Retaining good employees is one of every business’ top priorities. There are a lot of great methods in order to accomplish this (check out our blog archive for more) and this week we discuss another one: the Employee Development Plan.

Any good employee is always going to be striving for more. They want to grow their career and they’re looking for opportunities to make this happen. Your business can be one of those!

How do we accomplish this? We break it down for you:

1. What are your business goals? Before you can plan your employee’s growth, make sure to know the company’s goal so you can align the two for maximum benefit.
2. Survey your staff! Find out what they want. Compare that to what you want for your company. Do they make sense with one another? Then you have some employee worth planning for!
3. Determine the skills they need. And this can be building upon skills they already possess, in fact, that would ideal!
4. Now here’s the most important part: creating an efficient and effective action plan. You’ll want to make sure you set clear and attainable objectives, with smaller goals that lead to each objective.
5. And go! While your plan is in action, make sure to check in on the goals your employees are working on, giving them useful feedback. It shows them not only are you invested in their growth but that you’re willing to put in the time to assist in their success.

You’ll got a lot on your plate and strategizing a development plan may seem daunting. Don’t let it! Use these steps as your template and, of course, remember that Eos HR is here to help! We can assist in your planning, or plan it for you!