Organizational Development for Knowledge Management at Water ...

Project Study # 27
LWC Individual Development Plans (IDP’s)
Project Description: In late 2004, the Organizational Effectiveness Business System wanted
to place a renewed emphasis on identifying training and development (T&D) needs for
employees and initiating a process to address those needs with “action objectives.” Therefore,
we created the Individual Development Plan (IDP) to be used by managers at the beginning of
each year to assist their employees in identifying their T&D goals (“action objectives”). The
process was mandatory for all managers and strongly encouraged for all non-management
(non-union) employees. The majority of non-union employees now have their own IDP’s.
Managers and employees are encouraged to “think outside of the box” when it comes to
identifying opportunities to gain knowledge and skills in new areas (i.e. training workshops,
participation on cross-functional teams; leading a project; mentoring; shadowing, etc.) Each
employee is responsible for giving an update on the progress he or she has made on their IDP
during their quarterly performance reviews.
Challenge: The biggest challenge was encouraging employees to “think outside of the box”
when identifying training opportunities, particularly in those years involving budget cuts at midyear.
However, since most of our training is developed and conducted in-house at a fraction of
the costs that we would incur through outsourcing, this challenge has not been much of a
problem.
Size of Utility: 450 employees
Critical Success Factors: Employees who follow through on their IDP’s are better prepared to
perform in their current positions and in most cases have increased their opportunities for
success in newer positions. Managers are strongly encouraged to meet with their employee(s)
before they attend a particular training class, etc. to discuss and reach agreement on the
“learning objectives” to be accomplished. Managers are then encouraged to meet with their
employee(s) after they complete the training experience to discuss if the “learning objectives”
were met, and determine what the employee is going to do differently on the job as a result of
their new skills, knowledge, etc.
Cost: Only costs involved are those to purchase materials for training sessions and to pay
salaries, etc. to training facilitators on staff.
Benefits: Employees achieve their learning objectives and are better prepared to perform their
current jobs or to take on new responsibilities.
Attachments provided: LWC Individual Development Plan
Compiled May 2008
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POC: Carl Blanton
Louisville Water Company
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