Make your institution sought after for its development opportunities.

In his HR Morning article "Workers Are Looking—and Leaving—for Career Development," Tim McElgunn writes, "Prospective employees see career development as among the most important reasons to sign with—and stay with—your organization."

How does an organization brand itself as one that engages its employees and offers career development opportunities? One way to begin is by looking at what other companies, those crowned among the greatest, have done. In "Create an Exceptional Learning Culture," Jacqueline Burandt offers a five-step process for creating a culture of excellence, including using award applications as a benchmark for change.

If your organization has a talent development team among which you can divide work, consider this guidance:

• Create a shared drive for team members to record ideas for change. These could comprise development initiatives such as onboarding, leadership training, or management growth. The notes can include metrics and criteria from awards that team members have researched.

• Hold a meeting to launch your effort, define goals, and assign roles and responsibilities. Designate team members to a development area they know well, such as e-learning.

• Connect with previous award winners to learn more about their experience. If possible, have your internal team visit the award winner to learn more about the initiative.

• Use the awards criteria to look at your own learning organization and what you may want to measure yourself against.

These tips were adapted from the October 2019 issue of TD at Work.