It's long been recognized that any organization's best asset is its people. Advertising strategies have been built on this inescapable fact. It has been written into the Vision, Mission and Values statements of countless businesses. It's been on the lips of just about every recruiter and interviewer, regardless of the industry.

It may well be a fact, but it's not a practice! We invest more time and effort into maintaining and developing our other assets – real estate, plant and office equipment, vehicles, and financial resources – than we devote to our people. This has been statistically demonstrated, with high consistency, over the past twenty-five years.

Many, if not most, organizations produce business plans, maintenance plans and budgets. There are very few organizations that produce a people plan for each year. Generally it's been left to the individual employee to take developmental initiatives. In some organizations development activities are even viewed as ‘perquisites' – special privileges. This is neither sensible nor practical. When people leave us for ‘better opportunities', they are telling us something!

Of course, we cannot know the full details of every employee's career plan. What we can, and must know is the developmental process that will assist every individual to grow and develop as they work along side us. There is an implicit obligation on our part to support the person's efforts, for if we don't, they will go to some other organization that will!

The development process is simply described. The initial step is to take inventory, to know where one is starting from. Any destination will be impracticable if we do not know where we are right now. Then we must not only define our intended goal, but we must reinforce it, focus it, clarify and adapt it, so that it can survive the ravages of day-to-day turmoil and endless diversions. A focused goal has a chance for success.

The mechanics of action planning, priority definition, resource allocation, standards setting, progress reporting and results recognition, are the subject of some ongoing negotiation. Such matters can be best handled by the individual, but guidance, assistance and encouragement go a long way to ensuring the desired outcomes. It takes a little time but, if we know that we're on the right course towards a worthwhile destination, this is a sound investment.

Getting started is always a challenge. Here's some tangible help. This practical Diagnostic will assist you and the individual employee to take inventory, create a profile of the current situation and to get the planning process underway. The subsequent Analysis will offer useful checklists and stimulating ideas on development program content. Perhaps these are all the tools you need - to safeguard your most valuable assets – your people. Try them and see!