How To Come Up With an Employee Development Plan

It is vital to come up with an employee development checklist for your staff. Good employees want to develop their skills and search for opportunities to move up in the business. Good managers create a clear, mapped-out road to success for these employees. 

It is essential to always look for ways to develop your employees further to encourage hard work and effective task management. There are many opportunities to develop your team in different areas.  

Each employee has different interests and needs when it comes to growth and development. Certain employees already have particular skills that others do not have yet. That is why it is essential to look at each employee as an individual when creating their employee development plan. 

Important Employee Development Checklist Categories 

Here is a list of categories to consider when making an employee development checklist. These items cover many areas of potential growth and development. It is essential to go over this list for each staff member. 

Current Role Management 

Analyze the tasks and responsibilities the employee has in the role. It is important to analyze your employee’s current skill level. 

• What is the employee's current role? 
• How long have they been in this role? 
• What are the employee's strengths? 
• What are the employee's weaknesses? 
• What training does this employee have? 
• What certifications does this employee have? 

Future Roles 

Keeping a list of potential roles is a great way to plan the employee's development. Seeing the employee's interests and what skills they succeed in is an excellent indicator of potential future roles. Some key questions to ask are: 

• Where has the employee expressed interest? 
• Where has this employee shown a lack of interest? 
• What does their current position prepare them for? 
• Does this employee do well with customers? 
• Does this employee do better behind the scenes? 

Product Training

It is important that your employees have thorough training on understanding the products and services the business offers.  

Some key questions to ask are: 

• Does the employee understand all products? 

• Does the employee understand the history of the products? 

• Are there any new products or services that the employee has not been trained in? 

Compliance 

Compliance means that the employee is educated and certified in specific mandated policies. Compliance is a part of the construction, real estate, food and beverage, and other industries.  

Some key questions to ask are: 

• Have there been any changed compliance mandates this employee needs to know? 
• Is this employee currently compliant with their position? 
• What certifications does this employee need now? 
• What certifications are needed down the road? 
• How can I get ahead of the game in making sure the employee is compliant? 

Skills Development

Think about all the new skills your employee has picked up since starting their position. It is important to note the employee's accomplishments and growth since first joining the company. This will show you how they have improved and proved themselves as an asset to the team. Some key questions to ask are: 

• What has my employee learned or improved since starting this position?  
• What is their learning method?  
• What information does my employee need to learn? 
• What skills does my employee need to learn 
• What were the most effective learning styles? 
• Do I feel that this employee enjoys learning new things?  

Workplace Safety

Ensuring an employee stays safe and helps others stay safe during their shift is essential. Identify areas where the employee may need help and where they do well. Some key questions to ask are: 

• How has the employee approached workplace safety?  
• Is there room to grow? 
• What safety measures have I seen the employee enforce? 
• Does the employee have a complete understanding of health and safety in this field? 

Cybersecurity

An employee who understands cyber security understands the prevention, recognition, and actions needed on data security threats that protect your company's information. 

• Does my employee need this training? 
• Is cybersecurity a danger to my business? 
• What type of cybersecurity training is necessary for this employee? 

Diversity and Inclusion 

An employee who has proper training in diversity and inclusion is essential to reducing discrimination, breaking unconscious bias, and promoting equality in the workplace. Some key questions to ask are: 

• How had this employee handled diversity and inclusion in the workplace? 
• Does this employee need additional training in this area? 

 

 

 

 

Building Your Employee Development Plan 

After asking these questions about your employee, you are ready to form your employee development plan. Your employee development plan should focus on the areas you indicated that your employee needs help with. Noticing these improvement areas should not be seen as negative when working with employees. Instead, these indicators show where you have the opportunity to help your employee grow. 

Step one: Create an employee development program objective 

The purpose of a program objective is to find ways to align the company's goals with the employee's improvement areas.  

The objective should be something that the employee can improve on that also aids in their role working for the business. There is always something that an employee can work on. There are also always things that a company can do to provide better service, better products, safer environments, better efficiency, or improve in any other way. 

Step Two: Look for available training opportunities  

After creating a program objective, you must familiarize yourself with training opportunities. The most important aspect to consider is how your employee best learns. You must find a way for your employee to learn what they need to fulfill their goals in the most effective way possible.  

There are many different training options out there. Training options include online classes, in-person courses, on-site training from a certified professional, or on-site training from a supervisor. 

How the employee prefers to learn should be one of the most important factors in choosing a type of training. There are many different types of learning, including visual, auditory, and hands-on learning. Whether you look for an in-person training or online training opportunity, keep in mind how your employee learns to pick the best program for them. 

Step Three: Creating training incentives 

You may want to incentivize training and development for your employees. If they know that they may get a small raise or any other incentive, they will be more excited to complete their training. Some possible incentives include the following: 

• A raise 
• A promotion 
• A bonus 
• A day off 
• A free meal 
• A new opportunity 

Step Four: Communicate with the employee to create a timeline 

After familiarizing yourself with available training opportunities, you should communicate with the employee to make a timeline for the training. You must speak with the employee while developing a timeline. Employees may have a lot going on at a certain point in their lives and may not be able to devote as much time to the training period. You must listen to your employees and ensure they are in the right place to be trained for the appropriate objectives. 

Step 5: Complete the training  

Once you develop a timeline with the employee, you should sign them up for courses. Or set times and dates to train them on site. 

 

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