Personnel development interview: How to conduct it and what digital support you can get

26. July 2024 | Author: Emily Heinig | Reading time: 8 min

When employees hear the term “appraisal interview,” they often worry about negative criticism or even dismissal. This stigma needs to be broken. Employee development discussions are helpful for employers to assess competencies and for employees to evaluate and develop their own skills.

This article will tell you how to conduct a successful personnel development interview so that you and your employees can benefit from this effective tool. We will also inform you about how the use of a digital solution can best support you in this. In our free e-book, you can read in detail how you can benefit off of such a solution.

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Definition: What is the personnel development interview about?

Basically, the staff development interview is a tool for staff management and development and helps with strategic orientation to implement company goals. It is often also known as an employee interview or feedback interview. First and foremost, you discuss with your employee their personal work performance in relation to the company goals. You also work together to developactions for improving performance, developing skills and planning your career.

The staff meeting serves as a review in which you check the status of the agreed goal achievement and also shows future prospects. It is important to decide on goals that are as specific and measurable as possible and to present future development prospects transparently. The joint identification of qualification needs is also a crucial step in creating a systematic development plan for each employee.

The employee interview aims to shape personnel development in a targeted and long-term manner and increase your employees’ job satisfaction. It also forms the basis for systematically improving goal-oriented cooperation, trust, and communication with your employees.

Human resources development explained briefly

Personnel development focuses on the required skills and behaviours as well as the possible development prospects of employees. An essential tool is employee interviews, which reveal current learning effects in each employee’s activities. In this way, managers can recognise in which areas employees are under- or over-challenged and can intervene with appropriate measures.

The most important contents of a personnel development interview

Which topics are discussed in detail depends on the intentions of the employees and the employer. If, for example, there are acute problem areas, these should be included. Below, you can see an excerpt of what the general structure of an employee interview might look like:

1. achievement of objectives and tasks in the period to date
2. qualifications, strengths and weaknesses of the employee
3. tasks and objectives for the upcoming period
4. personal and professional development of the employee
5. joint development, coordination and planning of personnel development measures
6. agreement on discussion results

Employee evaluation in the personnel development interview

A component of the employee interview is also the performance assessment and evaluation of your employees’ skills and competencies. All employees are entitled to a fair employee assessment based on comprehensible evaluation criteria. KPIs—so-called key performance indicators—are used here. In essence, this is about assessing your employees’ performance using clear parameters.

During the staff development meeting, you will discuss the defined KPIs and the reasons for the results with your employees and agree on goals, such as improving a job-related skill.

A competency model is a good idea to create a structure for the entire company and thus ensure an overview of all of your employees’ skills. This can be recorded in digital form, for example, and ensures that you have an overview of the skills required to carry out the work optimally.

With the help of a digital competency model, you can identify, among other things:

• which skills are relevant for each activity
• what skills and abilities each employee has
• where exactly there are current and prospective qualification deficits and surpluses
• what development potential your employees have

The process of the employee interview in four steps

Careful preparation is a prerequisite for the staff development interview to be successful. You can use the following steps as a guide for your schedule:

1) Preparation phase

Organisational and content-related preparation is required before every employee interview. An independent assessment of the employee by you and the employee themselves is recommended to analyse any discrepancies in the results. It is important to determine the goals achieved and any shortcomings of your employees, address these in the interview, and initiate any necessary training measures.

2) Analysis phase

The next step is the actual staff development discussion. First, clarify the planned content. Then, together with your employee, discuss the previous goals and tasks and obtain mutual feedback on the specific performance parameters.

A key component is to compare the employee’s self-assessment with the manager’s external assessment. It is essential to use the same criteria for both sides. This is made possible by previously defined skills with specific levels of development.

In discussions with your employee, compare the requirements profile with the assessed competencies. The nominal-actual comparison can then identify development potential, forming the basis for the subsequent development plan. However, there is one thing you should not forget: your employee’s professional goals. Therefore, be sure to consider job satisfaction and personal development goals.

3) Action phase

Personnel development can only work if you also derive actions to support employees during the feedback discussion. Therefore, individual goals, milestones, and structural changes should be discussed as part of task planning. The main focus is on further training opportunities. In addition to further training, taking on new tasks is also one possible measure. Ideally, you should record the agreed steps in an action plan. You must make realistic agreements and break down extensive objectives into sub-steps.

4) Final phase

After the interview has ended, the agreed measures must be recorded in a suitable tool for personnel development. Digital solutions can be used to keep a good overview of all the interviews held and the goals recorded.

We recommend holding staff development discussions regularly to increase the learning and development effect sustainably. Continuous feedback is more understandable for both sides than a single appointment in which you evaluate the entire year.

Digital support for the personnel development interview

Employees can only develop efficiently if they can rely on a regular, fair, and transparent assessment of their skills. This is crucial for achieving company goals and employee satisfaction. To achieve this, it is worth using digital solutions that centrally recordrelevant data for personnel development.

Did you know,

that our software solution iManSys can digitally map all steps related to the personnel development interview? iManSys supports you in the targeted preparation and implementation of employee interviews. This allows you to combine skill management, personnel development and action planning in one tool.

The “Skills & Competences” software world of our occupational safety software iManSys makes personnel management more efficient. But how exactly does the work around the personnel development interview function with this tool? It is advisable to create skill categories in our software in advance. You can also define specific levels of development. You can then link each position in your company with the corresponding skills.

In preparation for the personnel development interview, you now assess your employees’ skills and abilities in iManSys. The nominal-actual comparison can then be used to identify any training needs. The advantage of digital solutions is obvious: your employees can also assess their skills themselves and reflect on their competence development based on the results. Not only do you save paper, but you also actively involve your employees in the personnel development process.

Create assessment matrices and use them to present individual developments for your employees transparently and understandably. You can also digitally record the training measures discussedand assign them to the respective employees. The existing skill profiles must be regularly adjusted to reflect development processes.

The skills of your employees are undoubtedly one of the most important qualities of your company. Find out how our software world “Skills & Competences” can support you in managing and promoting these skills!

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