Top 7 Reasons Why You Need an Employee Development Program

By: Linda Addy, Training & Development Consultant

Employee growth and development don’t happen by chance or by accident. They happen when an organization intentionally invests in its people.

One in four American workers report limited opportunities for career advancement. Meanwhile, 94% of employees would stay longer at a company that actively invests in their development.

An employee development program is what turns that intention into training your team can actually use and appreciate.

Here are seven reasons your organization needs an employee development program, along with what that might look like in practice.

1. Employee Development Programs Fill Skill Gaps

Most employees don’t arrive with all the skills or awareness they need when they join a team.

LinkedIn’s 2026 Jobs on the Rise report revealed the “Preparation Paradox.” While 56% of professionals are actively job seeking, 76% feel unprepared for the roles available to them. 

This is a skills gap, but also a confidence crisis. This emphasizes the need for a robust employee development program to develop all levels of the organization.

How can you upskill and empower new and existing team members to do their best work? How can you enhance expertise?

From Communication to Conflict Resolution, Customer Service to Heat Illness Prevention, HR Annie’s courses help learners understand what success looks like.

2. Employees Need Training to Move Into Leadership Roles

When top-performing employees are promoted into managerial roles, they rarely receive formal training for it. In fact, Gartner Research found that 85% of new people managers received zero formal leadership training before entering the role. 

They might be working from ‘best guess’ and instinct, instead of tools that actually work. 

New supervisors require proper support and training to be as successful in their roles. 

Research has shown that companies that invest in leadership training and development see 27% lower turnover rates. 

Managers who receive the training they need (and deserve) are 22% more engaged than those who don’t. Teams led by these trained managers also show 18% higher engagement rates than those led by untrained leaders.

Leadership development extends to hiring, too. Hiring managers who haven’t had formal training might be asking unlawful interview questions or interviewing based on gut feeling and bias without even realizing it. 

How can you empower supervisors to be effective?

HR Annie’s HR & Manager Crash Course, online learning, and facilitated custom manager training series develop leaders who become the bridge between strategy and execution. They grow as culture keepers who motivate employees while mitigating risk to your organization.

Leadership development extends to hiring, too. Hiring managers who haven’t had formal training might be asking unlawful interview questions or interviewing based on gut feeling and bias without even realizing it.

Bring confidence and effectiveness to your hiring process by providing the following trainings to your hiring managers: Hiring Right the First Time, Interviewing with Impact, and Onboarding: Building Loyalty & Engagement in the First 90 Days.

3. Anti-Harassment & Discrimination Training Belongs in Your Employee Development Program

Seven states (California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, New York, and Washington, DC) require companies to provide Anti-Harassment & Discrimination Training to all employees.

Federal law doesn’t mandate training, but the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recommends it as part of an effective harassment prevention program.

Even when it’s not required by law, we still strongly recommend bringing this training to your teams upon hire and every 2 years thereafter.

How are you keeping your harassment policy and expectations for workplace behaviors top of mind?

HR Annie’s Respectful Workplace (Anti-Discrimination & Harassment) Training teaches the legal (not assumed) definitions of harassment and discrimination, and how we will take care of one another when workplace behaviors are not as they should be.

Some states require additional training, such as Bystander Intervention, Workplace Violence Prevention, or Heat Illness Prevention.

4. Employees Want Opportunities to Learn & Continuously Improve

Most employees value the ability to learn and grow in your organization.

And the data supports this: 

• 92% of employees say that well-planned employee development programs improve their engagement at work (LinkedIn Learning).
• 59% of employees report that training directly boosts their performance (Devlin Peck).
• 45% of employees who have participated in employer-provided skills training or education reported higher job satisfaction (Gallup).

Invest in an employee development program, and that becomes proof that you value their growth and advancement, not just their output.

How are you meeting this need?

HR Annie delivers training live onsite, live via Zoom, and through our online learning platform, built around how your team actually works.

5. An Employee Development Program Helps Build Trust With New Hires

New hires change a team’s dynamics. Relationships may feel more formal and less established. Communication that used to be effortless now feels less effective.

Gallup found that prioritizing the employee experience, which includes developing your people, affects how quickly they become productive, how long they stick around, and how they talk about your organization to others.

70% of new hires report that learning and development opportunities helped improve their sense of connection to the workplace.

How can you build trust sooner? 

HR Annie’s transformative workshop, Team Dynamics & Effective Communication Using PREP Profiles, uses personality surveys to uncover and celebrate your team’s communication and problem-solving preferences. It then provides everyone with tools and awareness to work more effectively together.

6. Not Everyone Learns the Same Way

Each person learns differently, and your employee development program should reflect this diversity. A one-size-fits-all approach simply isn’t effective.

Some employees learn best in interactive group settings, where they can bounce ideas off each other. These individuals would benefit from live, in-person facilitated training sessions.

There are also those who favor independent learning, giving them more time to process and reflect. Online microlearning has become a popular and effective option for these learners. 

Microlearning involves breaking up learning into smaller, more focused segments to improve information retention. 47% of teams plan to include microlearning in their employee development programs.

Research shows that online learning can improve retention rates by up to 60% compared to traditional instruction. 

On the other hand, many people need a combination of interaction and independence to learn effectively.

There is no “right” or “wrong” way to learn. The key is to design learning experiences based on how employees actually take in information, rather than forcing everyone into a single format.

How are you building learning environments that meet individual needs?

HR Annie offers live, on-site training, live, via Zoom training, one-on-one training, and an online learning platform where learners can gain knowledge and tools anytime, anywhere. Learners can adjust volume and speed, add captions, and/or add language subtitles to learn effectively. 

7. The Best Employee Development Program Includes an Actual Plan

Most organizations want their people to learn and grow.

However, not many of them have actually built a framework for it. Awareness that learning and development is available is not the same as an established employee development program.

We’ve seen time and time again that the best, most effective workplace training includes a plan, not just an invitation. 

An employee development program is a structured approach to enhancing employee skills and knowledge. It involves setting realistic, tailored goals, providing a timeline, and includes progress monitoring, accountability, and reflection.

Do you have an established training program?

HR Annie provides a free 30-minute consultation to help you identify which trainings benefit your workplace development needs and build an employee development program based on this.