MEMBERSHIP CORNER

Professional Development For ALL!

Professional Development: “The opportunity to learn and apply new knowledge and skills that can help you in your job and further your career. Professional development is all about building your skill set and knowledge base for your field and includes activities that contribute to career development and progression.”

SEMC offers a variety of opportunities for professional development including FREE monthly virtual programs, in-person leadership programs, and, of course, the annual meeting. Professional development is often the catalyst for how museums and cultural institutions can move forward, offering staff opportunities to learn about cutting-edge processes and see how new ideas can be implemented into operations and programs. However, professional development is often the first area to be cut when institutional budgets are forced to get “lean.”

All organizations aspire to have happy staff to ensure they are not part of a growing number of individuals searching for new jobs with better benefits and opportunities for growth. Organizations that openly demonstrate care and concern about employee growth (not just for upper management and managers) are better at retaining staff. Does your organization offer nonexempt staff who meet, greet, instruct, and guide, the opportunity to go to a regional or local meeting once a year? Can you provide staff time and opportunities to take an online course to help them do their job better and learn the latest trends in their department/field?

Here are some tips for developing or updating your program: 1. Have a clear and equitable employee program that says, we value you and want to invest in your growth and potential. 2. Make the process to seek training easy. 3. Have budgets that are transparent and equitable for all departments.

Professional development doesn’t have to break the bank; there are many free and inexpensive programs available. Search the web, talk with colleagues at other organizations, and mention it to your supervisor to uncover the options.

Successful people continue to learn and develop their skills by taking advantage of professional development opportunities over the entirety of their careers.

Please reach out to the SEMC staff if you need additional information on our suite of programs and resources. We have offerings for various budgets designed to help you and your team continue to grow and develop professionally.

— Carla Phillips , SEMC Membership & Communications Manager cphillilps@semcdirect.net