A staff development coordinator may direct, administer, or supervise employee training, and in many cases, he or she will do all three. This person is in charge of preparing newly hired employees for their roles in the company as well as improving the skills and efficiency of all current employees. Careers in this field necessitate strong interpersonal skills and a commitment to assisting both employees and employers in achieving their objectives.
A skilled communicator who can express himself or herself and give instruction in a variety of ways and through a variety of mediums is required of an effective staff development coordinator. He or she may be called upon to train large groups of employees at once, which will necessitate excellent public speaking skills, or to work one-on-one with a specific member of the team. Responsibility for written communications, such as training manuals, job descriptions, and job performance feedback, is included in many job descriptions. A technologically savvy individual will have a distinct career advantage because new technologies are commonly used in training programs and general communication.
It’s critical that employees see this person as a resource rather than an authority figure. One of the coordinator’s responsibilities is to develop strong working relationships with employees and to foster a culture of trust in those relationships. To do so, he or she must instill trust and respond to each individual’s unique training needs with sensitivity and patience. Coordinators may also be in charge of organizing and leading a group of assistant trainers, which necessitates strong leadership abilities.
Jobs for staff development coordinators can be found in almost any type of organization and in almost any field — in other words, anywhere there are employees who require training. These individuals must not only be capable educators, but also have a thorough understanding of the industry and organization in which they work. A coordinator is likely to have worked in another role within the same organization before being promoted to this position. The previous position could have been within the human resources department or in another department, where the person could practice the skills that he or she now trains others in.
A staff development coordinator will typically have a relevant bachelor’s degree in addition to experience. This could be a degree in a specific industry or one in human resources and/or other social sciences. Coordinators are in charge of creating and delivering training programs for others, and they are typically expected to have completed advanced levels of formal and practical education in order to do so.