How the Best Companies Develop Better Employees

Employee development and retention tips

Developing great employees is a multifaceted task. However, much of this endeavor starts by addressing your team’s personal and professional development. In any industry, professional development opportunities and personal fulfillment are crucial elements of career satisfaction. Any organization that works hard to foster these elements will enjoy the rewards of motivated, self-starting, hardworking employees. 

Here are five ways to start developing your employees and creating the best workforce possible. 

1. Prioritize professional growth and development. 

Offering professional development opportunities is one of the most significant factors in developing a great workforce. These opportunities can take many forms:

• Professional development courses: Third-party professional development courses can help employees hone their business skills and enhance their expertise. 
• Business leadership courses: Business leadership courses can help your staff members build critical thinking skills and encourage them to be better teammates, more effective communicators and even inspirational leaders. 
• Professional certifications: Consider supporting employees as they pursue various business certifications. For example, your finance team may want to pursue accounting and finance certifications while your marketing department can learn the latest methods by pursuing marketing certifications. 
• In-house skills development: In addition to offering courses, it’s essential to plan out other professional growth opportunities, including in-house career pathing and skills training. Consider letting team members test out new responsibilities to see if they’re a match for their temperament and interests. Help them map their career path via career-planning meetings and mentorship opportunities. 

Prioritizing professional growth will help you earn employee loyalty and boost retention. If workers feel their professional goals are being supported, they’re likely to stay around longer and accomplish more while they’re with your business. Employees may quit when they feel boxed in and stifled. In contrast, consciously embracing employee professional development will benefit your team and your operation.  

2. Encourage employee autonomy.

If you want to develop excellent employees and retain them long term, you must believe in them — and that means giving them the autonomy to make their own decisions. Instead of micromanaging your team, build an empowered employee culture where team members have all the tools and support they need to handle their responsibilities. Of course, they must still follow your general business rules and guidelines, but they should be able to manage their projects and daily tasks their way.

Challenging employees with new projects and encouraging autonomy can help your workers build their skills and expertise. This is crucial for fostering innovation and developing business leaders. Encouraging employee autonomy can also help you improve employee retention because your staff will know their talents are valued and respected. 

3. Support employee health and well-being.

Sustaining an excellent workforce requires supporting your employees’ mental and physical health and well-being. Consider the following ways to support your team: 

• Flexible time-off policies: Offering robust paid leave, including family leave, reasonable paid time off and sick leave, demonstrates that employee wellness is a top priority. A robust leave policy allows workers to take time to regroup when necessary, heal and return to work prepared to take on new challenges.
• Generous benefits: A competitive total compensation package, including employee health insurance, is another element of supporting employee well-being. A generous employee benefits package can also help you recruit new employees with the talents you need. 

4. Offer creative employee perks. 

In addition to fostering a culture of individual growth and support, many businesses supplement employee development efforts with extra perks and fringe benefits to stand out. Such benefits will make your workplace a more desirable destination — a place where team members feel supported and develop a sense of belonging. As a bonus, offering creative perks will boost your recruitment efforts and help you stand out when vying for top talent.

Some businesses focus on perks that help reduce productivity-killing workplace stress, which is becoming an epidemic. According to Zippia, around 83 percent of United States workers experience work-related stress. Businesses can address workplace stress by focusing on dedicated spaces for employees to relax, refocus and re-energize. For example, meditation rooms are a holistic way for employers to provide a wellness-based workday. Other health perks like standing desks, ergonomic workstations, yoga classes and access to athletic facilities can encourage an atmosphere where wellness is a priority. These perks help foster healthier employees and characterize your workplace as a place where worker happiness is valued. 

5. Recognize and reward good performance.

While perks will help your team thrive and attract talent, your business must provide a solid foundational ethos of growth and teamwork to truly develop better employees. Implementing employee recognition plans is an excellent way to accomplish this while encouraging stellar performance and increasing retention.  

Everyone likes to know when they do something well, but too many of today’s employees feel unappreciated. The best businesses implement employee recognition plans to reward staff for excellent performance and important milestones. These efforts show employees that you notice and appreciate their work.

Feedback is another crucial method of employee recognition. Foster a company culture of clear, consistent feedback and regular one-on-ones to ensure your staff is on track to meet their goals. Providing informal feedback at random intervals and implementing continuous performance management are other ways to recognize employee performance and encourage good behavior.

Companies that prioritize employee growth and development

What the best companies do to develop and retain great employees isn’t rocket science; it can be emulated by companies of any size in any industry. It takes dedication, conscientiousness and creativity. 

Here are a few examples of how top companies invest in employee growth and development:

• Amazon: Amazon has several employee training programs, including the A2Tech program, where frontline employees undergo technical training. The program aims to allow lower-level staff members to hold higher-paying technical roles they wouldn’t typically be hired for without a college degree. This is an excellent example of upskilling your employees to retain them long term.
• Chipotle: This national chain has an emerging leader and mentor program called Cultivate U. Some of its benefits include a learning management system in partnership with Docebo for artificial intelligence (AI)-based learning; a suite of virtual, in-person and asynchronous module lessons; a mentoring program; and on-demand learning through Udemy Business. Chipotle also has a debt-free college degree program for employees.
• Paychex: This company uses a multifaceted approach to ensure employees can learn throughout their careers. It offers a combination of training options, including virtual and in-person training, more than 500 training videos and gamified learning. It uses AI to provide personalized course recommendations based on each employee’s job, interests and learning course history.
• Hilton: Hilton’s Launch program takes promising new employees and provides them with 24 months of immersive training, hands-on exposure to all aspects of the business and mentorship. With training in general hospitality, analytics and technology, the program aims to develop the company’s future leaders from within its employee ranks.
• Cisco: This tech company takes an innovative approach to employee development. It assigns employees to teams based on their strengths, gives them the option to swap jobs with another employee on a temporary or permanent basis or allows them to try out another job within the company for part of their time. It also encourages employees to take on stretch assignments to help them enhance their skills and connect with people in other departments.

The best way to develop your employees will be unique to your business, but these ideas will help you get started. A great workforce stems from thoughtful, purposeful leaders who prioritize employee well-being. It’s up to you to make your own workplace a great one, but it all begins with purpose.

Jennifer Dublino contributed to this article.