EMPLOYEE

DEVELOPMENT
HR’s 4-Ingredient Recipe
for Healthy, Balanced
Employee Growth

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 CONTENTS
4 Part I: Learning and Development Opportunities

9 Part II: Effective People Managers

13 Part III: Continuous Feedback

17 Part IV: Authentic Recognition

20 Part V: Mixing it All Together

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 Want to Spice Up Your Bland
Employee Development Program?
You’ve come to the right place. But we have news for you. Sprinkling in a few
extra learning opportunities isn’t going to get you the impact you’re looking
for. An effective employee development program depends on a handful of
components, all essential for employee learning.

These four ingredients are must-have staples for meaningful and sustainable employee growth:

1. Learning and Development Opportunities

2. Manager Training
3. Continuous Feedback
4. Authentic Recognition

Although each element is powerful on its own, the recipe for success mixes
all four factors together to drive employee performance, engagement,
productivity, and fulfillment.

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 LEARNING &
DEVELOPMENT
“The only thing worse than training your
employees and having them leave is not
training them and having them stay.”
Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company

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 You want employees to continually grow and learn, but they’re not always going
to do it on their own. They might not be personally motivated, or they don’t
realize the development opportunities available to them. Engaged organizations
provide avenues for employees to grow.

Access to Learning Opportunities

Drives Engagement
79% of employees who “I see professional growth and career
had a formal development development opportunities for myself
in this organization” has been a
program were engaged,
compared to 58% who said their
top 10 driver of employee
organization doesn’t have a engagement for the last
formal program. seven years.

Development Opportunities
Can Improve Employee Performance
Of employees that took advantage of learning & development opportunities:

71% 55% 48% 64%

felt motivated felt empowered felt ready to take on felt more equipped
more responsibility to do their job

Development drives both engagement and high performance. That’s a win-win

for your people and your organization.

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 6 Best Practices for
Implementing Learning and
Development Opportunities

Implementing and maintaining learning and

development opportunities can be complicated.
Lessonly’s Better Work Training Method features six
steps that can make the process a bit easier.

ASSESS — Gather Needs and Inputs

Your company needs the right data and information to make educated decisions about
learning and development. The goal of this phase is simple: collect data from team leaders
and employees to identify areas of opportunity. Consider inputs like CRM data, surveys,
company and departmental goals, and market data to asses employee wants and team
needs.

PLAN — Prioritize for Impact

Adequate planning leads to successful training, so begin by mapping out what you’ll
need and how you plan to get there. Based on the inputs from the previous phase, make
decisions about what types of opportunities should be top priority. Then, set milestones to
create and deliver on those opportunities.

BUILD — Create Collaboratively

Now it’s time to start building your learning program. Work with senior-level employees
and subject-matter experts to develop and improve parts of the program. By integrating
other knowledgeable and talented team members, employees will feel more engaged and
inspired by their learning opportunities.

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 LEARN — Meet Learners Where They Are
The best learning and development opportunities are accessible to employees
anywhere, anytime, and in any format that suites their needs. If you want employees
to integrate learning into their routines, give them access to convenient, relevant and
enjoyable opportunities.

PRACTICE — Rehearse, Refine, Repeat

Practice makes perfect. Empower employees to share and practice their knowledge
and skills. This might mean conducting a Lunch’n’Learn after they attended a
conference or role playing a sales demonstration as a part of cross-training.

PERFORM — Do Better Work

In the end, learning and development opportunities are about engaging employees
and driving team results. Better performance and engagement begins by empowering
your organization to continuously grow, improve, deliver, and quantify results. Measure
the impact of your learning and development opportunities regularly and always look
for new ways to improve.

Want to see how your team’s learning and development

program stacks up? Get your Better Work score.

“Meeting employees with development opportunities at the

time of need is a really important part of the learning process.
To do this, managers must leverage tools that facilitate learning
at scale and meet the requirements of their employees to
maximize engagement, satisfaction, and impact.”

Bryan Naas, Director of Enablement, Lessonly

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 Types of Learning and Development
Employees Want
A research study conducted by Quantum Workplace uncovered the
top five learning and development opportunities employees prefer.

1. Online Training Sessions or Webinars

Online training sessions or webinars are time-efficient ways to train your employees without
breaking the bank. Online sessions allow managers to track employee progress so that they can
reach out if assistance or support is needed.

2. Manager Coaching
Manager coaching is the simplest, yet most effective development opportunity for employees
(we’ll dive into this in the next section). Managers have direct visibility into employee
performance, so they can assess and ensure the continuous employee development.

3. Classroom-Style Learning
Classroom-style learning isn’t just for students. This style of learning is effective when training
a group of employees on the same tasks. The group setting allows for and encourages
communication and questions.

4. Peer coaching
Training can be intimidating, especially when it’s facilitated by someone you don’t know well.
Peer coaching eliminates the intimidation factor and fosters a more relaxed learning experience.
Employees may feel more comfortable asking questions in this setting, which leads to better
understanding of the concept/development area at hand.

5. Cross-Training
Cross-training holistically develops employees to be their best selves in several areas of the
business. This style of development helps curb position fatigue while expanding employees’
horizons to build and grow different skills.

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 EFFECTIVE
PEOPLE
MANAGERS
“The conventional definition of
management is getting work done
through people, but real management is
developing people through work.”
Agha Hasan Abedi,
founder of Bank of Commerce and Credit International

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 Managers: Essential But Unprepared
Managers are Essential to Employee Success…

52% 75%
of employees believe managers of employees believe the primary
are the most critical component job of managers is to make
to their direct reports’ success other people successful

It’s clear that your people leaders’ ability to engage, coach, and develop their direct
reports is an essential skill of management. But, these skills don’t come naturally.

... But Managers Don’t Feel Prepared for the Job

84% 57% 66%

of employees have worked of managers weren’t prepared of managers didn’t receive
for a manager who was to be a people manager when any training when they first
promoted for their skillset, yet they first become one entered a management role
lacked management skills

It’s important that managers understand how to grow and develop their people. How can
you improve their leadership skills and boost their confidence?

Training. Managers who received management training team were 63% more likely to feel
ready and prepared to lead a team than those who didn’t receive any training.

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 Employees are
2X MORE LIKELY
to rank adequate
Training Trumps Experience training as
in Terms of Manager Success more important
Although experience is valuable, it’s not synonomous with
than years of
quality. You must ensure that adequate training fills the void. experience
Training helps new managers learn how to effectively coach,
lead, and engage employees before their first day on the job. when it comes
Consider these three management training needs: to a manager’s
success.

1. Educate Them on the Big-Picture

Great managers understand company goals — and strategically align their team’s
and individuals’ goals with key business objectives. Managers should receive in-depth training
into the reasons behind company goals, the big-picture consequences of achieving them or falling
short, and how their team is expected to make an impact.

This knowledge provides them with the insight needed to develop specific, measurable,
attainable, and relevant goals for the entire team and each team member — and set realistic
expectations for employee growth.

2. Teach Them How to Delegate, Strategically and Effectively

Once a manager understands what’s expected of their team, they’re able to delegate
responsibilities accordingly. But effective delegation is much more difficult than we let on. It
requires both strategic vision and effective communication to ensure the right people tackle
the right projects and receive the right communication. Managers need to learn how to identify
and maximize the strengths of each individual on their team, as well as communicate clear and
direct expectations.

3. Prepare Them to Give Regular, and Sometimes Difficult, Feedback

Giving both positive and critical feedback is one of the most essential responsibilities of a
manager; and unfortunately, it’s often the most under-developed skill among team leaders.
Managers need to make employees feel valued by giving authentic recognition when appreciation
it’s due and deliver constructive criticism in a way that motivates employees to improve.

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 4 Cultural Elements that Foster
Good People Leaders
If managers were plants, initial training would be their soil, continuous coaching would be their
water, and organizational culture would be their ecosystem. Without a supportive culture, many
people leaders can wilt under the pressures of management. Here are four ways leadership and
HR can create a supportive culture that fosters good people leaders.

1. Put People First

Your people are your most valuable resource. And if you want your managers to value, respect,
and nurture each team member, your leadership needs as well. Listen to employee opinions,
make positive change where it’s needed, give credit where it’s due, and pave paths of growth for
high performers.

2. Encourage Individuality
We believe employees and managers are the best versions of their working selves when they’re
encouraged to bring their whole selves to work. At Quantum Workplace, we call this #BeYou.
Foster a culture that accepts (and expects) employees who share their unique perspective and
people leaders who take an individualistic approach to management.

3. Coach Don’t Evaluate

The most effective coaches are bred within a coaching culture. Unfortunately, most workplace
cultures have a bias towards measurement and evaluation instead of continuous coaching and
development. Adopt organizational performance management methods that focus on employee
growth, such as ongoing performance conversations, monthly GOOD meetings, and quarterly
career conversations.

4. Ask for Feedback Continuously

Effective people leaders need to receive regular feedback from the people they lead. Receiving
feedback is difficult, so set a good example. Collect regular high-level feedback from your entire
workforce through an annual engagement survey or pulse surveys.

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 CONTINUOUS
FEEDBACK
“True intuitive expertise is learned
from prolonged experience with good
feedback on mistakes.”
Daniel Kahneman,
Professor of Psychology and Public Affairs at Princeton University

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 Employees Want Feedback from
Managers and Peers
People leaders often think employees dread receiving feedback, especially if it’s critical.
But employee development research proves the most engaged employees prefer coaching
and feedback to other traditional learning opportunities.

Coaching from manager Coaching from peers

ranked as the #2 ranked as the #4
preferred form of learning and preferred form of learning and
development by employees. development by employees.

Employees who said they preferred Employees who said they preferred
coaching from a manager were coaching from peers were
5.6 percentage points 8.0 percentage points
more engaged. more engaged.

“Being able to hear where I need to

improve and where I’m doing well has
effectively driven me to achieve better results.”
Anonymous Employee | Mid-Sized Tech Company

When organizations implement initiatives and support practices that allow employees
to receive feedback from managers and peers, they’re more likely to be engaged.

Manager-Employee 1-on-1s 88% of peer-reviewed

is the #1 ranked employees
communication tool used by highly are happier with their jobs
engaged companies

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 Employees Want Continuous Feedback
Infrequency is one of the main reasons the archaic annual 71% of employees
performance review is on its last leg. Employees who crave prefer immediate feedback,
growth want regular feedback in real-time. even if it’s negative.

What is the Ideal Cadence for Recurring

Manager Coaching and Feedback?
Although immediate feedback is often preferred,
not all feedback can or should be delivered
right away. Research shows having
performance conversations monthly is
the ideal cadence for engaged and
productive employees. Engagement by
Manager Coaching Frequency
82.6%
82.2%

76.8%
75.0%

73.4%

57.2%

54.8%

>Monthly Monthly Quarterly Biannually Annually <Annually Never

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 6 Tips for Creating a Culture of Feedback
Acknowledging that employees want to receive feedback doesn’t guarantee that people leaders
will suddenly feel comfortable giving it. Here’s how your organization can combat common fears
and foster a culture of feedback:

1. Nurture a Growth Mindset

A feedback culture is one where employee voices are valued. Organizations with feedback
cultures are investors in talent. If you want to create and maintain a culture of candid feedback,
start by changing your mindset.

2. Provide Feedback Training

Every member of your workplace — senior leaders, management, and employees — should
be trained in how to both give and receive feedback. Consistent training will help reinforce
expectations.

3. Set the Tone from the Top

Employees are more likely to adopt a culture of feedback if they see leadership doing the same.
Leaders set an example by consistently asking for feedback, showing they receive feedback well,
and using it to improve.

4. Create a Feedback-Safe Environment

For a feedback culture to work, managers and employees must be willing to give honest
feedback. Employees need to feel safe and know that their feedback won’t lead to negative
repercussions. This starts with building trusting relationships and is reinforced by how feedback is
received.

5. Set Clear Expectations Around Feedback

Create organizational standards for what feedback looks like and consistently convey that
message to managers and employees. Set organizational expectations around your feedback
structure, including who gives feedback, who receives it, how often it should occur, and how it’s
delivered.

6. Power Your Team with Feedback Tools

Leverage software that facilitates feedback by giving employees an easy way to record notes
from feedback sessions, participate in two-way feedback conversations, request feedback, give
feedback, and more. Choose a system that supports your feedback culture.

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 AUTHENTIC
RECOGNITION
“When you ‘get’ that employees are
human beings first and worker bees
second, you say something about
their worth.”
Shelley Prevost
Lamp Post Group

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 Employees Want to
Be Recognized
Employee recognition has consistently been a
Top 5 Driver of
top driver of employee engagement in the workplace.
Employee Engagement:
And, data shows that employees want to more of it.
“If I contribute to
53% of employees
the organization’s
want to receive more recognition
from their immediate manager success, I know I will
be recognized.”
41% of employees
want to receive more recognition
from immediate coworkers

The most engaged companies are placing a higher emphasis on

developing real-time, authentic recognition programs.

Recognition Providers Employees

Find Most Meaningful:
1. My immediate manager or supervisor Tips on how managers can
give authentic recognition
2. Customers/clients on the next page!

3. Directors/executive leadership
4. My immediate coworkers within my own team/department
5. Coworkers in other teams/departments

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 4 Manager Tips to Authentic Recognition
Recognition is most meaningful when it comes from a direct leader. Share these tips with
your managers to ensure they’re giving authentic and engaging recognition to their team.

1.Know Thyself
Reflect on the recognition you’ve received, and think about which examples were meaningful
to you and which weren’t. What was it about the meaningful recognition that made it so
important to you? Apply those principles when you give recognition.

2. Ask!
Have a conversation with your employees to figure out what kinds of recognition are most
meaningful to them. The more closely your recognition aligns with their preferences, the
greater the impact it will have.

3. Be Spontaneous
Ditch the quotas — recognition should be given naturally when employees deserve it.
Random or cyclical recognitions will give off the impression that you aren’t truly assessing
their work, which may promote slacking in the future.

4. Match Rewards to Your Employees

When giving individual recognition, find rewards that are personal. Consider a gift card to an
employee’s favorite restaurant, tickets to a game for their favorite team, or a shoutout in the
next team meeting.

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 Learning &
Dev Opps

Authentic Manager
Recognition Training

Mixing it All Together Continuous

Access to learning opportunities, manager training, Feedback
continuous feedback, and authentic recognition
all have a positive influence on employee
development. But when mixed together, these
four ingredients create a recipe for meaningful,
impactful, and sustainable employee growth.

Software That Can Help

Quantum Workplace Lessonly
Support better people leaders with surveys, 1-on- Help teams learn, practice, and do
1s, performance tracking, 360 feedback, real-time better work with a powerfully simple
recognition, and actionable analytics. training software.

Request a Demo Request a Demo

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About the Sponsors

Quantum Workplace provides an all-in-one Lessonly is powerfully simple training software

employee engagement and performance that helps teams learn, practice, and Do Better
software that makes managers the central Work. We are used by more than 2 million
drivers of workplace culture. Serving more than learners at more than 650 leading companies
8,700 organizations, Quantum Workplace’s including Cisco, Trunk Club, Zendesk, and U.S.
technology gives team leaders direct access Cellular to share knowledge, develop skills,
to employee feedback and personalized real- and reinforce best practices. The result is faster
time insights, so they can make work better onboarding, higher NPS scores, more closed
every day. The software includes surveys, goals, deals, and a superior customer experience.
recognition, feedback, one-on-ones, and alert
features — providing a powerful solution for team Learn More
engagement and continuous improvement.

Learn More

About the Research

This report is based on data that were collected from an online
survey created and hosted by Quantum Workplace. Over 1,300
employees from Quantum Workplace’s research panel responded
to the survey. For more information on other Quantum Workplace
research referenced throughout the Ebook, click through to the
hyperlinked sources.