When it comes to investing in employee development, the stats speak for themselves:
- 83% of HR managers believe that employee development programs help to attract talent
- Companies with a strong learning culture have 57% better employee retention
- 80% of people say that learning adds purpose to their work
- 43% of companies report increased revenue since implementing learning programs
That said, building a productive learning culture isn’t always straightforward. Professional development is not just about teaching new skills—it's about creating a pathway for career growth, fostering a sense of value and belonging, and preparing your workforce for future challenges.
It’s a challenge, but the right approach can help your organization deliver an employee development strategy that works.
5 steps to a successful employee development program
Developing employees is no easy task, but you can expect a steady return on investment if you take the right approach.
1. Conduct a training needs assessment
Before you look at individual training plans, it’s important to step back and look at organizational needs. What skills do you need right now? What kind of team will you need in the future? What are the potential impacts on company culture?
Work with leadership and senior stakeholders to:
- Identify the skills required to achieve organizational goals and fulfill long-term strategy
- Evaluate current employee competencies and performance
- Recognize skill gaps that need to be addressed
2. Set clear objectives
How will you measure ROI for your employee development program? According to research by LinkedIn, most organizations use metrics such as employee engagement, retention, internal mobility rates, and employees becoming proficient in new skills.
As with any major project, it’s important that your team has a clear idea of what success looks like. Some important steps are:
- Agree on clear, measurable metrics
- Tie metrics to specific business objectives
- Find ways to measure outcomes (for example, employee surveys or customer satisfaction scores)
3. Create individual development plans
Once you’ve defined a high-level professional development strategy, it’s time to start creating development plans for each individual. These plans will be unique for each person, focused on growing their skills and helping them achieve their own career goals.
These plans should be living documents, reviewed and updated regularly as employees progress and goals evolve. First steps typically include:
- Hold a career pathing session with the employee to discuss their ambitions and possible promotion pathways
- Agree on specific areas to develop, ideally with clear targets such as certification or hands-on experience
- Discuss options, such as training programs, eLearning, tuition reimbursement or work placements
4. Design diverse learning opportunities
Employee development isn’t one-size-fits-all. Each individual has their preferred learning methods, and a successful program should offer options that best suit the employee.
Managers and learning coordinators can explore options with employees, including:
- Formal training sessions (workshops, seminars, courses)
- On-the-job learning experiences
- Mentoring and coaching relationships
- Self-paced online learning modules
- Cross-functional projects and assignments
- Job rotation opportunities
- Conference attendance and industry events
Remember that different people require different learning methods. You'll also need to provide appropriate skill development resources for the area of focus—for example, technical skills require learning materials, soft skills usually involve coaching, and leadership skills might involve a mentoring program.
5. Implement ongoing feedback and coaching
As employees develop, so too does your employee development program. Regular feedback and reviews will help to identify strengths and weaknesses, ensuring that individuals keep progressing towards their goals. This feedback will also help to refine your employee development strategy, producing important results over time.
Essential ongoing steps include:
- Coaching sessions to help consolidate learning
- Development feedback to help employees grow
- Regular high-level strategy reviews to discuss results and next steps
Overcoming Common Challenges
Even well-designed development programs face obstacles. Here are strategies for addressing common challenges:
- Limited resources: Start small with targeted career development initiatives, leverage internal expertise, and explore cost-effective options like online learning platforms.
- Time constraints: Integrate learning into the workflow, break development into manageable chunks, and create protected time for learning activities.
- Resistance to change: Communicate the benefits clearly, celebrate early successes, and involve resisters in the design process.
- Measuring impact: Establish clear baseline metrics, tie development to business outcomes, and collect both quantitative and qualitative data.
Creating a Culture of Continuous Learning
The most successful employee development programs go beyond formal training to foster a culture where learning is valued and encouraged every day. To build this culture:
- Recognize and reward learning efforts and achievements
- Share knowledge and best practices across the organization
- Encourage experimentation and view mistakes as learning opportunities
- Provide resources for self-directed learning
- Include learning goals in performance reviews
- Celebrate development milestones and successes
When continuous learning becomes part of your organizational DNA, development becomes self-sustaining rather than a separate initiative.
Get the most from your employee development program
Building an effective employee development program is an investment that pays dividends in improved performance, increased engagement, and stronger talent retention. By conducting thorough needs assessments, setting clear objectives, offering diverse learning opportunities, personalizing employee development plans, securing leadership support, providing ongoing feedback, and measuring results, organizations can create development programs that truly transform their workforce capabilities.
Remember that the most successful development programs are not static—they evolve based on changing business needs, employee feedback, and emerging best practices. By committing to continuous improvement of your development offerings, you create a virtuous cycle of growth that benefits both your employees and your organization as a whole.
Need some help with your employee development plan? Book a call with Helios HR expert today and find out how you can help your team maximize their abilities.
