Employee Development

What Is Employee Development?

Employee development is a joint, on-going effort on the part of an employee and the organization for which he or she works to upgrade the employee's knowledge, skills, and abilities. Successful employee development requires a balance between an individual's career needs and goals and the organization's need to get work done.

Employee development programs make positive contributions to organizational performance. A more highly-skilled workforce can accomplish more and a supervisor's group can accomplish more as employees gain in experience and knowledge.

Why Should Employee Skills and Abilities Be Developed?

A review of research literature in 2003 supported the commonly held belief that employee development programs make positive contributions to organizational performance. A more highly skilled workforce can accomplish more as the individuals gain in experience and knowledge.

In addition, retaining an employee saves the organization a great deal of money. One method of retention is to provide opportunities to develop new skills. In research conducted to assess what retained employees, development was one of the top three retention items.

More about Employee Development

Stages of Development

Role of the Supervisor

Role of the Employee

Identifying and Discussing Employee Development Needs

Employee Development Resources