Part of the talent strategy cluster. This is educational, operational guidance that connects to the wider site — the employee lifecycle, employer operations, metrics and templates.
Adapt it to your strategy, capability needs and context.
Why it matters
At the executive level, developing the capability the business needs decides whether the business has the people it needs to deliver. A clear strategy turns capability needs into priorities and programs, instead of reacting role-by-role.
Strategy connects capability to outcomes.
Key concepts
- Target capabilities to build.
- Development tied to the strategy.
- Investment that pays back.
- Development as retention.
Operational framework
- Set the strategic objectives and target capabilities.
- Map current vs needed capability.
- Design the programs and priorities to close the gap.
- Connect to workforce planning and the lifecycle.
- Govern, measure and report on a cadence.
Workforce considerations
- Which capabilities to prioritise.
- How development is delivered.
- How investment is justified.
- How development is measured.
Common challenges
- Development disconnected from strategy.
- Training without application.
- No investment discipline.
- No measurement.
Best practices
- Tie development to capability needs.
- Apply learning to real work.
- Estimate benefit with your figures.
- Measure development outcomes.
Common mistakes
- Random training.
- No application.
- Unjustified spend.
- No measurement.
Measure this with the employee development metrics metric, put it into practice with the employee development plan template, and run it as a system via employee development plans.
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