Analyzing Employee Development Activities

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Introduction

The success of every organization depends on how effective its employees are and how properly they perform their duties. It does not matter what financial or technological resources a firm has because it is likely to have significant difficulties reaching its objectives if individual workers do not contribute appropriately. That is why businesses are interested in the development of their workforce to ensure that better organizational outcomes can be achieved. Today, there are numerous approaches that companies and responsible managers can implement to make their employees grow and develop. All these options imply some advantages and disadvantages, which denotes that activities should be selected with caution. For example, various strategies are appropriate for sales managers and airport staff members. As for a nurse in a pediatrics setting, 360-degree feedback reviews, job rotation and cross-training, and mentoring programs offer strengths and weaknesses, and their analysis will reveal the most optimal development activity.

Discussing 360-Degree Feedback

To begin with, one should explain what a 360-degree feedback review is. According to Aguinis (2018), this tool is a multisource feedback system implying that information about a person is gathered from multiple sources. For example, data can come from peers, supervisors, customers, and self-reports (Aguinis, 2018). The collected evidence is helpful because it presents a comprehensive analysis of a person, which allows for making a systematized conclusion about their performance and effectiveness.

The selected instrument offers many advantages that explain why many organizations use it. Firstly, this approach is informative because it gathers the opinions of all the potential stakeholders about a specific employee. That is why it is possible to expect that the assessment tool provides reliable and objective ratings (Church et al., 2018). Secondly, 360-degree feedback is requested because it proves that the assessment comes from reliable sources. In particular, Church et al. (2018) indicate that peers and subordinates opinions should be more valued because employees are real with these stakeholders. A person does not need to pretend to be better when they deal with their followers. Thirdly, the given instrument should deserve attention because it promotes self-awareness among employees (Church et al., 2018). Consequently, many advantages explain why multiple companies rely on 360-degree feedback.

However, it is also worth admitting that the selected tool implies some disadvantages. Since the feedback comes from multiple sources, ratings are not systematized, which makes it challenging to process and interpret the obtained information (Trivena, 2022). Simultaneously, the lack of agreement among raters can result in the fact that feedback is full of controversial opinions, and it becomes impossible to make an objective conclusion about an employees performance. The tool under analysis is also disadvantageous because it implies that workers can receive many negative comments. If individuals are not ready for this data, their morale can suffer, which will inevitably lead to decreased motivation and performance (Trivena, 2022). Finally, this approach is often useless because companies consider it a final goal, meaning that no further interventions are introduced based on feedback (Trivena, 2022). Thus, drawing attention to these weaknesses is necessary when implementing 360-degree feedback.

The identified advantages and disadvantages denote that it is challenging to assess this instrument unanimously. Clients and other healthcare professionals can provide a pediatric nurse with much useful information about her performance. However, if this employee is not prepared to receive criticism adequately, 360-degree feedback can lead to various harmful outcomes for the nurses morale. That is why organizations and managers should be careful when they decide to implement the given instrument in a pediatrics setting.

Analyzing Job Rotation and Cross-Training

Job rotation and cross-training are also effective in promoting employee development. As Aguinis (2018) stipulates, this approach implies that employees are assigned different tasks and obligations to help them gain the necessary skills. Since individuals frequently face new challenges, they accumulate their existing skills and master new competencies to complete tasks. This approach is requested in the medical sphere because healthcare professionals should keep improving their skills throughout their professional lives (Aguinis, 2018). That is why this tool is included to improve the performance of a nurse in a pediatric setting.

It is now reasonable to identify what positive outcomes this assessment tool implies. The given approach is beneficial because it does not require many efforts and resources to be implemented (Vasanthi & Basariya, 2019). Various training interventions can be easily implemented, while positive outcomes are expected within a short time period. Training sessions also take place in the workplace, which implies that employees feel comfortable. As a result, individuals become sufficiently motivated to engage in the activity, which increases their outcomes. Alfuqaha et al. (2022) also indicate that job rotation improves employee satisfaction and reduces the presence of conflict. In addition to that, this strategy is positive because it ensures that employees require skills in various spheres. This fact denotes that individuals get a better understanding of how the entire organization works, which allows them to make meaningful contributions to achieving shared goals. Finally, the approach under consideration offers many benefits that deserve attention.

However, it is impossible to ignore that the given employee development activity offers some drawbacks. Firstly, a problem exists because the success of the intervention mainly depends on trainers. If they do not have the required skills and competencies or are insufficiently interested in the process, cross-training will hardly lead to positive results (Vasanthi & Basariya, 2019). Simultaneously, some employees can lack the motivation to engage in job rotation and cross-training activities (Vasanthi & Basariya, 2019). This outcome can occur when workers do not understand the importance and benefits of this intervention. That is why organizations should prove that all employees are aware of this activitys significance.

Even though some inefficiencies have been presented, it is impossible to deny that the positive aspects outweigh all the negative ones. Since this development activity is perfectly appropriate for healthcare facilities, there is no doubt that it can be successfully applied to a pediatric nurse. This approach is beneficial because it can help the employee master additional knowledge and skills that will contribute to improved performance.

Critique of Mentoring Programs

In the workplace, experience is what makes a difference between good and less efficient employees. As a rule, a persons knowledge and skills depend on the amount of time that they have spent mastering an activity or a process. This statement denotes that young employees often lack experience and should do their best to accumulate it. That is why many organizations rely on the practice of mentorship. According to Aguinis (2018), this strategy implies that junior employees grow based on a close relationship with a senior employee. In other words, new workers obtain an opportunity to deal with more experienced professionals and learn from them. Mentors are also considered role models that teach subordinates to succeed in the company (Aguinis, 2018). That is why it is reasonable to consider what strengths and weaknesses this development activity brings.

It is possible to identify many advantages that mentorship can bring. Firstly, staff turnover is an integral phenomenon for every organization, which denotes that businesses should ensure that new employees meet working standards. In this case, mentorship is a suitable activity because it promotes knowledge and expertise sharing between experienced and new workers (Jacobs, 2018). Secondly, the given development activity is effective because it ensures that new employees are under the supervision and receive the required assistance. This strategy implies that such workers understand that the organizations appreciate them, which results in increased satisfaction and motivation to perform better. Thirdly, the given phenomenon is appropriate because it helps employees establish robust interprofessional connections that lead to a productive environment (Oliveira, 2018). Consequently, the given development activity is positively assessed because it contributes to the comprehensive development of individual workers, which, in turn, results in essential benefits for the entire organization.

Various disadvantages also exist, and it is necessary to consider them. Frequently, group mentorship is used to save the mentors time and efforts. Even though this approach seems appropriate, it is negative because mentees often fail to receive personalized assistance, which does not promote their professional growth (Oliveira, 2018). In such cases, scheduling often represents another issue because meetings take place without consideration of mentees preferences, which implies that not all new employees have abilities to participate in these activities. This state of affairs is not good because it implies that employees do not learn anything from mentorship programs. However, some organizations rely on individual mentorship sessions, but they also have some inefficiencies. For example, the mentor and the protégé are arbitrarily assigned rather than choose each other voluntarily (Aguinis, 2018). The two fail to establish a connection in this scenario, and their cooperation does not lead to improved outcomes.

This information reveals that mentorship is not the best option because it should meet numerous conditions to generate positive outcomes. Furthermore, whether the expected goals are achieved depends on various stakeholders characteristic features. Individuals should establish productive relationships with different people, but this fact is not always possible because people are subject to conflicts. That is why organizations should implement mentorship programs with caution since group or individual meetings do not always lead to the expected results.

Conclusion

The report has overviewed and assessed three employee development activities. The focus has been placed on whether the 360-degree feedback, cross-training and job rotation, and mentorship interventions are beneficial for a nurse in a pediatric setting. In particular, the scientific literature has helped to assess and critique these tools by considering their advantages and disadvantages. Each activity implies some positive and negative aspects, which denotes that it is challenging to select the ideal activity. However, the comparison has allowed for concluding that job rotation and cross-training can be considered optimal. This employee development activity implies that individuals are frequently assigned tasks and responsibilities that are beyond their specialty area. The given strategy implies that employees become aware of different processes and assignments that are essential for the organization. Such workers become involved in multiple activities, which helps them master numerous skills and competencies. Even though job rotation and cross-training imply some drawbacks, positive aspects outweigh them and lead to better resource management, increased employee satisfaction, and better performance outcomes.

References

Aguinis, H. (2018). Performance management (4th ed.). Chicago Business Press.

Alfuqaha, O. A., Al-Hiary, S. S., & Al-Hemsi, H. A. (2022). Job rotation approach among nurses: A comparative study. Texto & Contexto-Enfermagem, 31. Web.

Church, A. H., Dawson, L. M., Barden, K. L., Fleck, C. R., Rotolo, C. T., & Tuller, M. (2018). Enhancing 360-degree feedback for individual assessment and organization development: Methods and lessons from the field. Research in Organizational Change and Development, 26, 47-97. Web.

Jacobs, S. (2018). An analysis of the evolution of mentorship in nursing. International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, 7(2), 155-176. Web.

Oliveira, R. (2018). Group mentoring in practice. Journal of New Librarianship, 3, 375-378. Web.

Trivena, C. B. (2022). Designing feedback using 360-degree feedback for Era Ascot. North American Academic Research, 5(1), 36-52. Web.

Vasanthi, S., & Basariya, S. R. (2019). On the job training implementation and its benefits. International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews, 6(1), 210-215.

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