Tailor-made training: Individual Development plans offered by De Nora

Continuous development has always played a crucial role in a company's success. People whose skills are always up-to-date achieve better results and allow companies to pursue their goals.

Let's discover in this article how lifelong learning fits into the corporate context and which initiatives De Nora promotes to offer development opportunities to its people.

1. Lifelong learning: the importance of training within a company 

A company’s success depends on the ability of its people to carry out their work effectively, and to do so, solid and up-to-date skills are necessary.

If we also consider the influence of technological advances on tools and methods, it’s easy to understand how training plays a crucial role in a company’s progress.

In this scenario, lifelong learning fits perfectly: continuous learning that goes beyond formal education (such as school and university) and allows people to keep their skills up-to-date and face new challenges with awareness.

This constant approach is key for companies because it allows them to have more productive, motivated and capable teams.

De Nora firmly believes in the importance of lifelong learning and provides several initiatives to support it.

2. What Individual Development Plans are and how they’re designed 

When it comes to training, De Nora's goal is to make sure that everyone can build, together with the company, a development path in line with individual aspirations and the needs of the Group.

This is possible thanks to the Individual Development Plan (IDP), based on an annual Competence Assessment (CA).

Every year, each person is asked to assess their own skills, identifying their strengths and areas for improvement, and to reflect on their career aspirations and expectations. This initial self-assessment is then followed by the manager's evaluation and a discussion between manager and team member.

Based on the results that emerge, each person, together with their manager, defines the development actions to include in the Individual Development Plan.

IDPs can include actions aimed at strengthening soft skills, which offer a cross-functional learning opportunity for the whole company, as well as hard skills, which are more specific to particular roles.

IDPs are based on the 70-20-10 learning model, where 70% of development takes place through on-the-job experience, 20% through learning from others, and 10% through formal training activities.

2.1 The next steps of IDP for continuous learning

The IDP is not a static tool, nor a formal exercise meant to remain unchanged over time.

To ensure consistency and applicability over time, two annual review meetings are scheduled to track the progress of the Individual Development Plan: one mid-year and one at year-end.

These are opportunities for discussion that allow people to take stock of their progress, recalibrate priorities and recognize the skills they have developed.

Furthermore, when the context requires it, the IDP can be progressively updated, to respond to organisational changes, new professional challenges or specific needs shared between Line Managers and their teams.

An approach that strengthens the value of the plan as a concrete development tool, rather than a mere formality.

3. An academy for hard and soft skills training

The concept of lifelong learning doesn't just highlight the importance of continuous training as a driver of productivity, but also shows how people can genuinely benefit from different and complementary learning methods, capable of addressing different needs, roles and stages of professional development.

For this reason, alongside 'hands-on' experience, De Nora also offers training courses on hard and soft skills.

In 2018, the company launched an internal Academy with the aim of sharing technical know-how through training content developed by expert colleagues.

Over time, the platform has evolved to respond in an increasingly targeted way to the needs of the whole company.

Today, the Academy contains more than 150 training courses, developed both internally and with the support of external providers. The platform's courses are essential for broadening technical skills and making the most of the workplace (the course on giving and receiving feedback management is one of the most popular).

4. Other training incentives 

In addition to in-person courses and those available on the De Nora Academy, there are numerous other initiatives to support the development of our people.

De Nora collaborates with various institutions and universities, including Il Sole 24 Ore and Bocconi University, to build training paths dedicated to specific skills, such as those in the economic and management fields.

These are joined by:

• technical certifications, funded by De Nora to allow technical employees to update their skills;
• coaching and mentoring courses, essential for promoting a participative leadership model;
• job rotation experiences, which give people the chance to take on different roles and experience De Nora from different perspectives.

Continuous learning stems from individual enthusiasm and curiosity. For this reason, alongside structured initiatives, De Nora also offers financial support dedicated to those who wish to actively invest in their own growth.

The company also supports participation in certified training courses, as well as new hires who, alongside their work activities, undertake training paths to strengthen and broaden their skills.