What’s a training plan?

A training plan is a document that outlines training goals, anticipated learning outcomes and how to deliver the training. Employers can use this plan to provide an overview of their organization’s overall training needs or to help individual employees improve their performance and develop new skills.

A training plan template can help structure onboarding so new employees are more likely to receive the training needed to perform their duties effectively. While all types of training can benefit from a structured plan, a dedicated plan may be more effective for highly technical positions or those with defined performance standards.

A training plan is different from an employee development plan, although the terms are occasionally used interchangeably. A training plan examines the current needs of your employees and the organization over the short term or for a specific job requirement or project need. An employee development plan focuses on your employees’ overall career development.

An effective training plan may align with an employee development plan and include opportunities for skill building. Considering both documents as a whole can improve employee development and ensure they have the skills needed to help your organization grow.

Benefits of using a training plan

Training and development can be a smart investment for your business and can bring a wide range of benefits, including the following:

• Filling knowledge gaps: Regularly evaluating your employees’ skills and aligning them with evolving business needs lets you quickly identify skills gaps and ensure they have the competencies required to do their jobs effectively.
• Enhancing employee performance: Employees who regularly undergo training learn new skills to improve their job performance. Training and skills refreshment can reinforce forgotten skills and improve productivity.
• Improving staff retention: A study by Gallup found that employees at organizations that encourage learning are 47% less likely to be looking for another job. If you give your people the opportunity to develop their skills, they’re more likely to stay at your company, saving you time and money in hiring and training someone new.
• Ensuring succession planning: An effective training plan can help prepare employees to transition into critical roles when vacancies arise. Promoting from within helps you retain institutional knowledge and minimize downtime.
• Maintaining consistency: Training plans, especially for new employees, can ensure everyone is working from the same base of information. Uniform training across the team ensures consistency and increases the likelihood of employees adhering to company policies and procedures.

A learning culture benefits business owners as employees are often more loyal to companies that care about their development. Training plans also offer new opportunities and can help them develop and work toward career goals, boosting employee productivity and engagement.

Parts of a training plan

To ensure your training plan is effective, consider including the following items:

• Current role: Define the employees’ current role. If you’re developing a plan for the entire corporation, define your company’s mission and objectives, including organizational and individual employee processes, to determine the type of training that will be most effective.
• Learning gap: Define the job-specific skills an employee or your organization can improve to perform more effectively.
• Training goals: Use SMART goals and consider what this training will achieve and the benefits to both your employee and your organization.
• Learning outcomes: Identify the specific skills you would like employees to gain from the training. This differs from a training goal, which defines how you want the training to assist your employee. For example, if a training goal is to provide better customer service, the learning outcomes might include understanding and applying active listening skills.
• Type of training: Detail how the employee will learn these new skills. Consider whether it will be group or individual training, in-house or outsourced and how the information will be conveyed. An effective training modality considers departmental needs, current workload and projects, to allow the employee the necessary time to learn.
• Resources: List resources the employee can use to complete the training, including those provided during the training session, relevant company policies and external resources, such as websites or books. Use resources within your organization, such as coaching or mentoring opportunities.
• Success measures: Consider how you’ll define successful training, including creating SMART goals and listing success indicators. It’s important to ensure both you and your employee understand that the goal of this training is to help them improve their job performance. For example, you can link the training to your employee’s KPIs or project outcomes.
• Time frame: Include the training dates, how long it will take to complete and when you’ll meet with your employee to discuss its effectiveness.

“Employees are increasingly looking for additional training in their career journey. Employers of choice understand that and actively seek ways to keep employees engaged through training.”

—Joe Scotto, HR leader

3 types of training plans with templates

The following are three types of training plans to consider to develop employees’ skills:

1. New employee training plan

When onboarding new employees, it can be helpful to have a training plan in place, typically consisting of orientation and role-specific training. Orientation is typically the same for every new employee and can include the following:

• Company culture, structure and mission
• Administrative procedures
• Benefits
• Corporate policies
• Completing required paperwork

Role-specific training helps employees quickly learn the skills and knowledge needed to perform their jobs. If you regularly hire employees for the same role, such as a call center operator or checkout assistant, you may train groups of new hires simultaneously using the same training plan.

It’s common to provide new hires starting in a more specialized role with an individual training plan developed in conjunction with their manager. Consider incorporating it into a 30-60-90 day plan.

Training plan template for new employees

Name:
Role/Title:
Start date:
Manager:

Company Orientation: [Company mission, values, policies]

HR: [Payroll, benefits, time off]

Team: [Key team members, introductions]

Role overview: [Key duties and responsibilities]

Training goals: [The specific training goals you expect to achieve]

Tools and training: [How you will provide the training]

Additional resources: [List any additional resources available]

Measures of success: [List how you’ll know the training has been successful]

2. Individual training plan

Individual training plans are used for existing employees and may vary by employee based on their individual skills. These training plans are typically part of a regular performance review or employee development plan. They can also be used as part of a performance improvement plan, especially if the employee is experiencing challenges due to a missing skill.

Individual training plans develop the employees’ existing skills and help them perform their jobs more efficiently and effectively. The training can also help them prepare for different roles in the organization. Develop the plan in collaboration with the employee, considering the skills they feel they’re missing and their career goals.

Align training with manager expectations and structure it to align individual skills with those of other employees performing the same tasks.

Individual training plan template

Name:
Date:
Role/Title:

Learning gap:

Training goals:

Learning outcomes:

Type of training:

Additional resources:

Success measures: 

Training completed by:

Follow-up meeting:

3. Corporate training plan

A corporate training plan examines the skills needed across the organization, which can include the following:

• Gaps to fill
• New technologies or industries you want to utilize
• Regular training that requires management

Some roles may require less frequent formal training, though most positions benefit from periodic updates, such as compliance or skills refreshers. However, scheduled training plans for industries such as healthcare are essential, as modalities constantly evolve to keep up with advancements in the field.

If you’re in an industry where regulations stipulate a certain number of training hours to maintain employee or company licensing, your corporate training plan needs to include these requirements. It’s important to prioritize compliance-based training needs when applicable. Many employees anticipate continued learning opportunities as part of a company’s ongoing commitment to their development.

Corporate training plans consider the training required for your entire organization to incorporate into individual training plans. Ensure that training listed in this plan is added to individual plans and maintain completion records. Corporate training plans can help address broader organizational skill needs, especially when role-specific training is limited.

Corporate training plan template

Company name:
Date:

Company mission: 

Current learning gaps:

Regular training needs:

Additional resources:

Measurements of success: 

Date for next review:

Tips for using a training plan template

Using a training plan template ensures you capture all the essential information. To get the most from your training plan, consider the following actions:

• Identify needs: Align your training with department needs and expectations. Manager feedback can help align current or future company needs with training plans.
• Seek employee input: Employees can provide valuable input on perceived skill gaps, which should be balanced with manager feedback and formal assessments. These can be one-on-one talks, small-group brainstorming or company-wide discussions. If multiple employees mention the same gap, it’s a good time to arrange group training so everyone can benefit.
• Use certification-based training: Align training plans with ongoing role-based certifications if required. In many cases, certification-based training may be necessary and follows a specific schedule.
• Engage employees: Ensure employees understand the goals and expected outcomes of training. This may be done in groups. You can also discuss the corporate plan with your entire workforce to help them understand your vision for the company. Managers can also schedule annual meetings with individual employees to discuss training goals for the coming year.
• Diversify: Training can take many forms, and it is helpful to explore your options, such as individual versus group training and in-house versus outsourced sessions. You may also consider coaching, mentoring and cross-training or exploring college courses for employees who need advanced skills, to ensure employees gain skills across different areas of operation.
• Empower employees: Ask your employees to organize their own training or define how they want to receive it to help them take responsibility and get the most out of the opportunity.
• Assess success: After the training, take time to talk with employees in both formal and informal settings to determine how useful it was. This can help you decide whether to modify it. Managers can assess performance metrics to evaluate whether the employees’ work has improved.

Training Plan Templates for PDF & Word

Use these training plan templates to help your employees grow professionally.