Investing in your employees is investing in your company. If employers invest time and effort in their employees, it will help their employees learn new skills and hone their existing ones. Employee development is important because it allows employees to continually progress and succeed in their roles, decreasing employee turnover.  

 The most important asset to a company are the employees, so here are three ways to focus on employee development:  

Peer mentor sessions 

Providing a mentor to employees who a new to a role can be very beneficial for employee development. A mentorship typically involves connecting a senior-level employee with an inexperienced employee. These mentorships can be a great way for both employees to learn from each other and gain new insight.  

Mentorships do not have to be official programs. They can simply consist of pairing up two employees in the same department for a few hours and having them complete daily tasks together. This will not only help formulate new ideas, but it will also allow employees to get to know their colleagues.  

Schedule regular meetings 

It is important for managers to frequently schedule both 1-on-1 meetings and team meetings. Both types of meetings are great ways to improve and work on employee development.  

Instead of 1-on-1 meetings being a quick check-in, prioritize having development conversations. Here are some questions/topics to discuss during these development focused conversations:  

  • What has been a challenge this week with work?  
  • Are there any projects you wish you were more involved in?  
  • What professional goals do you wish to achieve in the next 6 months?  
  • Do you feel like you have the proper resources to achieve your goals?
  • What can I, your manager, do to help you progress in your career?  
  • Are you happy with the level of communication between colleagues and managers?  

Team meetings are also necessary for employee development, and it is important to encourage development conversations. Here are some questions/topics to discuss during team meetings:  

  • How can we improve the performance of the team?  
  • If you were a manager, what would you do differently?  
  • Who has been successful in reaching their goals and what are they doing to reach them?  
  • When is the best time for a manager to provide feedback?
  • What are the priorities for this week?  
  • Are there any issues or miscommunication that a manager should be informed about?  

Managers need to use meetings as a time to discuss topics that can help improve employee development.  

Recognize and reward your employees 

One important way to help improve employee development is to show recognition for accomplishments. It helps motivate employees to continue progressing when they know their effort is being seen and acknowledged.  

As employees continue to progress and develop their skills and talents, managers need to ensure that employees feel rewarded and recognized for their hard work.  

A company is successful when it is advancing and improving, and the only way for that to happen is to have advancing employees. Leaders should prioritize and focus on employee development because it will benefit their business and their employees’ progression.