Employee Development Plan: 5 Templates + 5 Examples
Keeping employees around appears to be harder than it was last decade. With over half of U.S. employees actively looking for new jobs, one big reason they’re jumping ship is the lack of employee growth, and development opportunities. People want more than just a job with great pay—they want the chance to learn, grow, and see a future within the company. A solid employee development plan can make all the difference here. A good plan maximizes performance and helps employees feel valued and motivated, which means they’re more likely to stick around.
Employee development plans can be a real win-win, helping you build a skilled, committed team while also setting up employees for future success. In this guide, we’ll walk you through some templates and real-world employee development examples, so you can build development plans that work for everyone.
Key Components of an Effective Employee Development Plan
Let’s look at what a development plan should have to achieve your company’s goals and what each component brings to the table:
Goal Setting—Especially Concrete Goals
Goals give direction and help employees understand what they’re working toward and why it matters to the organization. Clear, structured goals are the foundation of any successful development plan. When goals match an employee's career goals and a company's strategic objectives, they bring relevance and motivation.
💡 Goals should be concrete goals—when possible. If you’re writing an employee development plan, remember to use explicit metrics you want to help them attain. For example, you can discuss a salesperson’s objectives with their manager and then put exactly their business goal into your training. You can keep the wording exactly as it is: “Reach sales quota of USD 250k for Q4.” If you write a development plan with these terms, the employee will realize you’re in their shoes, and you’re being serious about their training.
➕ The other side to these concrete goals are soft goals: “Improve your communication,” for example, is a softer goal. It’s just as valid. But use them sparingly.
Skill Assessment
A skill assessment is what allows you to identify strengths and areas for growth. If you evaluate employees' current skills and skill gaps, you can adjust development plans to meet individual needs and maximize the positive effects of training programs.
Training and Development Activities
Training is the heart of development plans. It can include anything like traditional courses and certifications or hands-on experiences like mentorship, coaching, and job rotations. Offering a mix of options keeps employees engaged and helps them develop in ways that resonate with their personal learning preferences.
Timeline and Milestones
A defined timeline with set milestones provides a structure for tracking progress. It allows employees to see how far they’ve come and keeps their enthusiasm high. Regular check-ins along the way enable adjustments to the plan as needed and guarantee it remains accurate and effective.
Feedback and Evaluation
It's really helpful to have regular feedback sessions where the team can talk about how things are going and what they're facing. It's a good way to make sure you're on the right track and that you're committed to helping employees grow.
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5 Employee Development Plan Templates
Creating an employee development plan can be a really simple process with the right templates. Here are five customizable options designed to meet various needs within your organization.
Template 1: Basic Development Plan
This template is perfect for small teams or straightforward goals.
💡 Remember before reading: Goals and action plans should be as concrete as possible. “Sell our product to 50 new brands; thus, make at least 10 phone calls per day to qualified prospects” is a very concrete way to phrase it.
Development Focus Areas:
Professional Goals:
Strengths and Talents:
Key Development Needs:
Development Opportunities:
Action Plan:
Feedback and Evaluation:
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Template 2: Competency-Based Development Plan
This one focuses on building specific competencies related to the employee’s role.
Development Focus Areas:
Professional Goals:
Strengths and Talents:
Key Development Needs:
Development Opportunities:
Action Plan:
Feedback and Evaluation:
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Template 3: Leadership Development Plan
This template is designed for employees on a leadership track.
Leadership Goals:
Skills Assessment:
Mentorship Opportunities:
Training and Development Activities:
Feedback and Evaluation:
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Template 4: Technical Skills Development Plan
This one is ideal for employees looking to sharpen their technical skills or expertise in specific software or systems.
Technical Skills Goals:
Current Skill Level:
Required Skills:
Training Resources:
Action Steps:
Feedback and Evaluation:
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Template 5: Career Path Development Plan
Designed for employees looking to expand their own career development paths within the organization.
Career Aspirations:
Current Position and Skills:
Gaps to Address:
Development Opportunities:
Action Plan:
Evaluation and Feedback:
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5 Employee Development Plan Examples
Now that you know what a development plan’s structure can look like, let’s take a look at some examples:
Example 1: Sales Development Plan
Employee Name: [Employee Name] Goals:
Skills to Develop:
Training and Development Activities:
Timeline and Milestones:
Feedback and Evaluation:
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Example 2: IT Professional Development Plan
Employee Name: [Employee Name] Goals:
Skills to Develop:
Training and Development Activities:
Timeline and Milestones:
Feedback and Evaluation:
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Example 3: Customer Service Development Plan
Employee Name: [Employee Name] Goals:
Skills to Develop:
Training and Development Activities:
Timeline and Milestones:
Feedback and Evaluation:
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Example 4: Marketing Development Plan
Employee Name: [Employee Name] Goals:
Skills to Develop:
Training and Development Activities:
Timeline and Milestones:
Feedback and Evaluation:
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Example 5: Human Resources Development Plan
Employee Name: [Employee Name] Goals:
Skills to Develop:
Training and Development Activities:
Timeline and Milestones:
Feedback and Evaluation:
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How to Customize Employee Development Plans for Your Team
It's important to make sure that your employee development plans fit your team's needs and your company culture. Actually, customization is what makes a plan a real success. Here are some practical tips to help you adapt these career development plans to each department or person.
Adapt Templates for Specific Roles and Industries
Start by adjusting the templates to reflect the unique skills and competencies needed for each role. For instance, a sales representative might focus on negotiation and relationship-building skills, while a tech employee may require a plan that emphasizes coding languages or cybersecurity certifications.
For each case, remember to use hard goals and their own wording. The negotiation skills should be invested in so that the employee can reach the sales quota, for example.
Involve Managers—and Employees—in the Development Process
Encourage managers to actively participate in the creation and implementation of development plans. Their firsthand knowledge of each employee's strengths and areas for growth is unrivaled. They also know what those employees should attain to help the business grow. It's really helpful to have regular chats between employees and managers about what they want to achieve in their careers.
If you can include the workers in the conversation, you'll also win. This is because you can hold employees accountable for the plan they helped you design.
One good way to involve an employee or manager is to write at least half of the plan with your HR team and then leave the other half to them. If you target and hit the language that they use to describe their jobs, they’ll realize you did an effort to help and that you’re taking your plan seriously.
A tool that helps you collect periodic employee reviews will certainly help when you need to draft the first plan using the templates we provided.
Emphasize Regular Reviews and Updates
An employee development plan should be a living document that shifts over time. Schedule regular reviews—ideally every few months—to track progress, and make necessary adjustments based on feedback and changing circumstances. If a salesperson’s sales customer base has changed and their objectives have shifted, the career development plan should adapt.
Track Employee Development with HR Software
Effective employee development plans are a strategic investment that can transform your workplace culture and drive success. When employees feel that their individual development and growth is prioritized, they become more engaged and loyal — key aspects for employee retention.
But a poorly-done plan is a bad idea. An employee that received a phoned-in development plan will shrug it off as mere HR paperwork—more work on top of their actual job.
That’s why you should use the templates and examples provided to come up with personalized development plans.
You can also consider implementing HR software like TalentHR to further improve your talent development experience. TalentHR is an all-in-one comprehensive solution that offers features like employee management, people analytics and performance management for companies of all sizes. Plus, with its customization and integrations features, you can significantly transform your strategy.
You can register now and start using TalentHR for free!
