According to research from Gallup on employee retention and attraction, workplace culture and engagement factors significantly outweigh compensation in employees’ decisions to leave organizations. The data reveals that “Engagement and Culture” (37%) combined with “Wellbeing and Work-Life Balance” (31%) account for 68% of the reasons employees left their employers in 2024—four times more than those who left primarily for better pay or benefits. Organizations that focus on creating growth opportunities and meaningful work are more likely to retain their talent and attract new employees. 

Recognizing that career advancement opportunities are among the top factors that attract employees to different organizations, both employees and managers are increasingly turning to Personal Development Plans (PDPs) as a strategic tool to align individual aspirations with organizational objectives. When employees can explore what Gallup identifies as important attraction factors—such as “opportunity to do what I do best” and “greater work-life balance”—and match these with organizational needs, both sides benefit. When these discussions result in documented steps and action plans, organizations create the kind of employee value proposition that Gallup’s research shows is essential for effective retention strategies.

What is a Personal Development Plan and Why Do You Need One?

Personal Development Plans outline an individual’s goals, aspirations, and actionable steps for continuous personal and professional improvement. These plans are dynamic, evolving with changes in an individual’s career, skills, and organizational needs. PDPs serve as roadmaps, guiding employees through their professional journey by providing a clear vision of where they want to go and how they plan to get there. 

A well-structured PDP helps individuals identify areas for growth, set meaningful personal development goals, and create actionable strategies to achieve them. Whether you’re looking to advance in your current role, transition to a new career path, or enhance specific competencies, a PDP provides the framework needed for focused and consistent progress. 

Key Components of a Personal Development Plan

An effective PDP includes several critical components: 

• Goals and Objectives: Delineate your long-term vision, establish short-term and long-term objectives, and define specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals. 
• Skills and Competencies Assessment: Identify current skills and competencies and those needed for future roles or responsibilities. Develop plans to acquire new skills through training, mentorship, or hands-on experiences. 
• Learning and Development Activities: Outline specific activities such as training programs, workshops, conferences, and courses that contribute to skill enhancement. Include both technical and soft skills development. 
• Timeline and Milestones: Establish a realistic timeline for achieving each goal and milestone. Break down larger objectives into manageable tasks with associated deadlines. 
• Support and Resources: Define the support needed and by whom. Clarify how managers will support the plan and what other people need to contribute. 
• Feedback and Evaluation: Define a process for obtaining feedback from peers, mentors, and managers. Regularly evaluate progress and adjust the plan as needed. 

The Relationship Between Personal Development Plans and Performance Reviews

Performance reviews provide feedback useful to individuals in assessing their skills, contribution, employee brand and strengths. However, an increasing number of companies separate Personal Development Plans and discussions from the Performance Review process. The intention for those firms is that PDPs provide a structured and forward-looking approach to individual growth and should be focused on future development, motivation, and what matters to the employee. 

Separating development discussions from evaluation can allow for more open conversation. When an employee is new or not performing up to speed, then the performance evaluation informs a more immediate term PDP. In either scenario – whether the discussion is part of the performance review or separate – aligning personal development objectives with organizational goals contributes not only to the professional development of employees but also to the overall success of the organization. 

How PDPs Enhance the Performance Review Process

Using PDPs in conjunction with performance reviews offers several benefits: 

Focused Discussions
Prior development planning conversations allow both employees and managers to assess areas where job crafting could improve motivation and performance. It also improves their ability to focus on specific strengths and achievements to capitalize on going forward. 

Alignment with Organizational Goals
Integrating personal development goals into the performance review process helps employees see the impact of their work on the organization’s objectives, a key factor in engagement. 

Skill Gap Identification
Performance feedback can identify gaps in skills and competencies required for current and future roles. This information is invaluable for crafting targeted development plans that address specific needs. 

Continuous Improvement
By integrating personal development discussions, organizations foster a culture of continuous improvement, setting the expectation that even high performers should continue to develop. 

Learn more about conducting effective career conversations here >>

Practical Tips for Creating Effective Personal Development Goals 

Creating personal development goals that drive meaningful growth requires thoughtful planning and self-reflection. Whether you’re an employee crafting your own plan or a manager supporting your team members’ development, these practical strategies can help ensure personal development plans translate into tangible career advancement and skill enhancement. 

A successful personal development strategy balances aspiration with practicality, creating a roadmap that inspires continuous learning while remaining achievable. The following tips can help individuals at any career stage develop a personal action plan that leads to sustained professional growth. 

Tips for Employees

• Conduct a Self-Assessment: Reflect on your strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. Consider questions like: What aspects of your work energize you? What skills would you like to use more? What do you want to achieve in the next 2-3 years? 
• Set SMART Goals: Ensure your personal development objectives are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Break down larger goals into smaller, manageable tasks to facilitate progress tracking. 
• Embrace Continuous Learning: Identify relevant training programs, workshops, and conferences to enhance your skills. Adopt a growth mindset and seek opportunities for cross-functional training. 
• Build Your Network and Seek Mentorship: Develop a professional network within and beyond your organization. Seek guidance from mentors who can offer valuable insights based on their experiences.

Tips for Managers

• Encourage Open Communication: Create an environment where employees feel comfortable discussing their career goals and development needs. Conduct regular check-ins beyond annual reviews. 
• Provide Resources: Allocate resources, such as time, budget, and training programs to support employees’ development initiatives. 
• Recognize Progress: Acknowledge achievements and milestones reached through PDPs. Implement a system for recognizing employees who actively engage in their development. 
• Create Cross-Functional Opportunities: Encourage employees to take on projects outside their immediate roles to gain new skills and perspectives. 

Personal Development Plans emerge as essential tools for individual and organizational success. By fostering a culture of continuous improvement and aligning personal goals with overarching objectives, companies not only empower their employees to thrive, but also position themselves for sustained growth and innovation. 

Whether you’re creating a self-development plan for your own career advancement or supporting your team’s growth as a manager, the structured approach offered by PDPs provides a clear pathway to achieving meaningful professional goals. Investing in personal development is an investment in the future, where both individuals and organizations can flourish in tandem. As the saying goes, “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” 

Ready to Create Your Personal Development Plan? 

Take the first step toward enhancing your professional growth with a customized personal development plan. Our team of career experts can help you identify your strengths, set meaningful goals, and create a roadmap for success. 

Get Your Free PDP Template 

It is not that managers think these discussions are unimportant to engagement and retention of key employees. This is hard to miss when study after study says that employees leave most often because of lack of opportunity for growth, or lack of caring/understanding about what they do (in other words, conversations) from their managers. In fact, it is often tough because we are well aware of just how critical they are.

It is more that managers have a hard time with three main questions:

1. What should we cover?
2. What if I can’t give them what they want?
3. What if they want to leave?

#1: What should we cover?

Employees wonder about this too, often trying to decide how much to share with their managers. People are most engaged when they feel their managers care about them and their success, when their work matters, and when it uses their best skills in areas that interest them. Letting them know you want to talk not just about their current role but their future, their aspirations, and what could help them feel more successful and valued in their role is a good start.

Then, it can be as simple as:

• “What do you want?”
• “What is it about that that matters?”
• “What do you need to get there?”
• “What can I do to help?”

However, employees are often not clear about what they want. Giving them a list of questions and possible topics to consider prior to the meeting often gets them thinking and helps them trust that you actually want to hear what they have to say. Some examples of questions that we have found work well include:

• What would career success be for you now?
• Other than money, what do you value about what you do? What do you believe you do that adds the most value to the company?
• What aspects of your work excite/interest/ energize you? Has this changed?  Are you getting enough of those?
• How well does the current work match your strengths, motivators or values? What would create a better match? What would you want to use more/less?
• What would you like to do/learn about but have not had the chance?
• What would you want to be known for/ recognized for in your role?
• What do you want to achieve in the next 2-3 years? What long term career goals do you have?

#2: What if I can’t give them what they want?

You do not own their career, they do. In most cases, you cannot give them what they want – they will have to do something to get it. This question is tough in two diametrically opposed situations:

1. If there is a strong performer who is outgrowing the role or even the organization
2. If the person wants to do something you (or others in the organization) do not believe they have the talent to do

The simple fact is this: it is better to have a motivated employee for a short stint than one who is lagging for a lifetime.

Strong Performers Outgrowing Their Role

If what the person wants is not achievable in your department/company, you can keep them engaged by helping them build skills and experience needed to move on to their dream job, and by being straightforward about the options. For example, many small companies have a sharp divide between the professional-level roles – which may require advanced degrees or technical skills – and the administrative or entry-level roles, so there is not a clear career path. Using tuition benefits or development budgets to pay for them to gain skills can benefit their department in the short run and help transition those highly motivated to get to the professional roles to larger companies who have more mid-level roles. Hiring back talented alumni once they have the credentials and experience is one long-term gain – as is, at a minimum, creating ambassadors for the original department and company as a training ground.

Employees Unlikely to Achieve What They’re Looking For

For the employee who wants more but you believe is not likely to get there, you do not have responsibility to talk the person out of their goals. You do have a responsibility to help that person understand the blockers to their success and help them strategize on how best to handle them. If it is a skill or experience issue, lay out the steps they would have to take to gain and demonstrate those. If it is a style issue, providing straight feedback and offering internal or external coaching could be what is called for. Political issues take more finesse and often support from HR to handle. They can sometimes be resolved through conversations but may ultimately only be resolved by helping the person move on.

#3: What if they want to leave?

Your best performers will move on whether you help them or not. Talking about their career goals will not cause a departure; but, ignoring the issue will only accelerate it. If you can keep them in the company, it’s a win-win. So, helping them figure out their potential next move(s) and helping them get there is to your advantage – as is catalyzing the development of others who might be ready to take their place, so you are not left with a talent gap.

The most forward-thinking companies reward managers for developing their people or moving them into other company roles. However, managers who are sought after by employees because they are known for mentoring and career development often attract the best employees, and gain that way, even if they are not evaluated on it. Either way, it is to your benefit to increase your comfort with career conversations and to invite your employees to initiate them as well.

Interested in learning how Keystone Partners can help with your career management and leadership development-related needs? Contact us today to learn more about our services.

Before patting yourself on the back and using those results to dive into 2022 talent planning, take a deep breath, stop, and think about the new context. Organizations gearing up to do their routine talent review and succession planning processes will likely get it wrong for 2022.

Between the War for Talent, the Great Resignation and COVID-19’s trigger on the search for meaning at work, we are in a period that is anything but routine, and leadership and HR’s focus needs to shift three ways:

Think back on your most recent organization talent review -perhaps using that old friend the 9-box grid (you know the one -ranking potential on one axis, performance on the other, resulting in designations like high potentials/Stars, high professionals, problem hires, core employees, etc.). Be honest; where does the bulk of the leadership conversation happen? It is almost always on the high potentials and the problem hires. If that is true for your organization, you are endangering your business. 

Changing your mindset to focus on key contributors -high experts who deliver high performance -can get you better results and organizational sustainability now. Replacing key contributors who have the deep technical or functional skills and particular market knowledge your company needs to thrive into the future is always daunting, they now may be in fact harder to recruit than “high pos,” and you may have even lost some already. These employees are at considerable risk of “brown out” or dropping in engagement, today. While high potential employees may be at increased risk of being “poached,” they are less likely to be at risk of lowered engagement since they still get access to opportunities, recognition, and management attention. You could be leaving your key contributors more vulnerable to being lured away by a strong job market -especially for highly skilled workers.

The high professionals have likely been in their fields/roles awhile, and the three things they need to stay engaged may have been ignored: new learning, recognition that matters to them, and the ability to work on projects they find motivating. Without these, they will either leave or more likely, burn out. Leaders who take responsibility for career conversations with this group, providing the kind of learning and work that matters to them, and recognizing their contributions, can turn this around. 

You can gain further organizational advantage by doing skill succession planning at all levels and having some of these key contributor employees engage in upskilling other members to create skill sustainability for the business. Mapping the technical, functional, and market skills these high professionals have, as well as the leadership skills traditionally identified in succession plans, and then reviewing the “core employee” group (average potential, good performance) to assess who would be strong candidates to train can build engagement and ensure talent depth in the areas that considered the most important for your organization. Conducting this type of review provides managers insights about the talent multiple levels below the most senior members, and enough time to create mobility rather than the need for outside hires.

Lastly, while this climate does require organizations to have replacement plans for key roles in the event of a sudden departure (the “if a bus hits X” scenario plan), long-term leadership succession planning is more successful if it is focused on developing pools of leadership that could run aspects of the business rather than focusing on which individual could be readied to fill a particular role 1-2 years from now. Organizations and positions are constantly in flux and those roles may not exist in that time frame! And it is more difficult than ever to retain key individuals -plans that attempt this put the enterprise at risk. 

Reviewing the skills needed for where the business will be in 2-3 years, and the corresponding skills gaps for leaders at least two levels down, can ensure that when the need arises and the jobs morph, you are likely to have people ready. The inevitable gaps left by retirement and resignation can be used as opportunities to develop multiple others -dividing jobs to provide those opportunities, assigning interim leadership, or advancing someone earlier than planned with lots of support. 

Change your 2022 talent focus to identify the key contributors you cannot lose, skills you cannot run your current and future business without, develop your bench, and stage a winning battle in the war for talent!

Additional posts from Penny Locey:

Should I “Settle” for a Lower Level Job Offer During COVID-19?

Dreading Those Career Conversations?

5 Skills HR Teams Can Use to Improve 2021 Talent Engagement & Mobility

Don’t Talk Performance -Discuss Value and Change the Review Experience

Management, human resources, and employees alike dread these discussions, and research says they are often ineffective. In a telling statistic, Gallup finds that only 14% of employees strongly agree their performance reviews inspire them to improve.

If the main reason for reviews is to justify pay decisions, it is in the company’s interest to skip the review and hold only pay discussions. However, we know that feedback is something important to and for employees and so organizations do their best to find ways to make review discussions useful.

One main reason these discussions do not “inspire” is that we are talking about the wrong things in our annual or periodic review of how an employee is “performing” in their job, company, and career. If we want to drive engagement, we should move away from “performance” in these discussions and shift toward value.

Assessing and giving feedback on “performance” is important but is best when provided frequently and close to the events for things that can be monitored and measured. The term comes from the study of things like engines, machines, races, and watches. It translates well to employee metrics like response time, quality, output, and/or something done in a particular moment in time: how a person conducted a meeting, closed a deal, or handled a difficult discussion. It can also be used for progress on specific goal attainment. People need and want regular feedback on these things so they can adjust and advance. The more immediately they receive feedback on both what is working and what is not, the more they can learn and improve, and the times they are not “measuring up” are less loaded.

There is a clear place for a more overarching, meta-level review – a year can be a good interval -but if we are serious about engagement, these conversations best focus on how the employee has contributed value, how valuable the employee’s strengths have been, where they can increase their value to the business or their own brand, and what you can do for them that would be valuable.

• Helping employees understand how their role connects to the goals of the unit or company overall –the value their work adds – contributes significantly to engagement.
• Sharing their input on what they found personally valuable helps them, and you, understand their motivation, and how they engage best.

If you focus on a two-way discussion of impact, instead of hits and misses, the employee is less defensive, and you also get more information. Consider the difference in your own answer to the question: “What might have allowed you to add more value this year?” versus “What did you miss in your goals this year, and what could you have done differently?”

Up for a challenge? Independently, your employees and you prepare these three questions for the review meeting; discuss them at the meeting and see if you notice a difference:

• What were your most valuable contributions?  (Here’s what you did that I believe added a lot of value…)
• What might have allowed you to add even more value? (What I believe could have been more valuable would have been…)
• What did you value most about the work you did, and how you did it? (What I value most about you and your work is…)

You both might just find more value in the review!

One issue TM/HR pros talk about all the time with employees is, “What got you here can’t get you there” -and we need to take our own advice. Take a business partner, who is highly valued for rapid problem solving, or a talent acquisition star, who assesses candidates and current skills rapidly, focuses on time-to-fill for requisitions, makes great matches and moves on. Their execution is their super power, but is usually the wrong headset for career coaching.

If HR members’ focus is on transactional, quick solutions -rather than on exploration, opening possibilities, and having a deeper career coaching conversation -we may be missing the chance to sustainably engage and/or retain the employee. And while we want to empower managers to do this coaching, we need to hone our skills as well.

Savvy organizations today not only provide training for managers and employees on career development, but also work with their HR teams to increase the team’s career coaching skills and ability to pave the way for employees to have more open and productive conversations with managers.

HR can increase its impact by not rushing to solution. Instead focus on five key things:

1. Choose the right coaching stance

Coaching effectively involves the ability to take three different stances, and the majority of people overuse the first two -“expert” (telling the answer, giving direct advice) and “resource” (pointing someone to a place they can find out more, or connect them to something). The third -“facilitator” -involves asking open-ended questions, helping someone else think, giving them the space to explore.

2. Identify possibilities and paths

Asking questions to identify interests, strengths, motivation, and aspirations, as well providing insight on themes/capabilities and organizational paths, can indicate where these could be applied inside the organization. Do these suggest a vertical or lateral path, a path to explore alternatives, job enrichment, or increasing current job mastery? Key questions here:

• What would career success look like for you as you see it now?
• What in your current role uses your best talents/interests?
• What is missing/isn’t satisfying?

3. Understand brand/reputation/impact

A key way HR is uniquely poised to assist employees is by testing their awareness of strengths they are known for, how they are regarded, and how they could increase their positive visibility. Assisting employees in developing their comfort with talking with managers/peers to get true feedback can facilitate the process, as can working with them on questions to ask, such as:

• What do you see me as the “go-to” person for?
• What do you rely on me for?
• What three skills do you value most in me?

4. Create connections

Assess the strength of employees’ internal networks and equip them with ways to break through barriers in their networks. Providing insights on relationships they might want to develop, or current/anticipated organizational needs they could capitalize on can be energizing. To facilitate the process, ask the employee what areas of the business intrigue them and why? Where do they see a potential need for their skills given the company’s direction, and who in the organization can provide further insights? You can also provide introductions/connections directly.

5. Help create a specific action plan

Having specific goals drives people forward. Just as for a performance plan, you can help by asking:

• What actions will you commit to in order to achieve your goals?
• What are immediate next steps?
• What potential roadblocks might arise and how will you manage them?
• What strategies can you use to stay on course?

By adopting a coaching-oriented approach to help employees take greater ownership for their career development, talent professionals position themselves to make an even more significant impact on their company’s engagement, retention, and mobility initiatives.

Use the SPUR Framework

In training managers to get to the heart of the career conversation, we have them focus on identifying which of four areas most urgently need exploration. For individuals thinking about what’s next or what they need to develop, these areas are the same:

• Self-assessment: Gaining clarity on skills, aspirations, and motivators
• Perceptions: Uncovering and taking more control of personal brand and reputation
• Uncovering connections: identifying allies
• Reality testing: Mapping out goals, time frames, and trying out the ideas in the market

The difference is that as an employee, you may only choose to share part of your planning with your managers, since some of your goals may not be relevant to your company/role, or could put you at risk (e.g., planning for a move that does not exist at your company).

Ask Key Questions

As a manager, you can listen to employees’ presenting issues, and quickly test with selected questions, listening for where they are stuck, so you know where to focus first. This allows you to offer appropriate insights, point employees to resources, and create targeted action plans that have the highest leverage in moving them forward.

As an employee, you can prepare using these same questions, and decide who can best help you find the answers, including your boss:

Create a Plan You Can Execute

We often know what to do, but don’t take action, neither in our role as managers, nor for ourselves. A clear plan can help us get there, especially with identified check in points. It’s worth a reminder to:

• Identify actions you are (both) willing to commit to in order to achieve the goals
• Strategize potential roadblocks and ways around them
• Specify support needed and from whom
• Determine specific, measurable goals, checkpoints, and timeframes

With both sides prepared, the career conversations can be productive, and SPUR you to action!

Most of the time, however, this choice is more nuanced, and the answer less clear. The question then is what level of risk you can accept that the search for a more senior/higher paid role might take a lot longer to secure. After you do a fierce look at your financial situation, a disciplined look at your reasons for accepting or not, and the offer itself, can help you resolve which way to go.

Consider a “Yes” if:

• It’s a great company, with growth potential for you. Is it a new business unit, company, or a name brand company in your field that could provide growth for you as it grows, or could allow you to move into other areas in a year or two? Would you be joining a start-up where you could get broader exposure for less salary now -whether or not it hits it big later on?
• The role adds something to your skill set. For example, when digital marketing meant email marketing only, taking lateral/lesser paid roles with the chance to be exposed to in-depth analytics or sophisticated segmentation made people much more marketable in their next positions. If you have participated in mostly manual or homegrown systems, and get a chance to learn a major automated one this could also be great for your career.
• Title is the issue. A lot of companies now (especially in biotech) are even moving away from titles that level you in the organization to ones that describe what you do, e.g., moving to “Head of” rather than Senior Director. There are some potential ramifications in later job searches -you will have to explain what about the situation or role made you accept the step down -and you may have to negotiate harder the next time, but it can be worth it for either the paycheck or other motivational aspects in the role.
• It could help with lifestyle issues imposed by the pandemic. Is the company/manager more flexible on time or location? Could you work from home or on a different shift? Could you do a 4-day week? Is it less demanding in a way that could allow you other pursuits? All of these could be clear reasons to consider the role.

Consider saying “No” if:

• You would not have the resources to be successful. If you can see that the demands of the job are not likely to be able to be met given the budget, the priorities of the company, or the people devoted to the task, you should consider walking away. This is different than having ambitious goals, or ones the company itself is not sure CAN be met but wants to try -those could be motivating challenges. Here we are talking more about companies or managers that do not understand what it takes to be successful, and will hold you accountable when you are not. A failure is harder to explain next time than unemployment.
• The role heavily involves something you hate doing, or are not able to do well. Even if you could develop more skill in something, miserable people are rarely successful. Assuming you can afford to wait, this one should probably be a pass.
• The boss is known to be abusive, vindictive, or intolerant. This is different from just “tough” or demanding -often people thrive or can cope well with those traits. Here we mean someone who could crush your self-esteem. That is much harder to recover from, and often leads to being fired.
• The company’s financial situation is threatening. Do your research. If they are being sued, or have massive debts, you should weigh what you could take away from the role if they had to close suddenly. If they are a likely target for acquisition, take a similar look; that case could work in your favor but it could also result in you being back on the job market faster than you would like. Would it be the company itself or just the intellectual property or brand name that would be the likely sale?

Winning the Offer

As these considerations indicate, there may be other times in your career where taking a lower level offer may make sense to you. Keep in mind that even if you have good reasons to consider a lesser role, it can be difficult to convince an employer to consider you for it, since they do not want to spend time onboarding you and investing in your future only to have you leave as soon as you find a better offer. To win an offer, you will need to assess and have good answers for your reasons to approach them for the role. The convincing ones for the employer usually involve knowing what about the company and position you find motivating in the job as it stands, not just the future possibilities it involves.