9 Benefits of Employee Development

Your employees are the lifeblood of your organization. Their knowledge and expertise are crucial to your company’s success and it takes time and effort to amass both. The good news is that most employees are willing — even eager — to learn and grow professionally. 

Investing in learning programs can help your organization and team members enjoy the many benefits of employee development.

1. Attracting skilled job candidates

The skilled talent shortage continues, with 75% of companies reporting difficulty filling open positions. Offering development opportunities — and making them known to candidates throughout your recruitment process — can help.

Talented workers are increasingly prioritizing opportunities for professional growth and a lack of career development is often listed among the top reasons people seek new opportunities. Nearly nine out of 10 job seekers want to see a skills development program, clear career paths, and career advancement opportunities when they’re considering a new job. 

Skilled workers will always be in demand and will have many choices when it comes to where they want to work. Investing in employee training programs will contribute to a compelling employer brand that attracts and engages top talent so you can hire the people your business needs to be successful.

2. Achieving a more effective employee onboarding process

Only 29% of new hires say they feel fully prepared and supported to excel in their new role after their onboarding experience. In other words, most of your new employees are probably underperforming, disengaged, hesitant to recommend working at your company, and at an elevated risk of leaving.

But employees who have a clear plan for their professional development are 3.5x more likely to agree that their onboarding process was exceptional. 

Building an employee development plan and incorporating early learning into your onboarding process can set you up for higher employee satisfaction and productivity from the start. This is crucial for building employee engagement: New hires who strongly agree their onboarding process was exceptional are 3x more likely to say they have the best possible job.

3. Addressing skills gaps and future-proofing your organization

Skill sets for jobs have changed by around 25% since 2015 and this number is expected to grow to 65% by 2030. This is creating a significant skills gap, with 75% of employers reporting they can’t find talent with the right mix of skills.

Professional development helps your team members learn the in-demand skills they need to succeed in their current role — and the emerging skills they’ll need to have in the future. 

For example, management and leadership skills were among the most in-demand competencies employers sought last year. Nine out of 10 human resource professionals indicated their organization had management skill gaps — and 78% of those were providing internal training to address those gaps.

Upskilling and reskilling benefits your team members, as well as your organization. Employees learn the skills they need to stay relevant in an evolving job market and your organization builds a skilled workforce that’s equipped to navigate future challenges and opportunities. It’s no surprise 89% of L&D pros agree that proactively building employee skills will help navigate the evolving future of work.

4. Enhancing employee performance

One of the primary benefits of employee development is the improvement in individual and team performance. 

Learning opportunities enable your team members to acquire new skills and knowledge so they can perform their roles more effectively and efficiently. Whether they’re learning new technologies, refining their time management skills, or staying current with industry trends, your employees can move toward their full potential by leaning into development opportunities.

A well-designed employee development program aligns individual goals with business goals to ensure mutual success. When employees see the impact development can have on their career growth, they’re more motivated to produce higher quality work that contributes to organizational objectives.

5. Increasing employee retention

Two out of three employees have considered leaving their job because there aren’t enough opportunities for skills development or internal mobility. Turnover is expensive, especially when you factor in recruiting, onboarding, and lost opportunity costs.

Most organizations (93%) are concerned about retention and “providing learning opportunities” is the No. 1 thing employers are doing to reduce voluntary turnover. Offering development opportunities demonstrates your organization’s commitment to an employee’s long-term success, making your team members more likely to stay. In fact, 94% of employees say they would stay at a company longer if it invested in their professional development. 

Rewarding employees with career advancement opportunities as they learn new skills can further boost retention. An employee who has made an internal move has a 75% likelihood of staying with their company after two years. This drops to 56% for employees who haven’t changed roles. 

6. Boosting employee engagement 

More than four in five employees (83%) say that improving their skills is one of their top priorities. While 88% are already putting a significant amount of time and effort toward this goal, offering development support can help you boost employee engagement.

Investing in your team members’ development demonstrates your organization’s commitment to their growth and success, motivating them to go above and beyond in their work. In fact, Gallup found that development is a top driver of employee engagement.

Organizations often see further benefit by pairing learning opportunities with internal mobility. Employees who move into new jobs within their organization are 3.5x more likely to be engaged than those who stay in their current roles. 

Boosting employee engagement comes with additional benefits of its own. For example, higher employee engagement can lead to lower turnover, higher productivity, higher customer engagement — and higher profitability.

7. Cultivating a more appealing company culture 

Learning and development contribute to a positive company culture where your team members feel supported and valued. LinkedIn’s 2022 Skills Advantage Report found that having opportunities to learn and grow is the top driver of a great work culture. 

A positive work environment comes with benefits of its own: Employees are 31% more likely to recommend working for their organization and 25% more likely to report being happy at work. In other words, a positive company culture can help you attract, engage, and retain talent.

The most successful organizations cultivate a transformative learning culture where employees know development isn’t just encouraged — it’s prioritized. This emphasis on continuous learning empowers employees to seek out opportunities for skill development and professional growth.

8. Maintaining compliance and mitigating risk

A comprehensive employee development program may include compliance and risk management training, especially when required by law. For example, U.S. healthcare workers who handle protected health information must undergo training to keep their patients’ healthcare data safe and to ensure HIPAA compliance.

Other programs — such as safety, ethics, and DEI training — may be in place to mitigate risk to employees and to the organization. For example, anti-racism training can help ensure a safe, inclusive environment for a diverse team, while also mitigating the risk of discrimination claims and reputational damage.

Every organization will have their own seat of ethical standards and legal obligations, so the specific benefits of compliance and risk mitigation training can vary.

9. Improving business performance

Given the many benefits of employee development, it should come as no surprise that investing in learning has a tangible impact on your company’s bottom line. Everything from improving employee performance and engagement to reducing risk and turnover can improve profitability.

The Josh Bersin Company found organizations that facilitate career development are 3x more likely to delight customers, 4x more likely to innovate effectively, and 2.6x more likely to exceed financial targets. Similarly, Gallup reports companies that invest in development achieve 11% greater profitability.

With strong potential to see worthwhile returns on employee training and development, it would be a poor decision not to invest in these initiatives.

Final thoughts: Build an employee development program that works for your team

The benefits and importance of employee development are clear, but only three in 10 employees strongly agree that someone at work encourages their professional growth. This is a missed opportunity to elevate your team and make learning your competitive advantage.

Take the time to build a learning and development program that will help you overcome your business’s challenges and reach your organizational goals — whatever those may be. Prioritize the initiatives that will make the biggest impact and measure your progress so you can continue to justify your investment. Finally, adapt your initiatives as needed to ensure they continue to serve your team over time. Successful development programs need to evolve, just as organizations and teams do.