The use of Personal Development Plans in the workplace (PDF)

Simon A.J. Beausaert The use of Personal Development Plans in the workplace Effects, purposes and supporting conditions brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk provided by Research Papers in Economics  © Simon A.J. Beausaert, Maastricht, The Netherlands, 2011 ISBN: 9789461590749 Cover: Jo Frenken, Jan Van Eyck Academy All rights reserved Printed and bound by Datawyse, Maastricht, The Netherlands  The use of Personal Development Plans in the workplace Effects, purposes and supporting conditions Proefschrift Ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Universiteit Maastricht op gezag van de rector magnificus prof. mr. G. P. M. F. Mols volgens het besluit van het College van Decanen in het openbaar te verdedigen op woensdag 19 oktober 2011 om 16:00 uur door Simon A.J. Beausaert UNIVERSITAIRE PERS MAASTRICHT U P M  Promotores Prof. dr. M. S. R. Segers Prof. dr. W. H. Gijselaers Beoordelingscommissie Prof. dr. A. De Grip (chair) Dr. P. van den Bossche, University of Antwerp/Maastricht University Prof. dr. R. Poell, University of Tilburg Prof. dr. K. Smith, University of Bergen, Norway Prof. dr. C. van der Vleuten  Acknowledgements This book that contributed to my learning process and personal development as a researcher and teacher can be seen as a kind of personal development plan which was supported by many inspiring mentors and coaches. I would like to thank eve- ryone that contributed to this book in his or her way. Although I find it hard to express my gratitude in words, I would like to dedicate a special thank you to: Henny Dankers, for her logistical support, for listening and caring, for being my second mother; Jeannette Hommes, for always being interested in my research, for helping me with finding companies who were willing to participate in my research, for giving the trainings to the supervisors, for mentioning relevant articles; Piet van den Bossche, for providing me with a survival guide ‘A Belgian living and working in Maastricht’, for the very inspiring discussions, for the tips and tricks; Janine van der Rijt, for her friendship and moral support, for the exchange of useful ideas, and for the tips and tricks. How was NY? Hilarious; Bart Rienties, for being my roommate through the good and the bad times, for listening, for taking care of sufficient breaks and drinks, for involving me in various of your projects; Amber Dailey, for being my other roommate through the good and te bad times, for helping me finding the right English words, for listing when you felt I needed it the most, for the wonderful cup; Jan Nijhuis, for the many discussions on statistical issues, for informing me on rele- vant evolutions in the Netherlands, for the numerous one-liners during lunch; Bas Giesbers, Danielle Townsend-Prevoo, Diana Baas, Paul Jacobs, Catherine Gabe- lica, Katerina Bohle Carbonell, Maike Gerken, Alexandra Niculescu, Anna Chatzimi- chali, Ellen Nelissen, Gwen Noteborn, Tamerius Cohen, Beverly Wilson-Wunsch, Martin Rehm, Wilfred van Dellen, Oscar van den Wijngaard, Shirley Thomas, Sonja Zaar, Nga Pham, Rinske Franssen, and Laura Pirani, for their friendship, support, reflective discussions; Didier Fouarge, for showing me how to think as an economist, for our fruitful dis- cussion related to the study discussed in Chapter 3; My thesis students, for their inspiring ideas and interesting discussions; Kari Smith and the colleagues from the University of Bergen: Kari K., Vibeke, Ketil, Marit, Ingrid, Kari B., John… for offering me a warm and quiet environment to write, for listening, for their friendship, for making my stay in Bergen that pleasant and unforgettable;  The organizations I worked with, their HRM managers and the employees who participated in the research. A special thank you goes to Ton Claessen, Maud Vos- sen, Wil Vink, Joyce Heijne and Ilona Kacanic from GITP; Tijs Boussier, for proof-reading this book; Jo Frenken, for designing the wonderful cover and Petra van der Jeught, for intro- ducing me to Jo; Wim Gijselaers, my second supervisor, for his critical view and devoted feedback on my writings, for pushing me to seek my own limits, for providing me with the re- sources I needed; Mien Segers, my supervisor, for being a coach and friend, for her involvement, for the inspiring brainstorms, for her expertise and management skills, and prepared- ness to solve all my questions, at any time, for helping this project succeed. Mien, I owe you a very big thank you; My friends and my “train-buddies”, for detracting me and pretending they were really interested in what I was studying; My family and in particular my grandmother and grandfather, thank you for always believing in me and surrounding me with your love; My partner, for being my everything, for loving and carrying me, for being there anyplace, anywhere, anytime, for detracting me, for coping with me in times of stress and hard work, for mentioning once in a while that it is ‘just a research’ (isn’t it?), for helping me with the lay-out; My mum and dad - although I realize that words can not express what you mean and meant to me, and although I know I do not mention or show this enough, I will still give it a try - for their love and caring, for being interested, for creating the opportunities and the chances that made me the person I am today, thank you!  7 Table of Content CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1. Continuing professional development and PDPs: Practice and theory .................................................................................................................................. 17 2. A Personal Development Plan (PDP): Definition ................................................... 18 3. Overview of the dissertation and research questions .......................................... 20 References ................................................................................................................ 23 CHAPTER 2 THE USE OF PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS IN THE WORKPLACE: A LITERATURE REVIEW Based upon Beausaert, S., Segers, M., van der Rijt, J., Gijselaers, W. (2011). The use of Personal Development Plans in the workplace: A literature review. In P. van den Bossche, W. Gijselaers, & R. Milter (Eds.), Building learning experiences in a changing world, Advances in Business Education and Training III (pp. 235-265). Dordrecht: Springer. 1. Introduction: A PDP as a trojan horse? ................................................................. 26 1.1. A Personal Development Plan: Toward a definition ...................................... 26 1.2. What is the purpose of PDP assessment? ...................................................... 28 1.3. PDPs and principles of adult learning ............................................................ 29 1.4. Using a PDP needs support ............................................................................ 29 1.5. The goal of this literature review ................................................................... 30 2. Method ................................................................................................................. 31 3. Results ................................................................................................................... 33 3.1. Sample ........................................................................................................... 33 3.2. Which goals are strived for? .......................................................................... 34 3.3. Effectiveness .................................................................................................. 36 3.4. Supporting conditions .................................................................................... 38 4. Conclusion and discussion .................................................................................... 43 References ................................................................................................................ 47 Appendices ............................................................................................................... 51 CHAPTER 3 THE EFFECT OF USING A PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN (PDP) ON THE PHARMACY ASSISTANT’S LEARNING AND PERFORMANCE Based upon Beausaert, S., Segers, M., Fouarge, D., & Gijselaers, W. (submitted). The effect of using a Personal Development Plan (PDP) on the pharmacy assistant’s learning and performance.  8 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 59 2. A Personal Development Plan (PDP) ..................................................................... 61 3. The effectiveness of PDPs: Previous research and hypotheses ............................ 62 4. Data and method .................................................................................................. 64 4.1. Participants .................................................................................................... 64 4.2. Measures ....................................................................................................... 65 4.3. Data analysis .................................................................................................. 66 5. Results ................................................................................................................... 66 6. Conclusion and discussion .................................................................................... 68 6.1. Implications for future research .................................................................... 70 6.2. Implications for practice ................................................................................ 71 References ................................................................................................................ 73 CHAPTER 4 USING A PDP FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES: ITS INFLUENCE ON UNDERTAKING LEARNING ACTIVITES AND JOB PERFORMANCE Based upon Beausaert, S., Segers, M., & Gijselaers, W. (2011). Using a Personal Development Plan for different purposes: Its influence on undertaking learning activities and job performance. Vocations and Learning. 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 76 1.1. A Personal Development Plan (PDP): What? ................................................. 78 1.2. Purposes of a PDP? ........................................................................................ 79 1.3. Is a PDP effective for professional development? ......................................... 81 1.4. What is the goal of this study? ....................................................................... 83 2. Method ................................................................................................................. 83 2.1. The participating organizations and their employees.................................... 83 2.2. Measures ....................................................................................................... 85 2.3. Procedure ....................................................................................................... 87 2.4. Data analysis .................................................................................................. 88 3. Results ................................................................................................................... 88 3.1. Preliminary analysis ....................................................................................... 88 3.2. Hypothesis 1: Perceiving the PDP as a learning and development tool will predict the employee’s undertaking of learning activities and the employee’s performance significantly positively ..................................................................... 89 3.3. Hypothesis 2: Perceiving the PDP as a selection and certification tool will predict the employee’s undertaking of learning activities and the employee’s performance significantly negatively .................................................................... 91 3.4. Hypothesis 3: In the case both learning/development and promotion/ selection purposes are taken into account, perceiving the PDP as a learning and development tool will be the most powerful predictor of the employee’s undertaking of learning activities ......................................................................... 92  9 3.5. ANOVA: Differences between organizations ................................................. 93 4. Conclusion and discussion .................................................................................... 94 4.1. Limitations and future research ..................................................................... 96 4.2. Practical implications ..................................................................................... 97 References ................................................................................................................ 99 CHAPTER 5 THE PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN QUESTIONNAIRE (PPQ): THE DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF AN INSTRUMENT TO ASSESS EMPLOYEES' PERCEPTION OF THE PDP PRACTICE Based upon Beausaert, S., Segers, M., Gijselaers, W. (2011). The Personal Development Plan Practice Questionnaire (PPQ): The development and validation of an instrument to assess employees’ perception of the personal development plan practice. International Journal of Training and Development, 15 (5). Published online. 1. Introduction. ....................................................................................................... 104 1.1. A Personal Development Plan: Toward a definition .................................... 105 1.2. Supporting process conditions ..................................................................... 107 1.2.1. Contextual supporting process conditions ........................................... 107 1.2.2. Individual supporting process conditions ............................................. 110 2. Questionnaire development: Constructs and measures .................................... 111 3. Method ............................................................................................................... 114 3.1. Sample: Contexts and participants .............................................................. 114 3.2. Procedure ..................................................................................................... 116 3.3. The instrument: Measures ........................................................................... 116 3.4. Data analysis ................................................................................................ 117 3.4.1. Exploratory factor analysis .................................................................... 117 3.4.2. Confirmatory factor analysis ................................................................. 117 4. Results ................................................................................................................. 118 4.1. Exploratory factor analysis ........................................................................... 118 4.2. Confirmatory factor analysis ........................................................................ 121 5. Discussion and conclusion .................................................................................. 125 5.1. Limitations and suggestions for future research ......................................... 126 5.2. Implications for practice .............................................................................. 127 References .............................................................................................................. 128 CHAPTER 6 USING A PDP: THE ROLE OF SUPPORTING ASSESSMENT CONDITIONS Based upon Beausaert, S., Segers, M., & Gijselaers, W. (accepted with revisions). Using a PDP: The role of supporting assessment conditions. 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................ 131 1.1. PDPs and their purposes .............................................................................. 133 1.2. The PDP practice: Supporting conditions ..................................................... 134 1.2.1. Supporting condition 1: The employee’s learning and reflection ......... 134  10 1.2.2. Supporting condition 2: Providing information and feedback .............. 134 1.2.3. Supporting condition 3: The motivating supervisor .............................. 136 2. Method ............................................................................................................... 137 2.1. The participating organization and its employees ....................................... 137 2.2. Measures ..................................................................................................... 138 2.3. Method of analysis ....................................................................................... 140 3. Results ................................................................................................................. 141 3.1. Preliminary analysis ..................................................................................... 141 3.2. The influence of the PDP components on the outcome variables ............... 141 3.3. The mediating role of the extent to which employees undertake learning activities .............................................................................................................. 144 4. Conclusion and discussion .................................................................................. 146 4.1. Implications for future research .................................................................. 147 4.2. Implications for practice .............................................................................. 148 References .............................................................................................................. 150 CHAPTER 7 GENERAL CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION 1. Beyond popularity: Looking for empirical evidence ........................................... 154 2. Results: Empirical evidence on the effects, purposes and supporting conditions of PDPs ........................................................................................................................ 155 2.1. Is the PDP effective for the undertaking of learning activities and the employee’s performance? .................................................................................. 155 2.2. Which goals is a PDP used for and how does the employee’s perception of those goals influences the employee’s undertaking of learning activities and performance? ..................................................................................................... 157 2.3. Do three supporting conditions - the employee’s learning and reflection, the instruction and feedback given by the supervisor, and the way the supervisor motivates the employee - influence the undertaking of learning activities, expertise-growth and performance? .................................................................. 158 3. Practical implications for Human Resource Management and development .... 160 4. What is next? ...................................................................................................... 163 References .............................................................................................................. 167 ABOUT THE AUTHOR 1. Biography ............................................................................................................ 169 2. List of publications and presentations ................................................................ 169 SAMENVATTING  11 1. De populariteit voorbij: Op zoek naar empirisch bewijs ..................................... 172 2. Resultaten: Empirisch bewijs voor effectiviteit, doelen en ondersteunende con- dities ....................................................................................................................... 173 2.1. Is het gebruiken van een POP effectief voor het ondernemen van leeractiviteiten en de prestatie van de werknemer? .......................................... 173 2.2. Voor welke doelen wordt een POP gebruikt en hoe beïnvloedt de perceptie van de werknemer van deze doelen het ondernemen van leeractiviteiten en de prestatie? ............................................................................................................ 175 2.3. Beïnvloedt de POP-praktijk, gekenmerkt door drie inherente ondersteun- ende condities (leren en reflecteren van de werknemer, instructie en feedback gegeven door de leidinggevende en de manier waarop de leidinggevende motiveert) het ondernemen van leeractiviteiten, expertisegroei en prestatie? 176 3. Praktische implicaties voor Human Resource Management en development ... 178 4. Wat nu? ............................................................................................................... 180 References .............................................................................................................. 184  12 List of Figures and Tables Figure 1.1 The relations researched in Chapter 3 20 Figure 1.2 The relations researched in Chapter 4 21 Figure 1.3 The relations researched in Chapter 6 22 Table 2.1 Search terms and their combinations 31 Table 2.2 Number of references in different contexts 34 Table 2.3 Integrated table: Goals, effects and supporting process conditions 42 Table 2.4 Number of references according to the research method 51 Table 2.5 Studies sorted according to the number of participants 52 Table 2.6 PDP Assessment in the workplace: Which goals are being strived for? 53 Table 2.7 Which goals is PDP assessment effective for? 54 Table 2.8 Supporting process conditions: Object of study 55 Table 2.9 Supporting process conditions mentioned in literature 56 Table 3.1 Descriptive statistics and ANOVAs for users and non-users of a PDP 66 Table 3.2 Summary of logistic regression analysis for PDP use predicting Undertaking learning activities, controlling for background variables 67 Table 3.3 Summary of hierarchical regression analysis for PDP use predicting Planning future learning activities, controlling for background variables 68 Table 4.1 Overview of the different scales and their descriptives 87 Table 4.2 Correlations 88 Table 4.3a Hierarchical regression analysis of the independent personal learning and development purposes scale on the dependent variables 90 Table 4.3b Hierarchical regression analysis of the independent organizational learning and development purposes scale on the dependent variables 90 Table 4.3c Hierarchical regression analysis of the independent Promo tion and selection purposes scale on the dependent variables 91 Table 4.4 Hierarchical regression analysis of all purpose components on the dependent variables 93 Table 4.5 Analysis of variance between Organization 1 and Organization 2 94  13 Figure 5.1 Conceptual model 113 Table 5.1 Overview of the variables 114 Table 5.2 Exploratory factor analysis PDP practice: Pattern matrix 119 Table 5.3 Descriptives for the different scales, resulting from the exploratory factor analysis 121 Figure 5.2 Confirmatory factor analysis: Factors and their items 123 Table 5.4 Confirmatory factor analysis: Factors and their items 124 Table 5.5 Descriptives for the different scales, resulting from the confirmatory factor analysis 125 Figure 6.1 Hypothetical model for the effect of the PDP practice components on the outcome variables: undertaking learning activities, expertise-growth, flexibility and performance 137 Table 6.1 Overview of the different scales and their descriptives 140 Table 6.2 Correlations 141 Table 6.3a Hierarchical regression analyses of the learning and reflection component on the dependent variables: undertaking learning activities, expertise-growth and performance 142 Table 6.3b Hierarchical regression analyses of the instruction and feedback component on the dependent variables: under taking learning activities, expertise-growth and performance 143 Table 6.3c Hierarchical regression analyses of the motivating supervisor component on the dependent variables: undertaking learning activities, expertise-growth and performance 144 Table 6.4 Mediation analysis with the PDP component learning and reflection as independent variable 145 Table 6.5 Mediation analysis with the PDP component the motivating supervisor as independent variable 145 Figure 7.1 Overview and integration of the three main research questions 159 Table 7.1 Steps to take when implementing a PDP 162 Table 7.2 Comparing the organizational characteristics of the organizations involved in the research project 164   15 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION In a non-profit governmental organization 30,000 employees are working in 13 different regions. In this case we will focus on one of those regions where 1400 employees are located in five different offices in four different cities. While it is a very large, bureaucratic organization, it is described by employees and manage- ment as a warm family business because most employees who start working there, enjoy the work and are so dedicated to the organization that they keep working for the organization for the rest of their lives. This has led to an average age of the employees of 49 years. This implies that in 2012 (and the following years) the or- ganizations will encounter a large stream out. As a consequence, talent manage- ment and continuing professional development of the junior staff are high on the strategic agenda. Furthermore, as an effect of computerization, reorganizations are regularly implemented. This increases the need for taking care of the continuing professional development of employees. Most employees working in the organization annually undergo an assessment cycle. Formally the assessment cycle consist of a performance interview, a devel- opment interview and an appraisal interview with the supervisor. In that assess- ment process the supervisor and the employee can make use of a Personal Devel- opment Plan (PDP). The PDP lines up the competencies the employee still needs to develop (looking forward) through evaluating his or her current strengths and weaknesses (looking back). In the PDP-form the following questions are asked: ‘What are your weaknesses?’, ‘What are your strengths?’, ‘What do you want to accomplish?’, ‘Which competencies do you still need to develop?’ and ‘How do you want to develop those competences?’ The answers to these questions can be used to nourish the dialogues with the supervisor, in which the supervisor will try to stimulate the employee’s reflection on the PDP. The dialogue with the supervisor and the employee’s reflection is crucial and forms the core of using a PDP. Reflec- tion has several purposes. First, the employee should get a better insight in what he or she wants (e.g. making promotion or keep doing the same job and learning