Employee development plans with measurable goals
For team leads, supervisors and managers who already hold development conversations and write simple plans (see 'Developing your people: plans, stretch and fair opportunity'), and for HR staff who support them. You'll turn vague development wishes into objectives with a baseline, a target, a date and a source of evidence; pick activities that produce evidence; track progress at check-ins; and judge the outcome. It draws on US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidance on individual development plans and Acas guidance on objectives. It complements 'Succession planning for small teams' (who you develop and why) and 'Performance conversations: preparing evidence and agreeing next steps' (closing a performance gap, which is a different process). Your company's template and review schedule come first.
- Level
- Intermediate
- Length
- About 62 minutes
- Contents
- 4 lessons · final exam
- Status
- Published · updated 10 Oct 2026
Skills you'll practise
- Write a development objective linked to a work need, with a baseline, a target, a date and a source of evidence
- Choose development activities and the evidence each one will produce
- Track progress against measurable development goals at agreed check-ins
- Evaluate the outcome of a development plan and decide the next step
Course outline
- 1.Writing a development objective with a baseline, target, date and evidenceLesson · 15 min
- 2.Choosing development activities and the evidence they produceLesson · 14 min
- 3.Tracking progress against measurable goals at check-insLesson · 12 min
- 4.Evaluating the outcome of a development plan and deciding the next stepLesson · 11 min
- 5.Employee development plans with measurable goals: knowledge checkKnowledge check · 13 questions
- 6.Employee development plans with measurable goals: practical exerciseKnowledge check · 1 question
- 7.Final exam8 questions · passing it completes the course, so people who already know the material can test out
Sources it draws on
The lessons and questions are written from these references, so learners can go back to the original.
See it with your own jobs and topics
Tell us about your team and we'll walk you through setup, from choosing jobs to your first skills check.