Employee development remains a key driver of retention\u2014and here\u2019s how you can strengthen it in your workplace in 2026:<\/p>\n
<\/span>1. Design Individual Development Plans<\/span><\/h2>\nIndividual Development Plans, or IDPs, create a development roadmap using roadmap templates<\/a> for each employee. They start with identifying each individual\u2019s interests, career goals, and current roadblocks. From there, management helps the employee create measurable goals and sets a realistic timeframe to achieve each one.<\/p>\nThe key to success with IDPs is frequent reviews \u2013 try implementing a quarterly cadence of reviewing IDPs so that employees can digest any criticism or praise more frequently and pivot as necessary.<\/p>\n
<\/span>2. Provide Opportunities Beyond Job Scope<\/span><\/h2>\nDay-to-day tasks can be rewarding at times, but with mastery or too much repetition, they can begin to feel tedious. To shake things up, try creating projects that require learning new skills or that facilitate cross-collaboration with other departments. Opportunities like that challenge employees to step up their game, which in turn builds engagement and provides the cross-training necessary to foster growth.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/one-on-one-coaching-300x200.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
<\/span>3. Arrange One-On-One Coaching<\/span><\/h2>\nSometimes the best development tool is face-to-face time with a colleague or superior. An easy win here is implementing weekly or bi-weekly one-on-one meetings to provide employees with constructive feedback, break through any roadblocks, and aid with goal-setting.<\/p>\n
If your managers have too many responsibilities or don\u2019t have the necessary training, consider bringing on a virtual solution to fill that gap. One such avenue is a rapidly growing startup called Modern Health<\/a> that provides coaches that help employees overcome challenges, reduce stress and anxiety, and improve overall job performance.<\/p>\n<\/span>4. Schedule Lunch and Learns<\/span><\/h2>\nEveryone has to eat, and what better time to capture their attention than over a free lunch? The beauty of in-house training is that it\u2019s inexpensive, easy to put together, and 100% customizable to suit your company\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n
Try surveying your staff to see what interests them. Consider bringing in department heads or specialists to do cross-training for your employees. Another great option is leveraging your community by assembling guest speakers from your local government or bringing in vendors or customers to gain more industry knowledge.<\/p>\n
<\/span>5. Facilitate Internal Book Clubs<\/span><\/h2>\nPeople naturally want to dissect the path to success from high-ranking people, and having employees read what your executives are reading can really foster growth and development internally.<\/p>\n
Have the CEO or the VP of Sales share a book with the team that\u2019s impacted them. Expense copies of the book for anyone that wants to join. Cap it off by scheduling regular meetings to talk about lessons learned and how people can implement what they\u2019ve learned in the workplace.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Book-club-300x200.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
<\/span>6. Provide Self-Learning Options<\/span><\/h2>\nMandatory development training has its place in the workplace, but some employees respond better to self-paced options. If you implement some other ideas on this list, you can begin creating a knowledge repository that people can access at any time. Fill it with book review summaries, lunch and learn session recordings, and other relevant in-depth training materials.<\/p>\n
If your team lacks the resources, then consider investing in a learning platform such as Jhana<\/a> that does the legwork for you. Jhana, in particular, is a resource for people managers that provides \u201cbite-sized training\u201d content on hot topics like leadership, onboarding new hires, managing remote teams, and fostering engagement.<\/p>\n<\/span>7. Implement 360\u00b0 Feedback<\/span><\/h2>\nSelf-awareness is as important \u2013 if not more \u2013 than tangible work skills. Using\u00a0360 Review Process<\/a>\u00a0employees can get feedback at regular intervals from both their manager and their peers.<\/p>\nTry creating a short survey that focuses on uncovering strengths and growth opportunities. Send that survey to the employee\u2019s colleagues, other leaders, and customers, if appropriate. Compile the findings to keep them anonymous and present key themes that will help them become more well-rounded.<\/p>\n
<\/span>8. Ignite Managers’ Coaching Passion<\/span><\/h2>\nManagers wear a lot of hats these days. If your employees are lacking development and proper training, then taking responsibilities off the plate of management can provide the necessary bandwidth.<\/p>\n
Find ways to incentivize coaching and development, such as annual surveys that rate their manager\u2019s coaching effectiveness. Peakon<\/a> is an excellent survey tool for this that converts feedback into insights you can put to work.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Coaching-300x200.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
<\/span>9. Offer A Variety Of Learning Options<\/span><\/h2>\nAll employees learn differently. Some are visual learners, and some are kinetic. Some are a mixture. One way to level up your employee development offering is finding ways to create content that caters to all learning types. More and more people are gravitating toward video content and interactive programs that provide hands-on training, so consider starting there.<\/p>\n
<\/span>10. Create Your Own Training<\/span><\/h2>\nOutsourcing training or providing external materials has its place, but sometimes the best training is what your top-performers and leaders create.<\/p>\n
The key to success with IDPs is frequent reviews \u2013 try implementing a quarterly cadence of reviewing IDPs so that employees can digest any criticism or praise more frequently and pivot as necessary.<\/p>\n
<\/span>2. Provide Opportunities Beyond Job Scope<\/span><\/h2>\nDay-to-day tasks can be rewarding at times, but with mastery or too much repetition, they can begin to feel tedious. To shake things up, try creating projects that require learning new skills or that facilitate cross-collaboration with other departments. Opportunities like that challenge employees to step up their game, which in turn builds engagement and provides the cross-training necessary to foster growth.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/span>3. Arrange One-On-One Coaching<\/span><\/h2>\nSometimes the best development tool is face-to-face time with a colleague or superior. An easy win here is implementing weekly or bi-weekly one-on-one meetings to provide employees with constructive feedback, break through any roadblocks, and aid with goal-setting.<\/p>\n
If your managers have too many responsibilities or don\u2019t have the necessary training, consider bringing on a virtual solution to fill that gap. One such avenue is a rapidly growing startup called Modern Health<\/a> that provides coaches that help employees overcome challenges, reduce stress and anxiety, and improve overall job performance.<\/p>\n<\/span>4. Schedule Lunch and Learns<\/span><\/h2>\nEveryone has to eat, and what better time to capture their attention than over a free lunch? The beauty of in-house training is that it\u2019s inexpensive, easy to put together, and 100% customizable to suit your company\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n
Try surveying your staff to see what interests them. Consider bringing in department heads or specialists to do cross-training for your employees. Another great option is leveraging your community by assembling guest speakers from your local government or bringing in vendors or customers to gain more industry knowledge.<\/p>\n
<\/span>5. Facilitate Internal Book Clubs<\/span><\/h2>\nPeople naturally want to dissect the path to success from high-ranking people, and having employees read what your executives are reading can really foster growth and development internally.<\/p>\n
Have the CEO or the VP of Sales share a book with the team that\u2019s impacted them. Expense copies of the book for anyone that wants to join. Cap it off by scheduling regular meetings to talk about lessons learned and how people can implement what they\u2019ve learned in the workplace.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/span>6. Provide Self-Learning Options<\/span><\/h2>\nMandatory development training has its place in the workplace, but some employees respond better to self-paced options. If you implement some other ideas on this list, you can begin creating a knowledge repository that people can access at any time. Fill it with book review summaries, lunch and learn session recordings, and other relevant in-depth training materials.<\/p>\n
If your team lacks the resources, then consider investing in a learning platform such as Jhana<\/a> that does the legwork for you. Jhana, in particular, is a resource for people managers that provides \u201cbite-sized training\u201d content on hot topics like leadership, onboarding new hires, managing remote teams, and fostering engagement.<\/p>\n<\/span>7. Implement 360\u00b0 Feedback<\/span><\/h2>\nSelf-awareness is as important \u2013 if not more \u2013 than tangible work skills. Using\u00a0360 Review Process<\/a>\u00a0employees can get feedback at regular intervals from both their manager and their peers.<\/p>\nTry creating a short survey that focuses on uncovering strengths and growth opportunities. Send that survey to the employee\u2019s colleagues, other leaders, and customers, if appropriate. Compile the findings to keep them anonymous and present key themes that will help them become more well-rounded.<\/p>\n
<\/span>8. Ignite Managers’ Coaching Passion<\/span><\/h2>\nManagers wear a lot of hats these days. If your employees are lacking development and proper training, then taking responsibilities off the plate of management can provide the necessary bandwidth.<\/p>\n
Find ways to incentivize coaching and development, such as annual surveys that rate their manager\u2019s coaching effectiveness. Peakon<\/a> is an excellent survey tool for this that converts feedback into insights you can put to work.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/span>9. Offer A Variety Of Learning Options<\/span><\/h2>\nAll employees learn differently. Some are visual learners, and some are kinetic. Some are a mixture. One way to level up your employee development offering is finding ways to create content that caters to all learning types. More and more people are gravitating toward video content and interactive programs that provide hands-on training, so consider starting there.<\/p>\n
<\/span>10. Create Your Own Training<\/span><\/h2>\nOutsourcing training or providing external materials has its place, but sometimes the best training is what your top-performers and leaders create.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nSometimes the best development tool is face-to-face time with a colleague or superior. An easy win here is implementing weekly or bi-weekly one-on-one meetings to provide employees with constructive feedback, break through any roadblocks, and aid with goal-setting.<\/p>\n
If your managers have too many responsibilities or don\u2019t have the necessary training, consider bringing on a virtual solution to fill that gap. One such avenue is a rapidly growing startup called Modern Health<\/a> that provides coaches that help employees overcome challenges, reduce stress and anxiety, and improve overall job performance.<\/p>\n Everyone has to eat, and what better time to capture their attention than over a free lunch? The beauty of in-house training is that it\u2019s inexpensive, easy to put together, and 100% customizable to suit your company\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n Try surveying your staff to see what interests them. Consider bringing in department heads or specialists to do cross-training for your employees. Another great option is leveraging your community by assembling guest speakers from your local government or bringing in vendors or customers to gain more industry knowledge.<\/p>\n People naturally want to dissect the path to success from high-ranking people, and having employees read what your executives are reading can really foster growth and development internally.<\/p>\n Have the CEO or the VP of Sales share a book with the team that\u2019s impacted them. Expense copies of the book for anyone that wants to join. Cap it off by scheduling regular meetings to talk about lessons learned and how people can implement what they\u2019ve learned in the workplace.<\/p>\n Mandatory development training has its place in the workplace, but some employees respond better to self-paced options. If you implement some other ideas on this list, you can begin creating a knowledge repository that people can access at any time. Fill it with book review summaries, lunch and learn session recordings, and other relevant in-depth training materials.<\/p>\n If your team lacks the resources, then consider investing in a learning platform such as Jhana<\/a> that does the legwork for you. Jhana, in particular, is a resource for people managers that provides \u201cbite-sized training\u201d content on hot topics like leadership, onboarding new hires, managing remote teams, and fostering engagement.<\/p>\n Self-awareness is as important \u2013 if not more \u2013 than tangible work skills. Using\u00a0360 Review Process<\/a>\u00a0employees can get feedback at regular intervals from both their manager and their peers.<\/p>\n Try creating a short survey that focuses on uncovering strengths and growth opportunities. Send that survey to the employee\u2019s colleagues, other leaders, and customers, if appropriate. Compile the findings to keep them anonymous and present key themes that will help them become more well-rounded.<\/p>\n Managers wear a lot of hats these days. If your employees are lacking development and proper training, then taking responsibilities off the plate of management can provide the necessary bandwidth.<\/p>\n Find ways to incentivize coaching and development, such as annual surveys that rate their manager\u2019s coaching effectiveness. Peakon<\/a> is an excellent survey tool for this that converts feedback into insights you can put to work.<\/p>\n All employees learn differently. Some are visual learners, and some are kinetic. Some are a mixture. One way to level up your employee development offering is finding ways to create content that caters to all learning types. More and more people are gravitating toward video content and interactive programs that provide hands-on training, so consider starting there.<\/p>\n Outsourcing training or providing external materials has its place, but sometimes the best training is what your top-performers and leaders create.<\/p>\n<\/span>4. Schedule Lunch and Learns<\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/span>5. Facilitate Internal Book Clubs<\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/span>6. Provide Self-Learning Options<\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/span>7. Implement 360\u00b0 Feedback<\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/span>8. Ignite Managers’ Coaching Passion<\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/span>9. Offer A Variety Of Learning Options<\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/span>10. Create Your Own Training<\/span><\/h2>\n