Unlocking Success through Employee Development: An In-Depth Guide

Key takeaways

Investing in Employee development can support business success by improving employee engagement, morale, and relationships.

• Attrition among high-performing employees averages 14 percent across industries [1].

• Employee development programs can help aid in attracting and retaining top talent, as well as increasing work performance and narrowing the skills gap.

• You can implement learning and development initiatives with a mix of approaches, such as online and in-person learning, mentorship, and employee development plans to address skills gaps.

Learn exactly what employee development is and explore eight specific benefits of developing your employees. Then, when you’re ready to begin moving forward, explore Coursera for Business to empower and engage your employees, provide upskilling opportunities, and help support a culture based in ongoing learning. 

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What is employee development?

Employee development refers to all skill- and knowledge-building activities designed to help the workforce improve or develop their skill set. The process involves employers investing in employees to make them more motivated, skilled, and knowledgeable. In other words, it fosters employee growth and allows them to realize their potential.

Employee development can also improve employee morale and strengthen work relationships. What's more, when you show employees that they matter by investing in their growth, they respond with greater loyalty and better performance. It's a win-win.

Why is employee development important? 8 benefits of employee training and development

Employee development offers individuals opportunities to expand their skills and continue growing on their career paths, and it also benefits employers and organizations. Given the competitive hiring landscape and growing challenges surrounding retention, making an effort to engage and improve the employee experience is critical.  Workday's 2025 Global Workforce Report shows that high-performing employees are leaving their employers at a median rate of 14 percent across industries, with those in retail and health care leaving at year-over-year rates of 64 percent and 28 percent, respectively. Additionally, 57 percent of job seekers indicate feeling stuck, and internal hiring has declined by 8 percent [1].

Employee development plans can help companies balance these challenges by engaging and empowering their employees, increasing employee retention, attracting talent, and reducing skills gaps. Explore the benefits in more detail. 

1. Better talent pipeline

Employees are attracted to companies that encourage them (and pay them) to grow professionally. When companies care about employees, word gets around. So, if you invest in employee development, chances are you'll get a talent pool that contains plenty of qualified and motivated individuals. 

Data on 2026 hiring challenges among US companies shows that 58 percent of organizations feel finding skilled applicants is harder than it was last year. At the same time, many companies want to increase their headcounts within the next two years [2]. Implementing a solid employee development plan could help attract talent to bridge that gap. 

2. Empowered employees

Employee development also empowers employees to grow and advance within the company by preparing them to take on new roles and responsibilities as they become available. This can help an organization fill leadership or specialized roles more quickly and efficiently. Additionally, 

 Empowered employees tend to be more creative, engaged, confident, and willing to make decisions. 

3. Reduced skill gaps

Regular assessment can help identify areas where your workforce may need additional training and support. When you engage in employer-sponsored education and training, you can target these skill gaps to ensure your workforce is at its peak with the most in-demand skills. 

4. Improved job performance

Employee development can help employees acquire skills that they can use to perform their jobs more effectively. Depending on the position and place of work, it's possible to boost job performance with a combination of technical and workplace skills. A few focus areas to consider include:

• Time management

• Organizational skills

• Communication and collaboration

• Business-specific software

• Writing and presentation skills

5. Higher employee retention 

Your people are often your company's greatest asset, so keeping them is essential. Many business leaders underestimate the power of providing growth opportunities as a strategy for retaining their talent. Providing upskilling opportunities and creating new career paths that go beyond just promotions, such as an increase in project-based opportunities or lateral professional moves, can help keep your high-performing talent skilled, engages, and invested in your organization. This means that employees are less likely to leave when companies provide training. 

Retaining top talent will save you money on costly external recruiting efforts, such as outside recruiters, job postings, candidate screenings, reference and background checks, and employee orientations.

6. Enhanced collaboration

When employees participate in educational or training programs together, they forge bonds. Teams that bond often communicate and collaborate better, which can help your business thrive. Employee development in a team setting also establishes a shared understanding of your company's goals and priorities, increases trust between colleagues, and can lead to a more diverse range of perspectives and ideas.

7. Boost in profits

When choosing how to run your business, it's always good to consider your bottom line. 

Research from Gallup shows that when employees are engaged, they achieve higher rates of customer loyalty and productivity, and 23 percent higher profitability. What’s more, when you engage your employees, you'll typically experience lower turnover rates, less absenteeism, and improvements in overall quality and safety [3]. 

8. Stay current with in-demand skills

The current workplace landscape is shifting faster than many employers can keep pace with. According to the LinkedIn 2026 Talent Report, 86 percent of organizations are moving too slowly, with only 14 percent racing to build and acquire the skills needed to keep up with market demands in the age of artificial intelligence [4]. Among those who prioritize employee development and upskilling, leaders report significantly higher confidence in profitability, attracting and retaining top talent, and navigating shifting priorities while sharpening their workforce’s AI and human skills.

Read more: The Importance of Skill Development and Where to Start

Elements to consider for your employee training and development strategy

Knowing the different ways you can invest in employee development helps ensure your team is the strongest and most knowledgeable it can be. Check out a few ideas to get you started:

Make use of employee development plans.

An employee development plan is a tool that companies can use alongside employee evaluations. After the employer and employee discuss professional strengths and weaknesses, they work together to develop a blueprint for filling in knowledge and skill gaps with specific learning and training opportunities.

Utilize online and in-person training.

Employees enjoy virtual training because they can complete it from home and interact with people from all over the world. Employers can save money with virtual training because they don't have to pay for expenses like hotels, airfare, and meals. 

In-person employee training offers a few other benefits. First, employees have an opportunity to interact face-to-face and ask questions, which often results in better communication and greater clarity. Second, when several employees attend in-person training, they learn simultaneously. This can be helpful when employees need to be on the same page, like when launching a new project, product, or service.

Engage in employee mentorship.

Mentoring benefits the mentee (person being mentored), the mentor, and the organization. The mentee gains knowledge from a trusted organization member, which can boost competency and confidence. The mentor gets satisfaction from sharing knowledge with a mentee and contributing to the organization's success. Your organization benefits from more knowledgeable and connected employees. 

Different types of mentoring include shadowing, which involves following and observing one mentor for a specific period of time, or rotating from department to department for overall learning.

Explore our free training and upskilling resources

With Coursera for Business, your employees will gain access to content from 350+ leading universities and industry partners, where they can build real-world experience with innovative skills, tools, and technologies while earning globally recognized credentials. Our customizable, scalable learning solutions balance workplace and technical skills training in diverse formats, from video clips to Guided Projects and Professional Certificates. Other resources to explore include:

• Understand in-demand skills: Global Skills Report

• Hear from other business leaders: Success Stories

• Subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletter: The Learning Curve

Train teams across your organization in the skills that matter most in today’s digital economy with Coursera.