If you have looked at our article how to produce a personal development plan you should have a good understanding of why creating a personal development plan is important in any job role. The next stage is to follow that personal development plan and make sure that you have regular reviews so that you maximise the effectiveness and outcomes of the plan.

To follow a personal development plan you should sit down with your line manager or whoever the personal development plan was agreed with in the first place. This should be at an agreed time that was considered when the PDP was put together in the first place. Both parties will look at the targets that were set and review how the developmental activities identified to meet these targets are going to date. Ideally an updated commentary on current progress should be included and a new review date for each activity outlined on the plan should be set. If any activities have been completed ahead of time then this should be logged and additional developmental activities could be added to help the employee develop even further.

Following a PDP can mean having regular appraisal meetings to look at the plan and discuss progress informally. It can also look at how things like customer feedback and performance data can feed into the reviews to assess progress and update any developmental needs.

Whilst there is no sure fire formula to create or follow a personal development plan, the following steps could help maximise employee efficiency and development:

• Employee and line manager meet at agreed review date to discuss progress against initial PDP
• Each target is looked at and discussed individually
• The developmental activities undertaken for each target are reviewed
• A commentary should be logged updating current progress for each target
• Target completion dates should be reviewed and updated based on current progress
• Targets that are no longer relevant or completed should be closed off
• New targets can be set where expectations have been exceeded or additional needs are identified
• Budget for additional training and development activities should be reviewed
• All information updated/added and agreed by both parties
• Next personal development plan review date set
• Updated personal development signed by both parties

As an employee it is up to you to drive the reviews and ensure that your get regular updates when following a personal development plan so that you get the most out of opportunities within the workplace. There is no set formula to produce or follow a personal development plan. Some companies will have printed versions and others have collaborative online systems that also things included on a PDP to be digitally signed off. The most important thing to think about is identifying activities that can help an employee develop and making sure that the time and budget is available to complete this activities for the greater good of employee and the company that they work in.