By Poul Langagergaard, CEO in Evovia
1. Be well prepared
Small talk may be all well and social, but it is not a constructive way of conducting a work related dialogue. In relation to your daily work this should rather be considered under the category: waste of time.
A lot of people conduct EDP in this way. As the EDP interview is unstructured, it doesn't have a clear goal – and it doesn't invite to agreements and follow-ups, and it definitely isn't well prepared.
The preparation can be the key to getting results – and satisfaction for employee and manager.
Therefore, you should postpone the interview if one of the parties hasn't prepared well enough. EDP can potentially be worth its weight in gold for the organisation, so it should not be degraded to a waste of time.
The time invested in a serious EDP process – comes back to the organisation with compound interest!
2. EDP is about drawing a clear path from vision to goals to actions
An African saying has it that: In order to score, you need to have a goal.
That is logical – but when you look around in companies and organisations, it doesn't seem to be logic in practice. A lot of employees works hours and hours each day – without really knowing what is expected by them of their manager with regards to their performance and goals, so they work away without being certain that what they do is satisfactory.
That's just not good enough.
There has to be a clear line from the vision, goals and actions of the organisation – to the goals and actions of the individual employee. Therefore, EDP should also be about the position of the individual in relation to goals and visions of the company and about where it is possible to do more.
If this line is sufficiently clear, life will flourish - on the workplace - and in the minds and thoughts of the employees.
And that releases energy!
3. Only an employee who thrives - can be developed
EDP is not and should not be a job satisfaction survey. EDP is about Employee Development Planning. It is simply not possible to develop an employee who doesn't thrive. Therefore, the EDP questionnaire must contain some indicators about the well-being of the employee.
If the employee clearly doesn't thrive, then a different agenda has to be activated in order to solve the problems that have created this situation for the employees. Only then can you begin to build up and develop the employee.
And the development is based on the situation such as the employee perceives it – and it aims for whatever the potential is, step by step. And that is different for each person.
Therefore, employee development is a very differentiated discipline. If you want to treat all employees alike, you have to treat them differently… That is how you develop the human resources – to the benefit of everybody!
4. Look at the past, look at the present – and spend some time on the future
EDP has 3 perspectives: Looking back, looking at the present – and looking at the future in order to make clear and constructive agreements that are operational and measurable.
I have often considered that the first two points take up about 30-40% of the time, but the talk about the future, with agreements, goals and actions, that takes up most of the time.
There is an evaluation of both the employee and the manager, which there has to be some time for.
There is also an assessment of the current resources in relation to the desired tasks.
But the part of the EDP that really makes a difference and which can make a boost, that is the talk about the future. Be very specific, make precise and measurable agreements, so that there can be no doubt about whether the goals are reached…
5. Communicate openly and with good eye contact, be inclusive and honest
When an employee sits down for an EDP interview with his or her immediate manager, then it is a MUST that there is sufficient quiet and concentration for the dialogue. Phones should be off, no disturbances in the room. The employee must be in no doubt, that this is about YOU!
The communication has to be open, direct and appreciative. This means: As a manager you have to listen – and reflect about why it was, that you were created with 2 ears and just one mouth? Keep eye contact and always try to read the body language and the reactions to the issues, you are discussing. In this way you can show regard for the signals, which you experience from the employee. There shouldn't be a PC between you for the interview. You can get your PC when you're done with a section and you need to put down your agreements and deadlines. The dialogue should be characterised by: the words are what matters.
During the evaluation, the manager must be honest – honesty is the best policy. And be inclusive and appreciative in your honesty. It has to be a reliable and trustworthy evaluation, so that nobody leaves an EDP interview without having a clear picture of where that person stands in relation to the expectations and desires of the manager.
6. Remember, that it is all about developing the human resources
Each time, when you sit at an EDP interview, one thing has to be perfectly clear to you: this conversation is all about developing the human resources, so that we, as an organisation, become richer than before!
During all the celebratory speeches the CEO may say that the employees are the most valuable asset of the company.
But during EDP we take the celebratory speeches into the real world and we accept the consequences of it being true!
Therefore, EDP must be a priority – because we are investing in the future.
7. Be aware of an unexploited potential
Happy is the organisation that realises that the unexploited potential of the employees – is the real gold of the company.
Therefore, it is all about uncovering where the unexploited potential is, in order to activate it and make it fertile.
EDP is the place where we dig deep to discover where that gold is hidden, and how big our mine is…
8. Be precise in your agreements – and write them down
When you make an agreement between manager and employee at an EDP interview, the secret is to make them as specific as possible.
This increases the chance of the EDP actually making a difference for you.
The agreements must be precise and clear – and they must be put down in writing, so everyone knows, that this is what we are aiming for.
9. Follow up on agreements
Two things can disrupt a good EDP interview: 1) none or poor preparation, 2) none or poor follow-up.
We have to want to do both, and the management must ensure that we've got the tools to be able to do it.
When we make agreements – whether they are competence agreements or goal agreements – at an EDP, we have to ensure, that they are formulated as clearly and unambiguously that it is possibly to follow-up on them to see whether we have achieved what we set out to do.
Set a deadline for each of them and there'll be a clear framework for the follow-up.
The ideal follow-up – is the driving force in what really makes a difference from the EDP and beyond.
10. EDP is not stand-alone – it has to be seen in relation to the total range of dialogues
The good organisation has a whole range of dialogues between managers and employees – EDP is one of them.
You can have a project dialogue, evaluation of projects, absence dialogues, WPA, salary review etc. All are part of the same pattern as EDP. It must be perceived as a culture of dialogue.
This culture should be characterised by it being ok to dare to say yes or no, and that it is even appreciated that the employees are constructively critical and that everything is seen as an expression of good intentions.
That is the fuel which will take the organisation forward.
As it is the case with EDP.
The manager must signal that he/she is open and unbiased.
The EDP interview will then be a unique opportunity for renewal and drive.
