Enhance Skills, Drive Growth: Build a CPD Strategy for Your Business
In today’s rapidly changing business landscape, it can be easy to fall behind the times. This is why it’s crucial that business owners implement comprehensive CPD strategies to remain competitive and keep their workforce up to date on the latest skills and developments in their industry.
How do I prioritise CPD for my business?
Regular participation in CPD activities is the key to helping your business grow and thrive. Working life is busy, so it can be challenging to find time to undertake adequate CPD. This is why implementing a CPD strategy is essential. Let’s break down how you can create an effective CPD plan…
Step One: Set Your Goals
The first step to creating your CPD plan is to identify what your business wants to achieve through professional development.
This can range from the career goals of individual employees to the objectives of your business as a whole. Once you’ve established these goals, you can then move on to consider how CPD can help you to achieve your aims.
EXAMPLE:
Employee goal: Progress into a management role
Employee CPD: Take a course to improve management skills
Business goal: Streamline the sales process
Business CPD: Attend a seminar to learn how to use a new sales tool
Step Two: Assess Current Skills
Once you’ve established what you want to get out of CPD, it’s key to establish a starting point for existing skills and competencies.
This ensures that time isn't wasted on areas where employees are already competent, while also avoiding diving into topics that are too advanced for their current skill level.
Step Three: Find Quality CPD Opportunities
So, you’ve identified your goals and your employee’s current skill level. This provides you with the basis to seek out the right CPD for your company’s needs. You may choose to deliver training internally or outsource CPD from an external training provider. If you do choose to outsource training, it’s important to ensure that it is high quality.
There are many different types of CPD. To find quality CPD, look for The CPD Group's accreditation logos, which include a verifiable accreditation number. You can use this number to confirm that a course has been accredited.
Another useful tool is The CPD Register. Here, you can search for accredited courses. Courses accredited with The CPD Group are automatically listed on the register for easier discovery and enrolment.
Step Four: Create Your Plan
You’ve identified your goals and found the right CPD activities to achieve them. Now it’s time to put together a timeline of when you will partake in these CPD activities and allocate the appropriate resources to do so. The timeline should be realistic and flexible enough to accommodate the daily demands of work. Breaking down goals into manageable phases can help keep progress on track.
EXAMPLE:
Short-term goals: Complete a specific online course within the next three months.
Long-term goals: Attend two CPD accredited events per year (like The Business Show!)
Step Five: Monitor and Document CPD Activities
Once your plan is in action, it’s important to keep track and measure the effectiveness of your CPD.
CPD credits, also called points or units, can be used to quantify the professional development gained through CPD activities. Generally, one credit equals one hour of learning, helping professionals track progress.
If a CPD activity has been accredited with The CPD Group, it will be allocated a certain number of points – making it easier for you and your employees to track CPD.
By tracking and monitoring the success of your CPD, you can adjust your plan and identify any further CPD that may be needed.
Get recognised!
Once you’ve got your plan in place, you can get recognised as a Committed to CPD Employer for free to demonstrate your dedication to continuous professional development.
If you need any further guidance on how to create a comprehensive CPD plan, head over to The CPD Group’s Employer Framework, where we have put together a list of best practices for employers when it comes to CPD.