NRCS Individual Development Plan IDP Guidelines for FY

NRCS Individual Development Plan (IDP) Guidelines for FY 2018

Regulations and Policy • USDA DR 4040 -410: An IDP is… – A clear statement of an employee’s career goals. – A map for attaining goals that specifies immediate and long-range developmental need. – An individually tailored action plan to develop specific competencies (knowledge and skills) needed to improve performance in the employee’s present position or to prepare for new responsibilities. – A written plan for scheduling and managing an employee’s development. – A tool for a supervisor to estimate resources needed for employee development training. • USDA DR 4040 -410 requires an IDP for: – (1) Presidential Management Fellows. – (2) Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program participants. – (3) All nonbargaining unit employees. – (4) Any employee who requests an IDP. 2

Proper IDPs • NRCS employees are highly encouraged to complete their IDPs through Ag. Learn (please see the national bulletin for additional details) • A new IDP should be created each FY (a national bulletin will offer guidance each FY) • The IDP serves as the Executive Development Plan (EDP) for SES leaders • IDPs must contain at least one goal; two to three goals are strongly encouraged • Goals are developmental objectives or competencies 3

Proper IDPs • Activities should be included under every goal • Activities are the stepping stones toward reaching the goals or improving proficiency • Activities can include: – Developmental activities (details, 360 assessments, shadowing, mentoring, etc. ) – Formal classroom training (internal NRCS or NEDC training or external training) – On-the-job training – Self-development activities (reading materials, audiovideo materials, Ag. Learn training, etc. ) 4

Proper IDPs • IDPs should be approved by the supervisors and can be established and discussed during regular performance management discussions • Employees are also required to meet with their supervisor at least once throughout the fiscal year to review the progress made in completing their developmental activities • IDPs should cover current and future goals (multiyear IDP) • IDPs will be used by NEDC to assess training needs, so IDP activities should be vetted by supervisors and should reflect approved training needs 5

Proper IDPs Built in Ag. Learn Approved by supervisor 6

Developmental Objective/Competency Proper IDPs Target Date for Mid Term Goal for an FY 2016 IDP (end of FY 2017) Goal term selected 7

Proper IDPs Varied activities Internal items selected from Ag. Learn catalog 8

IDP FY 2018 Creation Process Plan name is up to the employee • Step 1: Create a plan in Ag. Learn: • Step 2: Fill out “Create Plan” details Plan period is the FY • Step 3: Click “Save and Add Goal” • (Please do not tab through these blocks. The plan period could end up displaying incorrectly and will cause your IDP to not show up properly on IDP reports. ) 9

IDP FY 2018 Creation Process • If you have completed a competency assessment, you will see competencies with gaps autopopulate on your IDP: • If you would like to keep this goal, you can hover the goal, edit goal, and then add activities, and select the goal target date and goal term (Section) 10

IDP FY 2018 Creation Process • If you would like to remove this goal, you can hover the goal and remove goal • You can use the autopopulated competency goals, or you can manually create your own by clicking “Add Goal” 11

IDP FY 2018 Creation Process • For FY 2018, we are requiring employees to create two types of goals: – Short-term goals for FY 2018 training and development; should include activities to be completed in FY 2018 – Mid-term goals for FY 2019 training and development; should include activities to be completed in FY 2019 • Long-term goals for FY 2020 training and beyond are optional (unless required by an individual NRCS program) 12

IDP FY 2018 Creation Process • Short-term goals should include activities to be accomplished in FY 2018 and the goal target date should be the end of FY 2018 (individual activity target dates can be any date in FY 2018): • Mid-term goals should include activities to be accomplished in FY 2019 and the goal target date should be the end of FY 2019 (individual activity target dates can be any date in FY 2019): • Long-term goals are optional, but would include activities to be accomplished in FY 2020 or beyond and the goal target date should be the end of FY 2020, or applicable FY (individual activity target dates can be any date past FY 2019): 13

Printing a PDF of your IDP • The Ag. Learn system will be going through a transition in FY 2018 -19. • Completed IDP data will be maintained on the employee’s completed work history, but NRCS also recommends all employees print a hardcopy of their FY 2018 IDP after the IDP is approved by the supervisor to ensure the information is accessible and maintained. • Please see the national bulletin for additional details. 14

Impact of the FY 2018 IDP • The NRCS Training Needs Assessment Process (formerly, TNI) has recently undergone a revision, and beginning in FY 2017, IDP data was gathered to help determine training needs for the agency. • The 2 -year IDP in FY 2018 will be used to assess these needs for FY 2018 and FY 2019. • If adding any internal NRCS courses as activities on the IDP, employees should be sure to select the item from the catalog when adding it to the IDP so these needs can be aligned with internal courses and tracked to inform the NEDC course scheduling process. 15

Common IDP Mistakes • Having too few or too many goals (two to three goals are recommended) • Not including activities under each goal • Not getting the IDP approved by the supervisor 16

Additional Information • http: //www. idp. usda. gov/ • http: //www. dm. usda. gov/employ/vu/idp. htm • http: //directives. sc. egov. usda. gov/Rollup. View er. aspx? hid=17051 • Examples of good IDPs to be posted to NEDC Connect site. 17