Tag: employee development

Benefits of Implementing an Employee Career Development Program

Lack of career development is one of the most compelling reasons employees quit their jobs. Experts find that employees working without a clear chance of career progression are more likely to experience burnout. Once this phenomenon happens, it is common for their motivation for work and quality of service to plummet.

Employers and other company stakeholders should worry about burnout and how the lack of employee career development creates this problem. After all, losing employees too often is expensive and potentially debilitating to organizational operations. For this reason, companies should cautiously invest in competitive career development programs.

Employee Career Development Programs: An Overview 

A career development program is a company-prepared plan that helps employees establish a career path and attain professional development.

benefits of employee career development programs

The program helps employees:

  • Gain and enhance skills 

  • Excel in current roles

  • Navigate through organizational systems

  • Acquire experience to qualify for career advancement opportunities 

Career development programs may be specific and timebound, but they are not set in stone. As and when an employee’s career path changes, the programs should undergo necessary alterations. A well-suited program coupled with the support coming from the company would bring about significant benefits that may positively impact all involved stakeholders.

Also Read: Importance, Implementation, and Benefits of Training and Development Program

10 Major Benefits of Implementing Employee Career Development Programs

Career growth

The benefits of employee career development programs are not entirely exclusive to employees. Depending on the success and consistency of the programs, other stakeholders, such as the employer, may also experience improvements in various aspects. Here is a more comprehensive look at the different advantages of having an employee career development program:

1. Reduce attrition

Employees who do not see and experience career advancement in their current position are more likely to quit. When many employees think this way, the company will be in trouble because all dissatisfied individuals may resign simultaneously. This outcome is never ideal.

Companies must keep their employees satisfied with their jobs to prevent them from resigning. Besides compensation and benefits, a good career development program could be a valuable bargaining chip. It would be irrational for employees to work for many years in a company that does not promise any promotion.

Also Read: Why Your Business Needs This Foolproof “Talent Retention Strategy”

2. Encourage employees to work harder


It is not enough for employees to show up for work and do the minimum. If this habit continues, employees will become too complacent and deliver low-quality services and some may show signs of quitting. Ideally, employees should have the willingness to strive harder and perform better.

Implementing a career development program can help challenge employees to bring out their A game. Since they know they have goals to meet, they would consciously work hard to attain the said goals. A little work pressure will push them to move forward.

3. Inspire professional development among employees


There are multiple directions that employees can steer their careers toward. Most of the time, employees move their careers vertically or horizontally. Vertical career growth is about promotions and occupying a higher position, while horizontal career growth refers to a transfer to another industry or functional role.

Whether moving vertically or horizontally, having chances for professional development can strengthen employees’ love and respect for their jobs. They may reignite their passion for their careers and strive to be better.

4. Challenge employees to take on a new career path

Multiple career opportunities

One may need to explore multiple options before settling into a chosen career. Even after establishing oneself in a selected position, it is still possible to change into something else.

Many employees are not satisfied with their current career paths. Thus, employers should provide opportunities for employees to explore other paths which could later contribute to their overall growth. Once they know what is out there, they feel more motivated to strive harder.

5. Survive unexpected crises


Before leading to better career opportunities, career development programs equip employees with skills that may or may not relate to their current jobs. These skills give them better competencies in varied professional aspects. Most importantly, these skills will prepare them for challenging circumstances.
As employees grow, they develop faster and better reactions against crises. More talented and experienced workers will help companies keep up with drastic changes. Their contributions will be crucial for the company’s survival.

6. Improve overall organizational performance


Besides technical skills, career development programs also focus on soft skills. Teamwork is one of the most relevant soft skills to learn across all industries. As employees grow, they also learn how to cooperate with others and carry out common goals.

Organization at the workplace promotes orderliness and efficiency. For co-workers, being able to work well with others could signify the existence of a peaceful and functional work culture. Workers should get along with one another.

Also Read: Create a Positive Workplace Culture For Your Employees

7. Reduce work-related errors


As employees do better in their respective positions, they are less likely to commit errors.

work-related errors

These errors cover technical difficulties that one might experience while working on projects and interpersonal issues that may cause toxicity in the workplace.

Climbing the corporate ladder can be daunting, so people need consistent and reliable support. Ideally, employees should have access to career development opportunities in managing pressure, stress, and other negative factors to prevent them from continuously committing mistakes.

8. Attract the best talent


Creating employee career growth plans and other similar programs can also be relevant to recruitment processes. After the company establishes a culture and system for its employees’ career advancement, the public will know, and applicants will become interested.
Talented and high-performing individuals can be picky with their employers, so attracting them with beneficial proposals is crucial. When these exemplary employees excel, naturally, the companies employing them will also experience a boost in productivity and performance.

9. Prepare for succession planning


Succession planning is a preemptive strategy that prevents the interruption of business and operations. It is about preparing employees to take on a higher and more challenging position in case the previous person on the job voluntarily or involuntarily quits.

This initiative helps companies forecast who could be the company’s next leaders. It is a preemptive measure that helps ensure organizational stability. For employees, having concrete succession planning is good motivation to work even harder.

10. Instill a progressive work culture

positive work culture

Implementing employee career growth plans may improve a company’s work culture. Aside from the encouragement employees get after knowing that something good can be attainable for performing well, they may also develop a sense of accountability to keep up with their responsibilities. While it takes time, this perspective can spread to all employees and make them more goal-oriented and competitive.

End Note: Maximize Career Development Opportunities

Nowadays, there are endless ways for companies to foster employee career development. Besides onsite training and conventions, employers may also utilize career development e-learning courses for faster and more dynamic career progression. Regardless of how employers handle this situation, they should provide diverse improvement programs to accommodate employees’ varying needs and goals.

Employee Engagement Survey

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What are the main benefits of career planning to an organization?

Ans. There are quite a few benefits in store for organizations who invest in an employee’s career planning, such as:

  • Attracting and retaining good talent
  • Promoting the brand image
  • Utilizing resources to their fullest potential
  • Preventing chaos and disruption in processes

Q2. What are the benefits of employee development and training?

Ans. Employee training is primarily about learning new skills and gaining specific knowledge that employees can apply immediately to make major gains in their current job positions, whereas development programs promote employees’ future performance and progress.

Subscribe To The Engagedly Newsletter


How Performance Management Software Helps in Employee Development

A report by LinkedIn shows that 64% of learning and development professionals believe reskilling their current workforce to fill skills gaps is more of a priority in a post-pandemic world. Furthermore, employee development has been recognized as one of the most important factors in organizational development by various Fortune 500 companies. 

Annually, US organizations spend over $180 billion on the formal training and development of their employees. The focus on employee development has increased since the pandemic. It created a need for a dynamic and skilled workforce to handle critical and unprecedented business challenges. 

As organizations are competing for the right talent in the global marketplace, it is becoming important to nurture their current employees as well. It has been observed that organizations that invest in employee professional development programs see a substantial increase in employee productivity, higher engagement, mitigation of critical loss making risks, reduced turnover, and increased revenue. Moreover, it gives employees opportunities to understand their career growth and become attuned to the organizational goals. Engaged and productive employees stay longer in the organization and help in achieving better results.

Many organizations are now emphasizing the importance of performance management software to develop and engage their workforce. Employee development is at the core of performance management. It incorporates a performance management program that helps organizations scale up their workforce effectively and methodically. 

Also Read: What is a performance management system?

What Is Employee Development?

Employee development is not a new concept. It gained prominence during and after the Second World War, when countries needed skilled people to carry out work in factories and warehouses. It led to the development of employee training programs that helped unskilled workers gain the skills required to perform their tasks efficiently and effectively. Soon, with the development of technologies and the introduction of power computing, employee training and development initiatives became the norm. 

Organizations throughout the world have started developing programs for employee development to cater to changing market demands, increasing global competition, overcoming quality issues, and developing a workforce for the future.

Continuous employee development involves activities undertaken by organizations to improve the overall performance of employees. It can be based on the goals set by organizations, like reducing employee turnover, increasing diversity and inclusion, increasing employee engagement, and productivity. 

Based on the goals, organizations can use different approaches to employee development. Training and development programs, mentoring and coaching, employee counseling, cross-functional training, job rotation, job enrichment and enhancement are some of the employee development activities.

Let us discuss the importance of employee development from a performance management standpoint.

Also Read: 10 best employee feedback tools to track performance

Why Is Employee Development Important?

To remain competitive in the ever-changing business environment, it is important to focus on continuous employee development. A skilled and competitive workforce helps in building strategies that are aligned with organizational goals and objectives. 

By adopting performance management software, it becomes easier to organize, monitor, and measure the success of human resources. It assists upper management in strategizing employee development activities and automates the manual processes of goal setting and performance review.

Some of the benefits of employee development that can be achieved through performance management software are discussed below.

Attracting New Talent

A report by Gallup highlights that 59% of millennials focus on learning and development opportunities while applying for jobs. In comparison, 44% of Gen X and 41% of baby boomers focus on skills development as a major criterion for job selection. The increasing reliance on learning and development showcases the paradigm shift among job seekers. 

Organizations that invest in their employees, develop a brand image that helps them attract the right talent. In the last decade, many organizations have started allocating more funds to the learning and development of employees in order to keep themselves more attractive to job seekers. 

Also Read: Impact of employee development on productivity

Reskilling and Upskilling Current Employees

A staggering 87% of millennials see career and professional development as an important parameter in their job. Giving opportunities to employees to reskill and upskill themselves keeps them involved in their career progression and also gives them a feeling of being cared for by their employer. 

By utilizing the features of 360 degree feedback and continuous performance management, organizations can keep track of their employees’ performance and conduct training programs for improvement. It also helps in recognizing and rewarding the best performers 

Improve Employee Engagement

A report published by Gallup states that only 36% of US employees are engaged in their workplace. Globally, this figure is just 20%. Employee engagement is directly related to an employee’s commitment towards the organization. Many executives cite employee engagement as one of the key strategies in building a performance driven organization.

Focusing on employees’ professional development helps in building an engaged workforce that is more productive and is ready to go the extra mile to achieve their targets. An engaged workforce is less prone to making critical errors and helps in increasing the overall productivity of an organization.

Also Read: 10 best tools for employee goal setting

Succession Planning

Succession planning is important for maintaining a strong position in the market. It is an integrated and systematic process that involves identifying important positions in the organization and creating a talent pipeline for filling those vacancies internally. 

Succession planning requires taking into consideration the current and future organizational needs. It ensures that people with the requisite skills are available to take up the jobs in the future. Succession planning strengthens the overall capabilities of the organization by undertaking the following process:

  • Identifying key areas and positions
  • Determine the capabilities and skills required for key areas and positions.
  • Identifying internal resources interested in the positions and assessing their capabilities
  • Develop and implement knowledge transfer plans
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of the plan

Performance management software aids in the overall succession planning process by identifying employee skill sets and providing a strategic path to develop capabilities and measure the plan’s effectiveness.

Reducing Employee Turnover

Employee training and development have a direct impact on employee turnover and absenteeism. It is generally thought that skilled employees have a greater chance of leaving the organization, but research has shown that by investing in employee development, organizations can reduce the turnover rate and can also prevent frequent layoffs. 

Also Read: 8 steps to effective employee surveys

Aligning Business Strategy With Organizational Goals

Aligning business strategy with organizational goals helps in making informed decisions. It also ensures that everyone in the organization is working towards a common goal. A business strategy has a direct impact on the revenue, sales, and marketing initiatives of an organization. In order to achieve higher results, organizations need to focus on aligning their strategy with organizational goals and objectives.

Performance management software helps with resource alignment by defining employee goals, employee development, and fixing performance criteria that support the organizational vision and mission.

Diversity and Inclusion

One of the most important aspects of employee development is strengthening the DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) initiatives. Much research has shown that less represented groups feel the burden of not getting enough support from the management. Thus leading them to quit the organization early. But with the increasing focus on DEI, employers can now create focused programs that help such groups in their learning and development.

Also Read: 10 features to look for in an OKR software

Utilizing Performance Management Software for Employee Development

Performance management software, also known as an employee performance management tool, helps managers track the performance of their direct reports and provide them with real time feedback for improvements. Therefore, many organizations have started switching from traditional performance management systems to data-driven performance management systems, powered by the intelligent insights offered by the tools. 

The features offered by the software help in solving complex human resource challenges. It uses technologies like advanced analytics, AI, and machine learning, and psychological concepts embedded into the system. 

Enagedly is a performance management platform that offers a wide range of features to engage, enable, and develop employees. Its scalable and customizable features like OKRs/goal setting, real time feedback, ongoing check-ins, 360 degree feedback, and talent analytics make it a comprehensive solution for managing a workforce of any size.

Let us look at the salient features of performance management software that help in employee development.

Rewards and Recognition

Researchers have found a direct link between employee recognition and productivity. Employees who are frequently recognized for their efforts are more likely to stay longer in the organization. They are also focused on the achievement of organizational objectives. As many organizations are utilizing the advantages of rewards and recognition, it has become an astounding $46 billion market- Forbes.

Organizations must focus on employee development by rewarding their employees for their efforts and contributions to organizational success. 

Also Read: Performance management tools for employee engagement

Setting SMART Goals

The first and foremost step towards employee development is setting up SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals. It helps managers and employees track their performance and take corrective action whenever their performance drops. The feature also helps the upper management keep track of the employees from various departments, teams, and roles .

Setting SMART goals streamlines business ideas and focuses the efforts of employees on allocating their time to tasks and activities that bring in the highest ROI. It helps in tracking the progress of employees and can provide insights on actions to be taken for employee development.

360 Degree Feedback

Feedback helps in holistic employee development by providing them with improvement plans, tactics, and measures to enhance their performance. 360 degree feedback is a process in which employees receive anonymous and confidential feedback from their colleagues (including supervisors, managers, direct reports, and peers). 

It is an effective tool for analyzing employees’ performance and motivating them to improve their skills, capabilities, and overall performance. It further helps in the recognition of employees with learning gaps and puts them on employee development programs.

Also Read: Common leadership challenges at workplace

Learning Management System

Learning opportunities are one of the most crucial parameters that define the success of an employee in an organization. Having a performance management system solves the challenges of learning and development. It helps in identifying the current skills of employees and promotes continuous learning on any topic. 

The most advantageous feature of an LMS is its ability to track the learning of employees. Managers can check the progress of their employees, their current performance on assessments, and the learning gaps highlighted by the tool. 

Conclusion

To thrive and grow in these turbulent times, organizations need to focus on the development of their most potential resource: employees. Therefore, by investing in their learning and development initiatives, organizations can create a skilled and performance-driven workforce that is able to take challenges head on and contribute towards the achievement of organizational goals.

We hope the article answers your question about “How software helps in employee development?”.
Employee Engagement Survey

Want to know how Engagedly can help you manage your tasks better? Request for a live demo.

Request A Demo

Subscribe To The Engagedly Newsletter


People Development Goes Virtual and More Feedback Focused

2020 has taught us many things. But most importantly, it has made us realise the power of technological advancement and digitization. In our previous edition, we brought to you details on how Performance Management has Gone Virtual and More Progressive. In this edition, we will discuss people development and employee feedback in the post pandemic era. 

While technology and digitization has allowed us to continue working through the pandemic period, what about learning and reskilling? Your employees require learning and development too, especially in today’s day and age. So with the transition to remote work and organizations’ inability to conduct in-person training, we anticipated an increase in virtual and technology-driven learning and development. 

We decided to conduct a survey to understand the situation better and bring to you information that will help you enhance employee engagement and learning. 

To assess the extent of the changes COVID has brought upon us, we reached out to leaders and HR heads. They were asked to report the degree of change for different people development processes by reporting whether or not each of the development related processes was occurring more or less frequently during COVID. They responded on a five point scale (1= significantly less frequent and 5 = significantly more frequent). 

We focused the questions on the following people development processes: 

  • Online Training from External Content Providers 
  • Online Training from Internal Content Providers 
  • Live Online Training from Internal Teams 
  • Live Online Training from External Content Providers 
  • Ongoing Feedback 
  • Developmental Assessment(s) (i.e. 360, Personality, etc.) 

Guess what we found?

The changes in people development was more pronounced than the changes in Performance Management Processes. Over 50% responses indicate that they took part in all 5 of the people development processes that were assessed in more frequency. Moreso, Online Training from Internal Content Providers, reported the largest change with 69.1% of leaders reporting that this was occurring more frequently now. 

This was followed by Live Online Training from Internal Teams, Online Training from External Content Providers, Ongoing Feedback, Live Online Training from External Content Providers, and Developmental Assessment(s) (i.e. 360, Personality, etc.), respectively. This explains the recent uptick in employee development training vendors growth across the entire spectrum. We then took to assess if the leaders are satisfied with these changes and expect these changes to continue.

Here is what we found: 

Answer to Research Paper survey

Key takeaways for you:

As learning and development technologies and approaches have evolved to take on more virtual and real time feedback (on the job development), COVID has acted as an accelerant to these changes as anticipated. While organizations are actively embracing learning technologies and more progressive approaches to development like Real Time Feedback and Coaching, it remains to be seen if this is here to stay. Given the level of satisfaction with remote work changes, the future work environment may embrace a hybrid model (remote and in office), so we anticipate many of these shifts will be permanent.

Want to view the detailed report? Click here.

Do you want to know how Engagedly can help you with Performance Management? We have live demo for you.

Request A Demo