How Do You Develop Employees?

When it comes to career growth opportunities for employees, it's about helping them gain new skills and knowledge to support their professional growth. But it’s also about investing in the success of your organization. There are many different employee growth and development ideas, but let's take a look at the foundation first.

What does it mean to develop employees?

An employee development program can help deliver significant bottom line benefits. Here’s what developing employees for future success can mean to your organization:

• Improved performance: As employees develop new skills, they can become more effective in their roles.
• Increased engagement and satisfaction: As skills and knowledge grow, employees can be more engaged on the job. Plus, they’re more likely to stay; according to a recent survey by McKinsey and Company, 41% of over 13,000 respondents cited lack of career development/advancement as the most common reason for quitting their previous jobs.
  
• Reduced hiring costs: According to a 2022 LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report, 79% of learning and development professionals agree: It’s less expensive to reskill a current employee than to hire a new one.
• A more secure future: Developing employees is a powerful way to fill your leadership pipeline.

How do you encourage staff to develop?

You can provide as many employee development methods as you like, but ultimately it’s up to workers to take action. So how can you encourage your team to grow their skills? Consider these professional development ideas:

Set clear goals: Help employees identify realistic objectives that will stretch their abilities without overwhelming them. Make sure those goals are connected to organizational targets.

Offer continuous learning: Make learning an expectation for everyone. Provide access to training programs, tuition assistance, and more. 

Provide mentorship and coaching: Offer guidance on employees’ development journey. This could come from managers, career coaches, or more experienced employees.

Deliver regular feedback: Offer multiple touchpoints for feedback, whether it’s regular check-ins, spot coaching, or other methods. Give employees space to share their thoughts.

Offer rewards and recognition: Provide recognition and rewards when employees take part in and complete development activities.

How do you create a staff development plan?

No matter which employee development strategy example you care to name, it won’t work without a good plan. Here’s how to get started: 

1. Clarify business goals and the skills needed to reach them: Gain clarity on exactly where your company wants to go. Then, identify the specific workplace skills your people need to get there.
2. Assess employee skills: Gauge your team’s skills using reviews, peer input, or formal assessment tools.
3. Create SMART goals: Now that you know what skills are needed, create goals for each employee—and make it a collaborative process. Also, ensure the goals are SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
4. Identify learning opportunities: Find ways for your employees to learn, whether it’s through mentoring, cross-functional projects, job rotations, or training. 

How do you improve staff development?

Undoubtedly, your employee development efforts will change over time to reflect new organizational challenges and opportunities. So how do you make sure your development program is headed in a positive direction?

One key strategy is to communicate consistently. After making an initial splash at the launch of your development program, continue to promote it to your employees using all your internal communications channels. And instruct your managers to make development a regular part of team and individual meetings.

Another important tactic is to continue to diversify the learning opportunities you make available. Whether it’s e-learning, professional development, industry conferences, or networking, give your people access to new ways to learn.

Finally, track your organization’s development progress. Capture key data points such as program usage, job performance, anecdotal feedback, and more. Use your learnings and insights to adjust the program going forward.

Discover development tools that fit your needs

Your organization’s development needs are not like everyone else’s, which is why Workforce Edge offers more than 750 in-network learning programs to choose from. Customize your development program with affordable, flexible options—all accessible through a simple and intuitive platform. Start a conversation with us to learn more.