Motivating Professional Development in Your Federal Employees—Challenges and Opportunities

In most countries, governments provide services like property rights, healthcare, infrastructure, and education. But a major issue impeding the effectiveness of delivery of services is the low efficiency and productivity of federal employees.

Governments face several critical challenges in that respect, like choosing the best candidates for positions in the public sector, properly onboarding these candidates, and encouraging them to perform well and grow in their roles.

Just as a tedious job can make work dissatisfying and demotivating, one that is intriguing can make work fun and inspire employees to work hard.

Due to technological advancement, numerous low-skilled regular tasks are being automated or outsourced today to other countries. However, a growing portion of employment is still comprised of highly specialized functions that require humans with vital skills.

Motivated individuals are necessary for successful organizations to carry out self-directed tasks, adjust to client needs, and promote innovation on the front lines.

For the government to have the public’s trust, it is essential to have motivated staff that provides high-quality services to the general population. One of the best ways to accomplish this is by providing opportunities for and encouraging federal professional development in employees.

What Makes It Harder to Motivate Federal Employees

For managers to thrive, government employees must be very engaged. To accomplish this, public sector leaders must recognize and solve the issues that complicate boosting engagement in the public sector. Here are three factors that make inspiring government personnel challenging, along with solutions for managers.

Not Enough Good Press

One thing that makes it tough for government organizations or federal agencies to inspire a new generation of workers is that they do not get enough good press.

The focus of mainstream media is mostly on the unresolved issues that are the domain of a particular federal agency and not on all they have accomplished for the public’s benefit. It means that the federal agency is shown in a negative light when it deserves to be praised/appreciated and those working for it are likely to get demotivated by this.

While the media also has a responsibility to praise government agencies when it’s due, the onus is on leaders in these government organizations to convey to government workers that their organizations are making an effort to inform the public about their work and how it impacts the public’s welfare, which can help to inspire and motivate them.

News releases, open forums, blogs, social media, and even educational outreach are all effective ways to accomplish this. Managers can also inform staff members of their power to influence public perception to keep them motivated and engaged

Difficult-To-Measure Success

Making significant progress toward goals is one of the most exciting things for federal employees, yet the objectives of public-sector firms are frequently challenging to convert into quantitative measurements. As such, government managers must clearly define long-term missions, objectives, goals, and impacts – and assist staff in understanding how their work is related.

Different Employee Motivations

According to research, public employees who positively impact the citizens they serve find significance in their profession.

It has the benefit of increasing engagement. Many workers join the government because they already believe in the institution’s goals. Agencies must actively seek and hire prospective employees driven to serve the public.

Then, managers must take advantage of employees’ desire for public service by including them in decision-making processes and fostering an appreciation for their unique contributions.

How Federal Professional Development Initiatives Can Increase Motivation in Job for Federal Employees

Growth and training go hand in hand; they should be lifelong endeavors rather than passing phases. Various benefits arise for federal employees, their employers, and the people they strive for as a result of professional development.

The annual Global Human Capital Trends report from Deloitte was published in 2019 and identified the need for learning and development as the major challenge. Also, learning opportunities were listed in the survey as a significant factor in why people choose a particular career!

The advantages of professional development are often self-evident. Who, after all, wouldn’t want the chance to learn something new, develop new talents, and advance in their careers?

Professional growth in the workplace currently needs to improve in a better situation. Only 29 percent of employees are “very satisfied” with their present career growth chances. In comparison, 59 percent claim they had no workplace training and that most of their abilities were self-taught.

The good news is that workers yearn for opportunities for professional growth. To stay employed, 74 percent of workers are eager to retrain or pick up new skills. Additionally, L&D in the workplace is vital in the eyes of 87 percent of millennials.

Additionally, 76 percent of workers want chances for job advancement. The message is crystal clear: Employees desire opportunities for professional development. Thus it is the employer’s responsibility to provide them with relevant, timely, and exciting learning.

It is difficult to dismiss the advantages of a full professional development program. Now that we know that, let’s talk about how. You often don’t need to do much to encourage your team to invest in their professional growth. Usually, they only require you to give them the right opportunities because they’re already driven.

However, there are always strategies to motivate your team to produce even better outcomes.

Working at a high level, ensure your human resource planning, which includes employee development and growth initiatives, is in line with your strategic goals as you outline your organization’s goals. With this top-down strategy, your HR development programs will align with your objectives, and your entire company’s culture will place a premium on employee growth and learning.

Formalizing your L & D strategy, providing mentorship opportunities, performing performance reviews, personalizing training courses, rewarding career development, and encouraging a culture of career progression and upward mobility are additional strategies you could use to encourage your staff to invest in their professional development.

Here are some ways to motivate employees to participate in and grow through federal professional development programs.

Listen to Your Employees to Understand Their Learning and Development Needs

Speak with your staff, pay attention to what they desire and need, conduct anonymous team surveys, and solicit feedback and ideas to help shape the professional development strategy for your services. The training should improve your team’s performance and show you where their skill sets need to be strengthened.

Respect Their Time

Training should respect the time of your employees for serious uptake. First of all, it needs to be arranged in a way that respects their lives and other obligations. Second, it must be time well spent. It indicates that professional development is frequently goal-oriented, allowing individuals to develop their talents further with the opportunity to advance in their jobs.

Offer Engaging Opportunities for the Professional Development of Your Federal Employees

Most workers agree that if an organization offered more skill development, it would be more enticing. Therefore, recruiting personnel for a government organization should be easy. But the more exciting the skill development program, the better. Development opportunities should ideally be engaging, relevant, and customized.

Ask Employees about Their Needs for Career Growth

For managers in governmental organizations, addressing staff skill gaps is crucial. To manage each employee’s performance at work and areas where professional development would benefit them and the organization, team managers or HR representatives should have regular meetings with the staff.

The discussion should also include suggestions for improvement to show employees that the organization cares about them and their future.

Additionally, sharing ideas for professional development across the office allows staff members to contribute significantly to the program while fostering personal and professional development.

Everyone must foster a culture of learning in the workplace. Employees should be encouraged to suggest educational or career development opportunities to help them grow in their roles.

Be Innovative

Your employees must be engaged, stimulated, and excited by the training you provide. If you offer the same training every year, there’s a good chance it won’t be well-received, and your workers won’t likely learn and develop. Be creative and customize your staff’s professional development to your organizational needs.

Consider what your staff wants from learning and development opportunities and incorporate their suggestions. You can then tailor the training you give your personnel.

Encourage Active Involvement

Opportunities for professional development are welcomed by some employees rather than by others. Employers should support employees’ efforts to further their education on and off the job. Set up projects to inspire fresh concepts.

Follow-Up

Even businesses that begin with the best intentions may eventually stop supporting learning and development initiatives. It’s essential to regularly check in with employees to ensure they’re using what they’ve learned well.

Organizations in the public sector provide excellent environments for organizational commitment and affinity.

Investing in staff professional development makes it possible to assist a team of federal employees in acquiring new skills and knowledge, improve job satisfaction at work, and lower staff turnover.