Your essential guide to employee training and development

Companies that prioritize employee performance are 4.2 times more likely to outperform their peers, realize an average 30% higher revenue growth, and experience attrition five points lower than companies that don’t focus on performance, according to McKinsey.

It’s easy to understand why organizations want top-performing employees. But here’s the part that’s easy to overlook: people don’t just go from zero to high performance.

As the employer, it’s your job to invest in employee development – through initiatives like job shadowing, high-quality training materials, and relevant development programs – and help your workers achieve their full potential.

Companies that don’t offer employee training and development miss out on the value they provide, and this is unfortunately common, with only half of employed adults saying they’ve taken or received work-related training in the past year. Let’s take a closer look at what it takes to build a culture of continuous learning that balances employee growth with your organization’s needs.

Why employee development is more than just training

Training is an important piece of employee development. But, it’s not the whole journey – it’s just the starting point. True employee and career development is a continuous learning process that evolves alongside your people and your business, and it requires continuous investment from you.

The good news is that this investment pays off. Culture Amp data shows that employees who feel their company is invested in their growth are 3.6x more likely to say they’re happy at work. That happiness isn’t just good for morale – it’s good for business. When people can see a future with your company, they’re more likely to stay, grow, and contribute at a higher level. Culture Amp’s people scientists have found that departing employees are most likely to cite a lack of career opportunities as the reason for their exit. It’s more common than compensation, work/life balance, and manager-related reasons combined.

If we add up all the reasons for leaving that can be solved by having development conversations, which include career opportunities, a career change, access to learning and development, and role fit, it equates to 48% of the reasons employees give for leaving. This suggests that prioritizing employee development could encourage employees to stay at your company as they grow in their careers.

Training vs. development: What’s the difference?

Training and development are two sides of the same coin, so the terms are often used interchangeably. However, they serve different (albeit equally important) purposes.

• Employee training is about building the skills people need to do their jobs right now. This could include an onboarding session, software tutorial, or a refresher on compliance. Training helps employees meet current expectations with confidence.
• Employee development is future-focused. It’s a broader term that includes training, but goes beyond building skills to encouraging curiosity and preparing people for what’s next in their careers. This could include things like mentorship, stretch assignments, or leadership development – all aimed at helping employees grow in ways that fuel their goals and the organization’s objectives.

Think of it this way: Training builds competence in one’s current role while development builds both capability and commitment.

Types of employee learning every company needs

To support people at every stage of their career development, you need a well-rounded approach to learning and development. While the basics (like your company policies) are important, you’ll need to go beyond those to build skills for today and prepare for tomorrow.

You have plenty of flexibility here to build training and development programs that meet the needs of your company and employees. But, speaking generally, here are five foundational types of learning worth prioritizing to support and improve employee performance.

1. Onboarding and induction

This is an employee’s first experience with training within your company. Getting this right accelerates time-to-productivity and strengthens cultural alignment. Effective onboarding training includes:

• Your company’s mission, values, and culture
• Systems and tools training
• Role-specific onboarding and early on-the-job training
• Compliance basics
• Introduction to feedback norms, collaboration tools, and ways of working

Whether it’s through job shadowing, peer mentorship, or hands-on experience, this type of initial training helps employees ramp up quickly and also sets the tone for a positive employee experience from day one.

Best for: New hires, employees transitioning to new roles, or those stepping into cross-functional responsibilities.

2. Risk and compliance training

Compliance training is more than a box to check – it’s crucial for creating a safe, ethical, and inclusive workplace. It covers everything from anti-harassment and data privacy to workplace safety and regulatory policies.

To make compliance training materials as engaging as possible for employees, try incorporating real-life scenarios, interactive elements, practice opportunities, and clear connections to employees’ everyday work.

Best for: All employees, with regular refreshers to stay on top of changing policies and regulations.

3. Core capability development

You might have heard this type of training called “soft skills” training. However, HR and learning development experts consider the term “soft skills” outdated for a couple of reasons:

• It doesn’t adequately reflect the importance of skills like communication, collaboration, influencing, coaching, and emotional intelligence in the workplace
• It can be gender-biased, with “soft skills” being seen as traditionally feminine

Terminology aside, research estimates that 85% of job success comes from these interpersonal competencies rather than technical expertise. Yet these skills are difficult to teach.

That’s where your training materials and opportunities come into play. Focus on building these skills and helping employees apply them in the real world. From understanding different work styles to participating in conflict resolution training, developing core capabilities empowers employees to build stronger relationships and work better together.

Best for: All employees, from entry-level workers to seasoned leaders.

4. Technical or functional training

This is any training that helps employees execute the responsibilities of their roles, with on-the-job training as the most immediate and practical form of learning.

In addition to teaching employees how to handle their job duties, functional training should also include product knowledge training. This isn’t just a must-have for customer-facing roles – everybody can benefit from understanding exactly what your organization offers.

Outside of role requirements, technical training helps your employees stay current with the digital skills, systems, and platforms they need to use to do their jobs effectively.

This can include everything from cybersecurity and data literacy to CRM systems, AI basics, and cloud software. Employees recognize the benefits of learning about and understanding how to use new technology. According to a PwC survey, 74% of workers are willing to put in extra effort to learn new skills if doing so improves their experience at work.

Unfortunately, there’s a gap between this willingness and opportunity, especially when it comes to emerging technologies. In a recent survey, only 12.2% of employees said they’ve received training on the use of AI tools, despite how quickly large language models (LLMs) and other forms of AI are gaining traction across industries.

Best for: All employees, especially those in fast-moving industries or roles impacted by rapid technology changes.

5. Leadership and manager development

Promoting someone might make them a manager – but it doesn’t make them a great leader. For that, they need relevant leadership training, support, and resources to learn how to give feedback, set expectations, and lead effectively.

Unfortunately, only 28.4% of employees say they’ve received any kind of leadership training in their current role. And, while 83% of organizations say developing future leaders is a top priority, only 5% have a leadership development program in place.

This type of training isn’t just for people who currently fill leadership positions, as there are two subsets within this category:

• Management training is best for newer managers. It focuses on the day-to-day tasks of being a manager, such as managing operations, performance, and expectations.
• Leadership development is for anyone who wants to improve their leadership skills. It focuses on the ability to inspire, influence, and drive change by developing skills like strategic thinking, coaching, and decision-making.

Invest in coaching, mentoring, and leadership skill-building to help your new managers thrive – and build future leaders who are ready to step up when the time comes.

Best for: First-time managers, high-potential employees, and senior leaders looking to grow.

6. Development and career planning

Professional growth doesn’t just happen. This training supports employees in planning and pursuing their development by:

• Creating personalized development plans
• Identifying and exploring career pathways within the organization
• Accessing mentoring and coaching for guidance and growth

This proactive approach fosters a culture of learning, increases engagement, and helps retain top talent by showing employees they have a future with your company.

Best for: All employees, especially those motivate to grow and advance in their careers.

How to refine your approach to employee development

A high-quality employee development program is more than a set of courses. It’s a continuous, personalized approach to employee growth and learning. Here’s how to build a program that supports employee performance, engagement, and success.

Start with a needs analysis

Use employee experience surveys, performance data, and conversations with employees to pinpoint where they need development and where they want to grow. When you’ve pinpointed an area, do another round of needs analysis to build out the specifics of your course or program. This helps you create training efforts that meet real employee needs while also building a plan that supports your company’s future.

Consider ways to personalize learning for employees

A one-size-fits-all approach to employee performance won’t engage your workers. Help managers structure meaningful development conversations using simple frameworks and templates that guide discussions. Align individual ambitions with your company goals and then offer accessible development opportunities like stretch assignments, peer mentoring, and cross-training.

Make learning accessible and continuous

People don’t want to sit through long, outdated training sessions. Provide bite-sized learning opportunities, micro-courses, and real-time feedback loops that make development a natural part of the workday instead of an overwhelming, annual undertaking.

Measure success and adjust as you go

Track progress using surveys, feedback, and performance reviews. But remember that course completion doesn’t always equal skill mastery. Look for evidence of real-world application and adjust your program accordingly to meet evolving needs.

3 common employee training mistakes (and how to avoid them)

Even with the best intentions, there are a few common pitfalls that could make your employee training and development efforts fall flat. Here’s what they are and how to avoid them.

1. Failing to tie development to business outcomes

It’s easy for training programs to become siloed and detached from the company’s bigger strategic goals. But when employees don’t see how their development efforts contribute to the bigger picture, they struggle to find motivation.

Plus, this disconnect means it’s tough to measure the impact of training, justify continued investment, and iterate on what’s working. This leads to wasted time and resources, along with employees who feel unsupported and aimless.

How to avoid it:

Start with clear, measurable business goals and align employee growth and development efforts to support them. Whether it’s improving customer satisfaction, driving innovation, or preparing for future leadership needs, connect training outcomes to real-world outcomes. Regularly track progress, gather feedback, and adjust your strategy as needed to stay in step with both employee and business needs.

2. Relying on outdated, one-size-fits-all programs

Many companies use generic training programs that deliver the same content to everyone, regardless of role, experience, or individual goals. This outdated approach doesn’t feel relevant or useful to employees, and it’s difficult for them to apply what they learn in thoughtful ways.

Additionally, a cookie-cutter approach signals to employees that their unique aspirations and needs aren’t understood or valued – which can damage morale, engagement, and retention.

How to avoid it:

Empower employees to choose development paths that align with their personal goals and your business’s needs. Offer a mix of learning formats – like self-paced courses, mentorship programs, and role-specific workshops – to create a flexible, engaging learning experience. Allow employees to skip content or courses if they can demonstrate understanding of the topic. In situations where everyone does need to participate, ask experienced employees to act as mentors or subject matter experts during the session to share what they know.

3. Treating training as a one-time event instead of an ongoing process

Many organizations roll out annual training programs or send employees to random workshops and then consider the job done.

This approach ignores how people actually learn and retain information: through repetition, practice, and application over time.

How to avoid it:

Build reinforcement into your training design. Follow up formal sessions with micro-learning opportunities, peer discussions, and manager check-ins. Create systems for employees to practice new skills in low-stakes environments before applying them in critical situations.

Take a more strategic approach to employee training and development with Culture Amp.

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Real-world examples: How top companies approach employee development

Much like with your employee training materials, understanding the theory is one thing. But seeing it applied in the real world is what makes the biggest impact. Here’s a look at how a few forward-thinking companies have put these strategies into play to create more meaningful development opportunities.

Sanitarium built a culture of continuous feedback

Sanitarium, a leading health food company, wanted to move from a “set it and forget it” approach to a more continuous performance and development process. By partnering with Culture Amp, the company introduced dynamic goal setting and regular 1-on-1 conversations. This led to a 25% increase in performance review completion rates and improved the quality of development conversations across the organization.

Vend engaged employees through learning and development

Vend, a technology company based in New Zealand, identified learning and development as a key driver of engagement. By leveraging Culture Amp’s tools, the company empowered employees to take charge of their own development paths. As a result, Vend saw a 23% increase in favorable responses to statements related to learning and growth opportunities and maintained a 90% participation rate in engagement surveys.

Consumer Cellular championed leadership development

Consumer Cellular was struggling with a leadership skills gap that was affecting employee retention. By implementing a focused leadership development program using Culture Amp’s platform, the company aimed to nurture leaders and improve conversations between managers and employees. Consumer Cellular saw a company-wide transformation to continuous learning, along with a 25% decrease in employee attrition.

Want to see more examples of how real-world companies prioritize employee training and development?

Take a look at our case studies

Build a workplace where employees grow and stay

Today’s employees want more than a paycheck. They want opportunities to learn, grow, and build fulfilling careers.

Companies that invest in ongoing learning and growth help employees boost their skills while creating a culture where employees feel valued, engaged, and empowered to do their best work. And those efforts really pay off. Organizations that prioritize effective employee training see 218% more income per employee than companies without training programs.

Ready to see what a strong development culture can do for your organization?

Book a demo to see how Culture Amp makes employee training and development measurable, personalized, and impactful.

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