What is Employee Development and Why is it Beneficial?

Posted on 04/21/21 By Lorman Team

It takes a lot more than chasing numbers to make a company prosperous. For businesses to grow, survive, and remain competitive in their niche, they have to take care of their employees. Supporting your employee's professional advancement and personal growth is an impactful way to show that you care for them. 

Employee development is vital for steady growth, productivity, and the ability to retain top talent. In addition to increasing profits and productivity, nurturing a learning culture within your organization improves loyalty and attracts new employees.

But what is employee development and training exactly? 

In this article, we'll first explore what employee development means. We'll then look at other aspects of employee development, including how a company can benefit from integrating an employee development strategy. 

What Is Employee Development?

So, what is employee development? Employee development refers to the continued efforts of an organization to enhance the skills of its employees.

In an employee development program, employees undergo various training or educational programs to refine and hone existing skills and acquire new ones in support of the company's goals and mission. 

Employee development goes a long way towards creating a highly skilled workforce in your organization.

Employee development is more than just meeting with your employees once a year to discuss shortcomings and highlight improvement needs. It goes beyond just implementing mandatory employee training. 

You have to develop an organizational learning & development (L&D) plan and follow through. Employee development is about nurturing your employees to become reliable resources and eventually benefit the company. 

How Employee Development Benefits Your Organization

There is no age limit for learning. Helping employees enhance their skills and develop new ones makes them better equipped for their roles. 

Employee development also keeps your workforce on top of the latest trends and developments in the industry. Organizations must invest in their employees for them to become indispensable assets to the future of their business.  

A well-implemented employee development plan will benefit your organization in the following ways. 

1. Profits and Productivity

Employee development improves productivity. Employees who participate in training and development programs are 37% more productive.

Employee development will also boost productivity. Organizations that invest in employee development have 24% higher profit margins. 

2. Employee Retention

Employee development is the leading factor for employee retention in today's work environment, especially among millennials.

The lack of professional development opportunities makes employees feel undervalued and underdeveloped. A lack of career growth is one of the main reasons employees leave their jobs.  

3. Attract Top Talent

In addition to improving your employee retention rates, employee development will also help your company attract top talent in the industry. Helping your employees improve their skills will keep them around for the long haul.

Research shows that 70% of employees would leave their current job for one that offers better professional growth opportunities. 

4. Boost Innovation

Participating in development and training programs fosters creativity. In that regard, employee development helps employees be more creative and independent when they encounter challenges at work.

Innovation gives your business the flexibility to expand and compete more robustly within its niche. 

5. Better Employee Engagement

Employee development improves employee engagement and motivation. Having employees who are fully committed and engaged with the company at every level is essential for success. A highly engaged workforce leads to exceptional improvements in performance and productivity. 

Employees are a fundamental resource that must be valued, nurtured and retained. Employee development is the most impactful way to care for your employees and make them feel appreciated.

Integrating an employee development plan takes a lot of time, effort, and financing, but these investments do pay off when done right. In the end, you'll have a happier, highly skilled, and more productive workforce within your company.

Employee development can help your business grow and remain competitive, among other benefits. However, not every organization is well equipped to implement a robust professional development plan for its employees.

Learn more about Lorman's Team & Enterprise Training Solutions.