Investing in your team sounds like common sense, right? But how do you truly ensure you get it right when it comes to continuing professional development. It’s easy to make a noise about what you are doing but embedding it into your culture will keep your employees motivated and enable the business to flourish at the same time.

Earlier this year, our agency was recognised by the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising for CPD Excellence, when Director of Operations Joanna Taylor and CEO Kieron Goldsborough went to a glitzy ceremony in London to pick up our IPA CPD Gold accreditation.

So, we decided to catch up with Joanna to share some top tips to achieving CPD excellence.

1. Your CPD programme should be aligned with business objectives

Being able to align training efforts with robust business targets and metrics is key to demonstrating the value CPD brings to your organisation.

2. CPD doesn’t just mean formal qualifications

Whilst formal qualifications are important, your CPD programme can (and should) include everything from webinars, books and industry podcasts through to lunch and learn sessions, mentoring and internal training. There are so many ways to learn and develop, so find time to check out what’s happening around you and set time aside each week, where possible.

3. Targets can help focus your CPD efforts

As part of our membership of the IPA, we are targeted to achieve 24 hours (or pro rata for part-time staff) of development activity which should be completed and recorded per person each year. This really helps focus our efforts and encourages us all to incorporate an element of learning into our working week.

4. Excellence in CPD is only achievable if there is an embedded CPD culture

CPD should lie at the heart of the business and senior management should genuinely regard it as a vehicle for commercial success. Both time and budget should be set aside each year to demonstrate commitment to learning.

5. Inclusivity is key

It is key that development opportunities are made available to everyone in the organisation, and that senior management participate and demonstrate commitment to learning. Education opportunities should extend beyond junior staff and must be supported and championed by senior leadership.

CPD is a powerful tool that all businesses should get behind. Not only will it help you develop and retain your current workforce, but it will also attract new recruits when you have job opportunities available. It’s not enough to tell someone you have a good place to work, you need to show them. Back up your business’ culture by investing in your team’s future, giving individuals, the team, and the business, the tools to grow together.