Personal Development Plan (PDP) Coaching Program: A Program Management Guide

1. Program Introduction & Benefits

This 6-month coaching program is designed to empower employees to take ownership of their professional growth. Its core essence is to combine structured goal-setting frameworks with on-the-job experimentation and guided reflection, enabling participants to design, execute, and track their own personal development plans in a sustained and effective manner.

Strategic Benefits for Employees:

1. Enhanced Career Ownership: Employees gain the tools and confidence to proactively manage their development, moving from passive recipients of feedback to active architects of their career path.
2. Practical Skill Application: By emphasizing the 70-20-10 model, the program ensures development is directly tied to real work, leading to immediate application and tangible skill-building.
3. Increased Engagement & Retention: Providing a clear, supported pathway for growth directly addresses key drivers of employee engagement, fostering a sense of investment and loyalty to the organization.
4. Stronger Peer & Manager Networks: Structured peer coaching circles and manager-as-coach training build a culture of continuous feedback, collaboration, and psychological safety.
5. Measurable Personal Progress: The use of SMART goals and KPIs provides employees with clear evidence of their growth, boosting motivation and self-efficacy.

2. Program Expansion Strategy

Evaluation: This is a Coaching program. The provided research data already strongly integrates coaching methodologies (GROW model, non-directive coaching, peer coaching). Therefore, a supplemental Mentorship layer is not required as a core expansion. The program's design inherently addresses the need for guidance through structured coaching relationships (both managerial and peer-based). Adding a formal, separate mentorship component could create confusion of roles and dilute the focus on self-directed plan creation and execution.

3. Implementation Roadmap

Launch Phase (Pre-Program & Month 1)

• Secure Leadership Buy-in: Present the program outline and benefits to senior leaders and people managers to secure sponsorship and resource commitment.
• Define & Recruit Participants: Establish clear eligibility criteria (e.g., open to all, targeted levels) and launch an application/nomination process.
• Onboard Managers: Conduct a mandatory briefing session for people managers of participants. Cover their role as supporters, the GROW model basics, and how to protect time for employee development activities.
• Kick-off Workshop: Host a launch event to introduce the program's purpose, key frameworks (GROW, 70-20-10), and the 6-month journey. Distribute all initial toolkits and templates.
• Initiate Baseline Assessment: Administer pre-program surveys to measure starting levels of development clarity, confidence, and engagement.

Tracking & Operations (Months 2-6)

• Centralized Dashboard: Use the selected Coaching Software (see Section 4) to track participant enrollment, PDP submission status, coaching session completion, and activity logs.
• Cadence of Touchpoints:
  • Weekly: Participants engage in self-reflection and micro-actions.
  • Bi-weekly: Peer coaching circles meet using provided templates.
  • Monthly: Formal 1:1 GROW-based coaching sessions (with manager or assigned internal coach).
  • Quarterly: Program manager reviews aggregate progress data and participant feedback to identify needs for mid-course support or content adjustment.
• Content Rollout: Release module-specific resources (videos, guides, worksheets) aligned with the monthly milestones via the LMS.
• Community Management: Foster interaction and sharing of wins/challenges within the participant group using the Internal Social Network.

Success Measurement

• Quantitative KPIs:
  • Participation: 100% of participants have a documented PDP v2.0 (SMART goals + 70-20-10 activities) by end of Month 2.
  • Activity Completion: >80% average completion rate of planned 70-20-10 activities per participant.
  • Coaching Engagement: >90% scheduled coaching sessions (manager/peer) are completed.
  • Program Completion: >85% of participants complete all core milestones and submit a final PDP.
• Qualitative Feedback Mechanisms:
  • Pulse Surveys: Distributed after each module to gauge content relevance and practical utility.
  • Focus Groups: Conducted at the mid-point (Month 3) to gather in-depth feedback on challenges and support needs.
  • Final Impact Survey: Measures self-reported change in confidence, clarity, and ownership of development (compared to baseline).
  • Manager Feedback: Solicited at program end on observed behavior change and initiative in participants.

4. Approved Tools List

• Coaching Software: Primary Tool. This is essential for structuring and documenting the coaching process. It will house the GROW session templates, track goals and action items from coaching conversations, and facilitate scheduling between participants and their coaches (managers or peers). It provides the central system of record for development plans.
• LMS (Learning Management System): Core Delivery Channel. Used to host all asynchronous training content (video tutorials on SMART goals, modules on coaching skills), deliver micro-learning assets, and administer pre/post-assessments and feedback surveys. It ensures scalable, consistent content delivery.
• Internal Social Network: Community & Engagement Tool. A dedicated group or channel will be created for program participants to share resources, celebrate successes, ask questions, and maintain peer accountability beyond formal coaching circles. This fosters a culture of shared learning.

Justification for Omitted Tools: Mentorship Software is not selected as this is a coaching-focused program. ERG Program Software is not aligned with the core goal. A Personality Test could be a useful optional activity for self-awareness but is not a mandatory system for program management. An Onboarding Platform is designed for new hires, not for ongoing employee development.

5. Resource & Content Library

Training Content for Coaches (Managers & Peer Coaches)

• Guide: "The Fundamentals of Non-Directive Coaching: Asking vs. Telling"
• Video Series: "Mastering the GROW Model: A Step-by-Step Walkthrough of Coaching Conversations"
• Toolkit: "Powerful Question Banks for Each Stage of GROW"
• Article: "Giving Effective Feedback that Fuels Development"
• Guide: "Building Psychological Safety in Coaching Relationships"
• Worksheet: "Structuring a 30-Minute Peer Coaching Session"

Training Content for Coachees (Employees)

• Interactive Workshop: "From Ambition to Action: Crafting Your SMART Development Goals"
• Template & Guide: "Building Your 70-20-10 Development Plan: A Practical Worksheet"
• Video: "Understanding ADKAR: A Model for Your Personal Change Journey"
• Guide & Reflection Journal: "The Art of Self-Coaching: Weekly Reflection Prompts"
• Toolkit: "Tracking Your Progress: KPI Dashboards and Habit Trackers"
• Workshop/Guide: "Telling Your Impact Story: Communicating Your Development"