Employee Development Plans
Supervisors use Employee Development Plans as a way to provide continuous learning opportunities for their staff. Employees work with their supervisor to create a learning plan to improve and build on their skills. Once the learning plan has been approved, there are options and resources available to achieve the goals set.
There are a number of options available for development activities including a mentoring relationship, job shadowing, stretch assignments and coaching.
Development on the Job
The City provides employees with a number of development initiatives including: coaching, mentoring, acting appointments, secondments and the opportunity concept.
Coaching
Employees are able to explore and develop certain knowledge areas, skill development or competencies with a coach who encourages them by providing experience, perspective and motivation.
Mentoring
Employees gain advice and suggestions from someone who has direct and relevant experience and information on the opportunity at hand. The following development opportunities are offered through formal channels and are subject to department approval.
Acting Appointments
An employee temporarily performs the duties related to a more senior position. To be eligible the employee must be fully qualified for the senior position and be performing a significant portion of the senior position’s duties.
Secondments
An arrangement where an employee is assigned to work for another Branch no longer than two years in continuous duration. Secondments ideally provide an opportunity for the employee to develop new skills and to use their needed existing skills.
Opportunity Concept
The Opportunity Concept is designed to allow employees who possess most of the training and/or experience required for the position an opportunity to work in the position to develop the all necessary requirements. Under this program, performance is appraised every six months until the normal entry level job requirements for the position are reached.