How to Build a Development Plan Template

Development Planning is an essential part of Human Resources Management. With more people now working from home, it has become increasingly important for managers to stay in touch with their employees and help them plan for the future.

Development planning helps workers identify their strengths and weaknesses and plan the next steps in their career path. It is a useful tool for recognizing where an employee needs to make improvements.

Gallup found that organizations who invest in employee development are twice as likely to retain employees and are 11% more profitable.

PeopleGoal provides a range of resources to help organizations build development plans. Explore our app store here. 👈

What is a Development Plan?

A development plan is the creation of achievable and measurable goals that an employee works towards to progress along their chosen career path.

This involves self-evaluation whereby an employee must recognize their own strengths and weaknesses. They must create a plan of action to improve the relevant skills, knowledge and personal traits that will boost their careers.

Managers should be involved in career development as they can provide useful training and development opportunities. Furthermore, regular check-ins and feedback encourage employees to better work towards their goals.

👉 Try our Simple Development Plan Template which aligns your short, medium and long-term goals with a plan of action

👉 Download our more in-depth Development Plan Template which asks employees for their next steps concerning skills, knowledge and personal traits.

Why is a Development Plan Important?

Development Planning is important for your workplace because:

• It upskills your workforce
• It increases productivity
• It increases employee satisfaction
• It increases employee retention
• It enriches your company culture
• It strengthens your feedback culture.

It is important to foster a collaborative company culture as Glassdoor records that 77% of workers consider company culture before applying for a job. Moreover, 94% of workers say they would stay at a company longer if they invested in their careers.

How to Create a Development Plan Template?

To create a development plan, you should follow our 4 simple steps.

1. Identify your career goals

The first step in career development is to choose a career path. Consider what type of company culture you perform best in, what motivates you most, and what you enjoy doing.

You should create SMART goals which are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time bound. This will motivate you to make improvements and work towards your objectives.

Consider the timeframe of your goals. They can range between quarterly and the next 5 years.

2. Identify the Skills, Knowledge and Personal Traits You Need to Improve

Using your career goals, you should be able to identify various skills, knowledge and personal traits that you will need to be successful. This is your opportunity to list them all and identify ways in which you can build upon them and progress along your career path.

Think about who will be involved in your learning and development process. Who can you learn from or ask for help?

3. Identify Potential Distractions and How You Will Avoid Them

Before planning your next steps, you should consider potential distractions that will prevent you from reaching your career goals or building upon the skills, knowledge and personal traits you need to improve. These may be in your personal or professional life.

Find solutions to any problems that you do identify. Ask your manager for help. Good management will maximize your work-life balance and support you to perform at your best.

4. Create a Plan of Action

Having identified what skills, knowledge and personal traits you need to move up the career ladder, it is important to plan how you will build upon these.

Draft a timeline with clear deadlines that will give you sufficient time to make improvements and work towards your goals.

Development Plan Templates

👉 Try our Simple Development Plan Template which aligns your short, medium and long-term goals with a plan of action

👉 Download our more in-depth Development Plan Template which asks employees for their next steps concerning skills, knowledge and personal traits.

Edit our templates to build a development plan today and help your employees identify their next steps to move up the career ladder!

Development Plans: Our Concluding Thoughts

Development plans are important in HRM as they help employees and managers evaluate their strengths and weaknesses. Using this information, workers are able to build plans of action to improve and work their way up the career ladder.

PeopleGoal can help you automate your career and development planning processes with our customizable apps. Explore our app store to learn about how PeopleGoal helps employees map out their path to career progression. We automate development plans and make them interactive so you can support all your employees and track their progress.

👉 Click here to have a look at how PeopleGoal runs Effective Development Plans

⭐ Book a Demo with PeopleGoal today to see how we can help your organization automate your development planning process