD training, implying that talent retention activities need to improve, and it is here that tracking can go the extra mile.
As an important attribute of CPD is the growth of employee skills, these learning measures can make employees more efficient in their respective roles. Thus, continuous development approaches enhance employee retention and promote career progression through increased competence.
Ensures Compliance with UK Industry Regulations.
As an important attribute of CPD is the growth of employee skills, these learning measures can make employees more efficient in their respective roles. Thus, continuous development approaches enhance employee retention and promote career progression through increased competence.
Ensures Compliance with UK Industry Regulations
The industry regulations in the UK in the human resource management practices are primarily guided by workforce planning, recruitment, equality, diversity and inclusion. CPD is a key tool in addressing these five aspects, as it measures employee strengths and weaknesses. As employee training takes centre stage, learning and development practices are promoted.
Training based on employee needs leads to effective employee development, and creates a workforce fostered by the five key UK industry standards of Human Resource Management. It is also important to note that with growth in technology, the values of these standards are changing constantly.
Here, one of the primary benefits of CPD is the aspect of helping employees keep up with industry changes. Thus, employees undergoing CPD are also kept updated with the constantly changing industry standards and regulations. CPD certifications place key emphasis on the adherence of firm training systems to industry regulations.
Also, CPD management software tracks and manages certifications, deadlines for expiration and renewal, and updates the training systems to keep in line with industry regulations and standards.
The promotion of the industry standards in CPD processes often involves identifying how informed an employee is regarding the ethics, best practices, industry regulations and codes of conduct. A firm accredited with a continuing professional development certificate, reflects the maintenance of industry standards in its operational practices.
Firms in finance, medicine or law are regulated by industry standards, and in the UK, CPD is mandatory for employees to work in regulated firms. Here, failure to maintain a continuous development can potentially lead to financial, medical and legal practitioners losing their license.
Thus, a regulated and reviewed approach to CPD can ensure that employees are up-to-date with the best practices as per UK industry regulations. Thus, helping them continue to capably maintain their practice.
Conclusion
A reviewed approach to CPD or CPD tracking can benefit employers in keeping their workforce up-to-date with the changing industry environments, maintaining industry regulations and ensuring best practices. The upskilling potential of CPD tracking also allows employers to improve their talent retention capabilities.
Thus, if you, as an employer, want to maintain a modern workforce with an improved potential for productivity and retention, reviewing CPD measures can be valid. Reviewed CPD measures can create a learning environment with continued growth.
