About employee development

Employee development refers to the company-sponsored initiatives that help workers build skills, experience and knowledge. With the right opportunities, development programs can support the company’s objectives and employees’ professional goals.

Benefits of professional development for employees and employers

An employee development program requires both time and money. With carefully chosen developmental opportunities, your investment can bring significant benefits for everyone involved.

• Easier hiring. Modern professionals are actively looking for companies that offer development programs. In fact, a Gallup study found that 48% of workers would change positions if the new company provided skills training.
• Workforce skills. Employee development is one way to build workforce skills to foster success in the industry. Done consistently, it can lead to increased productivity, higher efficiency and more revenue.
• Increased employee involvement. Professional development opportunities provide an exciting challenge for employees. As they learn new skills and take on new responsibilities, they may be more likely to become actively involved in their jobs and the future of the company.
• Better morale. By investing in your employees, you’re demonstrating that you value their work and care about their futures, both at the company and beyond. This knowledge helps workers feel more connected and content at work.
• Improved career prospects. Development programs provide the growth that’s essential for promotions and pay raises down the line.
• Higher retention rates. New opportunities keep employees feeling challenged and stimulated, which helps you boost retention. As a result, you can spend less on hiring and onboarding " data-mce-lingo="en_us">onboarding.

7 developmental opportunities to offer employees

As you’re choosing development opportunities, keep three things in mind: your available resources, employee preferences and company objectives. You may find it helpful to use a combination of formal initiatives and smaller, personalized opportunities.

1. New assignments and projects

In the early days of building an employee development program, new assignments are an effective and affordable option. The administrative load is low; all you need to do is assign a new project or task and allow the employee to learn on the job. This strategy is particularly effective for independent, high-performing employees who thrive under new challenges. You can also use it to cross-train employees.

Typically, you’ll see the most value from projects that complement the employee’s current responsibilities. If your graphic designer is responsible for clients’ web layouts, for example, learning basic HTML or JavaScript may help them create programmer-friendly designs.

When an employee takes on new responsibilities, it’s safe to expect a slight dip in productivity. To avoid burnout and maintain throughput, consider reducing their workload to accommodate the new projects. Alternatively, assign smaller tasks with a shorter learning curve.

2. Soft-skill learning opportunities

Help your employees become well-rounded professionals by providing opportunities to develop soft skills like communication, teamwork and collaboration. Choose large or small opportunities as the situation warrants. If a new employee struggles with confidence or public speaking, you might assign a quick presentation during a team meeting. To help an experienced worker build leadership skills, you could ask them to head up a cross-departmental collaboration.

Other soft skills to consider include time management, empathy, decision-making, teamwork, organization and emotional intelligence.

3. Tuition reimbursement

Tuition reimbursement gives your employees the freedom to direct their own professional development. It also takes the educational burden off your shoulders, which makes it easier to maintain your efforts throughout the year.

Encourage creative thinking by allowing employees to take any class, as long as they can make a business case for it. An open-minded approach exposes you to unexpected ideas and brings an element of fun to the process. A theater class might not seem like a natural fit for a corporation, for example, but it could do wonders for an employee’s public speaking and client communication skills.

4. Mentoring program

Put your senior employees’ collective knowledge to use with a company-wide mentoring program. Mentors can share information and insight, and junior employees get the chance to ask questions and seek advice. These new relationships can also create a more collegial and welcoming workplace, which in turn improves company culture and helps increase workforce retention.

If your business isn’t ready for an in-house program, consider setting up a mentor-swap arrangement with other local companies or executives. You can also ask managers to build informal mentoring sessions into their workflow. Regardless of the path you take, make sure that everyone participates voluntarily.

5. Self-paced online learning

Online education is a useful option if you work with dispersed teams. Employees can access the materials at any time, whether they’re in your city or across the world. Plus, they can work through courses as their personal and professional schedules allow.

Building a powerful online course library requires some legwork on the front end. Make sure you’re providing relevant, updated materials by going through each program first. For maximum ROI, survey your employees about the topics, teachers and specific classes that seem most interesting.

6. Group training

Are you anticipating an industry shift that will affect your operations, equipment or technology? It may be worthwhile to invest in group training to update the entire workforce’s skill set at the same time. To boost buy-in, consider using a program that comes with an official certification that benefits employees throughout their careers.

Mass training is an efficient way to communicate information at scale. The group setting creates a feeling of camaraderie and gives employees the chance to learn from others’ questions.

7. Lunch and learn

Employee development doesn’t always have to be formal. Lunch-and-learn sessions are an opportunity to introduce new ideas in a relaxed, low-commitment setting. You can bring in a range of speakers, including community members, industry professionals and company leaders.

To keep your participation rate high, vary your topics and presenters. One week, you might host a session on a trending industry topic. The next week, switch it up by bringing in a wellness expert to teach employees about stress reduction.

How to design effective employee development opportunities

There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to employee development—the most effective programs are tailored to your situation. As you consider different development examples, keep these tips in mind:

• Ask employees for input. Before you do anything else, talk to your employees about the developmental opportunities that excite them most. Discuss their preferred topics, skills and formats. Open communication is the fastest and easiest way to zero in on the most compelling options.
• Evaluate the company’s needs. Work with the leadership team to determine the company’s pressing needs. Think about your current skill gaps, bottlenecks and weak areas. Then, consider how you might be able to reinforce or expand your strongest areas. Finally, identify upcoming changes in the economy, world market or industry that could affect your business down the line.
• Make it easy to participate. The fewer hoops they have to jump through, the more likely your employees are to participate in development initiatives. Aim for a mix of online and offline options to maximize accessibility and accommodate everyone.