Employee Development: What Is It, Why Is It Important & How to Implement It in Your Company?

Employee development is more than just training - it's a continuous process that helps your employees grow, learn, and thrive in their roles.

Your employees are the fuel that keeps your company running, the wheels that keep it moving forward, and the driver that steers it towards success. As such, it makes sense to skill up your employees and mold them into their best.

To keep your team members motivated and engaged,you need to invest in their development and provide them with professional learning opportunities.

Investing in employee development plans isn't just important, it's essential. It gives your business the boost it needs to go from good to great. With ongoing employee training and development opportunities, you'll improve the team performance and boost morale, foster a positive company culture, and attract top talent to your company.

With Core Teams, you can design and implement employee development programs tailored to the specific needs and goals of your team.

Core Teams offers guidance and support throughout the process, ensuring that the programs are effective and aligned with the company's overall strategy.

Table of Contents

• What Is Employee Development?
• Why Is Employee Development Important: 5 Reasons
• 5 Top Employee Development Examples
• How to Build a Solid Employee Development Plan: 9 Steps
• Proving the Expected Employee Training and Development in 2023

What Is Employee Development?

Employee development is also known as professional development or staff development. It includes any opportunity for employee training or continuing education that a business arranges to help employee growth or career advancement.

It covers a range of educational formats, such as workshops, professional certifications, even special diplomas, and in-house mentorship programs.

Prioritizing employee development ensures that team members' skills and knowledge remain up-to-date with evolving business trends and best practices.

Further education that supports employee career development can also increase revenue for employers by increasing staff engagement and retention rates.

The benefits of employee development are numerous. For the company, it can lead to increased productivity, improved quality of work, and higher employee retention rates. It can also foster a positive work culture and improve overall morale.

For employees, it provides a sense of purpose, satisfaction, and growth, and can lead to increased job satisfaction and career advancement opportunities.

Employee development is a win-win situation for both the company and its staff.

Why Is Employee Development Important: 5 Reasons

A well-planned employee development strategy is essential on a number of levels. And when properly implemented, it can bring about a variety of advantages for all parties involved, including workers, HR managers, and the whole company.

Here are five key reasons why employee development is so important for all types of ecommerce businesses:

1. Increased productivity

A trained workforce performs better. That's because staff members who have received employee training tend to be more self-assured, which allows them to work faster and more efficiently.

The fact that the business is investing in them makes workers feel appreciated in addition to giving them better tools. There is increased production, improved quality, and reduced absenteeism.

Profit margins for businesses that spend $1,500 or more annually on each employee are 24% higher than for businesses that make little to no investment in employee training, based on data quoted by HR Magazine.

2. Improved employee retention

According to the results of a LinkedIn survey, 94% of employees stay at a company for longer when career development opportunities are provided. When you offer your employees training for growth and advancement, you improve their job satisfaction and loyalty, and reduce turnover rates.

Given a future and a clear path to advancement, trained employees are much more likely to stick with a company.

The expense of hiring new employees is high. In addition, when other incoming and existing staff and customers observe a high staff turnover rate, they begin to doubt the benefits of sticking around or doing business with that particular organization.

3. Enhanced customer satisfaction

Employee engagement is a key element of business success and growth. Compared to businesses with disengaged workers, highly engaged enterprises are 21% more lucrative and 17% more productive, according to Wellable

When employees have the necessary skills and knowledge to perform well in their customer-facing roles, it leads to higher rates of customer satisfaction and customer retention, too.

Well-trained and engaged employees are more likely to provide excellent customer service and exceed expectations.

4. Increased innovation

Employees who are continuously learning and developing new skills are more likely to come up with innovative ideas and solutions. Companies that encourage total employee development are 30% more likely to be innovative and agile than those that don't, based on Zappia numbers.

5. Competitive advantage

Investing in employee development gives your company a competitive advantage as companies with a strong learning culture outperform their competitors.

Providing employee learning and development opportunities to your employees helps you stay ahead of the curve and position your company for long-term success.

5 Top Employee Development Examples

Businesses have been able to provide more for their employees through employee development and mentorship programs. It also pays off. These initiatives result in increased levels of engagement and retention for employees.

Here are five real-life examples of companies that have aced their employee development strategies:

1. Adobe

Kickbox is a program provided by Adobe that allocates a budget for employees to create and present their innovative employee development ideas.

Adobe’s Kickbox introduced numerous successful projects including Adobe Voice and Adobe Slate.

2. Google

Employees at Google are allowed to spend 20% of their workweek on projects that interest them under the company's 20% Time policy. This initiative resulted in many successful projects, including Google Maps and Gmail.

3. LinkedIn

LinkedIn offers a program called InDays, which allows employees to take a day off each month to work on their own projects to support employee skills development.

“InDays” led many successful projects and innovations within the company.

4. HubSpot

Hubspot Academy is a free online learning platform that offers courses on marketing, sales, and customer service.

It is widely recognized for its effectiveness in employee development, with many companies incorporating Hubspot Academy courses into their training programs.

HubSpot employees themselves take the certification courses as part of their onboarding.

5. Amazon

Amazon offers a program called Career Choice, which pays up to 95% of tuition costs for employees who want to pursue a degree or certificate in an in-demand field.

Career Choice helped to improve employee retention rates and launched many successful career changes for Amazon employees.

How to Build a Solid Employee Development Plan: 9 Steps

Employee development planning helps you and your team strategize in supporting your employees in developing and improving job-related skills while also broadening their skill sets in preparation for future roles within your organization.

Here are nine steps you can follow to create an effective employee development plan:

Step 1: Identify your employee development goals and objectives.

Determine what skills and knowledge your employees need to succeed in their roles and contribute to the success of the company. Set specific goals and objectives for each employee, department, or team.

Step 2: Assess current skills and knowledge.

To identify gaps and areas for improvement, evaluate the current skills and knowledge of your employees through surveys and performance evaluations.

This step helps highlight the strengths and weaknesses of employees, enabling companies to create personalized training plans that address specific skill gaps and development needs.

Step 3: Create a personalized training plan.

Develop a personalized training plan for each employee based on their goals, objectives, and areas for improvement. Consider using tools such as video training, gamification, or online courses to make the training engaging and effective.

Step 4: Set a timeline.

Create a timeline for the training plan that includes milestones and deadlines to help employees stay on track and make progress. This ensures that the training plan is effective and that employees are meeting their development goals.

When you have specific deadlines and milestones, you can measure progress and make necessary adjustments to the training plan as needed.

Step 5: Provide ongoing feedback and support.

Provide employees with regular feedback and support throughout the training process to ensure they feel supported and motivated. Go for one-on-one meetings, coaching, or mentorship programs.

With ongoing feedback and support, companies can help employees stay engaged and motivated, ultimately leading to more successful training outcomes.

Step 6: Use the best tools and resources.

Enhance the effectiveness of the training plan by utilizing the best available tools and resources. This may include software, learning management systems, or external training providers.

Through these resources, companies can provide employees with access to cutting-edge technology and training methodologies, eventually resulting in a more effective and engaging training experience.

Step 7: Gamify training and development.

Another strategy for developing your team is to gamify the training and development process. This involves incorporating elements of game design into the training, such as points, levels, and rewards.

When the training is more engaging and enjoyable, employees stay motivated and focused. Gamification can create a sense of friendly competition among team members, which can encourage them to work harder and perform better.

Core Teams can help design and implement gamified training programs which offer both effectiveness and fun.

Step 8: Measure progress and success.

Regularly evaluate the progress and success of the employee development plan to ensure that it is achieving the desired outcomes. Go through performance assessments and ask for feedback from employees and managers.

Measuring progress and success helps companies identify areas for improvement and adjust the training plan as needed.

Regularly evaluating the effectiveness of the training plan can ensure that employees are receiving the best possible training and development opportunities.

Step 9: Involve Core Teams.

Involve Core Teams in the development plan by providing personalized training and resources to ensure that your team members are equipped with the knowledge and skills to support the development of other employees.

This can include mentorship programs, coaching, or specialized training.

Providing the Expected Employee Training and Development in 2023

Employee development is a critical aspect of any successful business. By investing in the training and development of their employees, companies can improve productivity, enhance performance, and drive innovation. To build a solid employee development plan, companies should start by identifying their goals and assessing the current skills and knowledge of their employees.

They can create a personalized training plan, utilize the best tools and resources available, provide regular feedback and support, and regularly measure progress and success.

One way to ensure that employee development is successful is to make use of the best tools available in the market, such as Core Teams. Our platform can help companies of all sizes and industries develop and implement effective employee development plans that address the unique needs and challenges of each enterprise.

Core Teams can provide personalized training programs that are tailored to each employee's specific needs, making the training process more engaging and effective.

With the help of Core Teams, businesses can achieve these goals and take their employee development strategies to the next level.

Start your employee development with Core Teams today.