Continuing Professional Development

Undertaking CPD not only encourages individuals to improve their knowledge and skills, but also helps them to stay motivated and challenged by providing a focused approach to their ongoing development. The benefits to the workplace are also clear. Not only will employees be more capable, but they will be better placed to suggest and implement new ideas, and play a greater role in moving the organization forward – essential in a fast-paced and ever-changing world. Many professional bodies also have a mandatory requirement for their members to undertake a set annual amount of CPD in order to retain qualified or chartered status e.g. accountants, pharmacists, HR and marketing professionals. Many employers have now adopted the same principles in order to ensure that employees take responsibility for their professional development.

One Size Does Not Fit All

It is important to appreciate that different individuals’ CPD activities can vary considerably – even if they have the same profession or role. Every individual has their own knowledge gaps, role outputs and preferred ways of learning, and their CPD should be built around these. One of the great advantages of CPD is its flexibility. It empowers the individual to direct their own learning and development. However, a fairly typical scenario is that a learner will agree a program with their line manager. The manager can ensure that this dialog is as constructive as possible by establishing the following:

• the main purpose and key responsibilities of the individual’s current role
• what skills, knowledge and experience the individual needs in order to perform effectively and progress in their role
• what professional qualifications are desirable or mandatory
• what development opportunities are available to the individual
• the best ways to keep their professional knowledge up-to-date
• the type of learning that works best for the individual
• the internal (e.g. coaching) and external (e.g. professional body) support that can be made available to the individual

The learner and manager will agree CPD activities around development needs. Once these have been established, the information should be documented onto a matrix or table that can be easily followed and updated. Many organizations encourage their employees to keep a personal development plan (PDP), and make this a focus of the organization’s performance management system. This can be used to support CPD activities and processes, through the maintenance of a record of goals, growth and achievement over time. A key feature of a PDP is that the individual takes personal responsibility for their own development, so it fits in with the whole ethos of CPD. An organization may have its own PDP forms as standard, and these should be completed. The structure of these can vary. However, the following example is a good indication of the format they should take:

Activity undertaken

Purpose of activity

Target date

Learning achieved

Learning applied

Further action

Description of learning/development activity

Overall aim of the activity, plus value it will bring

Date by which activity should be completed

Confirmation that activity has been completed.

Details of learning being used in the workplace.

Follow-up activity that needs to occur.

While each section of the plan is important, close attention should be paid to the ‘Further Action’ section, as it helps to provide some continuity and direction to the individual’s CPD. Once the activity has been completed and the skills or knowledge have been put into practice, the individual will be in a position to establish if any follow-up activity needs to take place, either to consolidate their learning or to advance it. Where an organization does not use PDPs, but does wish employees to record their CPD activities, the above form is equally suitable for this purpose.

What Activities Qualify as CPD?

This is a question of what is right for the individual, their role, profession and type of organization. For example, an individual might study for professional exams, and these would naturally be counted as CPD activities. It’s important to remember, however, that learning doesn’t have to involve formal study or take part in a classroom to count as a development activity. Something as straightforward as reading a book on a relevant subject is a learning exercise, and would count towards an individual’s CPD. Some examples of development activities are:

• professional qualifications, e.g. those that lead to membership of the Association of Certified Charted Accountants (ACCA) or Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM)
• vocational qualifications, e.g. National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) or City and Guilds
• attending a conference or seminar (in-house or external)
• informal learning, e.g. on-the-job learning or learning through doing
• training courses (in-house or external), e.g. presentation skills or project management
• undertaking an open or distance learning course, e.g. book-keeping or business planning
• studying a subject using computer-based learning
• reading relevant books or journals
• networking with others in your profession
• working with a coach or mentor

As mentioned previously, it is beneficial for the individual, when faced with a choice, to select activities that best suit their preferred ways of learning, e.g. whether they like to learn through reflection or by ‘doing’.

Keeping It ‘Continuous’

CPD is an ongoing process throughout an individual’s career. It should be adapted and designed to support their needs, as well as helping them to meet the requirements of their profession and their organization. It is therefore important to encourage employees to:

• Review their development needs regularly. This means asking the individual to keep their CPD or PDP plan up-to-date, and review it at least once a year. It is important to consider what further development areas are required, or what new skills need to be learned, particularly in the light of personal, professional or organizational change. This should then be the focus of CPD moving forward for the next year.
• Evaluate their learning. This is the part of the process that many people miss, but it’s one of the most vital. Individuals should be encouraged to review each learning activity and satisfy themselves that it is meeting its objective and purpose. Evaluation can take many forms: from examinations that test knowledge; appraisals from colleagues or managers who can see the benefits of any new skills; or analyzing team/departmental/organizational results to see what impact the individual is having.
• Enjoy their learning. The main purpose of CPD is to benefit the individual and their career. By encouraging individuals to reflect on their goals, and enabling them to undertake activities that best suit how they like to learn, the CPD process can be an enjoyable and thoroughly rewarding one.