Your Individual Development Plan
Learn the benefits of an Individual Development Plan (IDP) and how to create one.
The Individual Development Plan (IDP) is a structured tool to use to take action towards achieving your professional and career goals. The IDP is one piece of your overall professional or career goals, identifying activities you can engage in to develop your knowledge, skills, abilities and competencies.
Managers and supervisors supporting an employee's IDP process may also contact career@ucsd.edu with questions or for help in identifying learning activities to populate those IDP’s.
What are the benefits of an IDP?
The IDP’s primary purpose is to help employees reach short- and long-term career goals, as well as improve current job performance.
IDP’s are beneficial in aligning learning activities to specific competencies, such as the UC Core Competencies, or with the mission, goals and objectives of an organization.
The UC San Diego IDP document is formatted to help organize learning activities for easy prioritization.
Individual development planning benefits the organization by aligning employee training and development efforts with its mission, goals, and objectives.
What is the manager’s role in the IDP process?
Employees have the principal responsibility for developing their skills, knowledge, and experience; the supervisor's responsibility is to assess, inform, refer (network) and support.
- Provide an atmosphere of trust and open communication
- Initiate the individual development planning process in regular or purpose-scheduled meetings with the employee
- Know the professional development policies and/or contract language that applies to your direct reports
- Ask questions and listen
An IDP is not a performance evaluation tool or a one-time activity, and it requires cooperation between the employee and supervisor Supervisors should view it as a coaching opportunity as opposed to performance management. It involves preparation and continuous feedback. However, it can be useful when discussing the year's development goals during the performance management process. When your team member is creating an IDP, consider:
- Strengths that, if enhanced, will contribute to overall career goals
- New skills that will enhance job performance
- Areas of performance/skills that need to be improved
Facilitating the Employee Development Process
In regular check-in or professional development meetings, supervisors can utilize the Identify - Assess - Plan - Act - Evaluate model for career planning and development:
- Identify the employee’s career aspirations
- Assess the employee’s current skill/ability level
- Collaborate on an individual development plan
- Encourage the employee to act on the plan
- Evaluate and provide feedback on the progress
Needs that may contribute to establishing the purpose of the learning activities:
- Change in technology
- New assignment
- Future staffing need
- Leadership development
- Relationship building
Why is employee development important?
- Change - managers need to keep their teams’ abilities current, so their performance matches the pace of change
- Retention - high-potential employees are most at risk for seeking, and being sought for, more promising job options
- Productivity - if the teams’ abilities are continuously developed, productivity will match the pace of change
- Boosts morale
- Improves person-job match
- Multigenerational - studies show that millennials will pick the job with the most potential for professional development, even over one with regular pay increases