5 Surprising Employee Development Statistics You Should Know

5 min readMar 9, 2022

A desire for employee training and development opportunities is one of the top reasons workers move to a new company or start their job search. That alone proves that employees desire professional growth and a chance to learn new skills. And, good news — the benefits of investing in their development are numerous. Not to mention, professional development has become increasingly important as the competition for talent remains fierce.

It’s crucial to provide employees with learning and development opportunities as part of a successful performance management strategy. Keep reading to see the career development statistics that prove its worth (spoiler alert: we found more than five!).

1. If a company invests in employees’ careers, 94% said they would stay at the company longer.

This is one of the most staggering statistics on employee training and development. It couldn’t be any more clear that professional growth means higher retention. It only makes sense that employees who feel their growth is being prioritized are more engaged in their work and more likely to stay at their jobs.

Employee retention is such a huge issue in talent management now and always. Employers would be wise to start investing more resources into training and development. Here’s more proof of the power of professional development on retention:

Employees who have access to professional development opportunities are 15% more engaged.
Retention rates are 34% higher among organizations that offer employee development opportunities.
58% of employees (62% of Millennials and GenX) say professional development contributes to their job satisfaction, a major factor in retention.

Employees who want training, coaching, and mentoring are usually high performers and highly engaged. These employees desire skills and want to be more valuable and versatile. Do you have employees who jump at the chance to earn a new certification or attend an online course? If so, that’s a positive sign for engagement, performance, and retention at your organization.

2. 74% of workers say that a lack of employee development opportunities is preventing them from reaching their full potential.

Learning, development, and training are all great ways to help every employee reach their full potential. The problem is usually that they aren’t given the right tools or opportunities. This employee development statistic shows that employees are eager to get better at their jobs and gain new skills.

An overwhelming majority of workers want to learn. It’s up to your organization to provide them with the opportunity to do so. If you don’t, you may see them jumping ship in favor of a company that does.

Only 29% of organizations have a clear learning and development (L&D) plan for their employees.
34% of employees say that career development opportunities motivated them to leave their previous position.
87% of millennials say professional growth and career development are very important.
76% of employees are looking for opportunities to expand their careers.

Put simply, training and development efforts are seen by employees as an investment in them. Prove to your employees that their development matters by offering growth opportunities to retain ambitious, high-performing, growth-seeking employees.

3. Leadership training increased participants’ capacity for learning by 25% and their performance by 20%.

Entry-level employees are not the only members of your organization who need training and professional development. Managers, department heads, and even executives can continue developing their skills and expanding their expertise throughout their careers. Training your managers is part of an effective performance management strategy. It helps existing leaders become better leaders and creates new leaders who can advance within your organization.

In addition, both employees who are already leaders, and those who want to be leaders, are keen to get leadership training. Unfortunately, managers don’t always have access to the training they want.

60% of millennials want leadership training.
41% of managers overseeing three to five employees say they have had no training at all. 59% of managers overseeing one to two employees say the same.

With so much of the workforce interested in both leadership and learning, there are undoubtedly future leaders whose skills haven’t been fully realized. Existing leaders need more support to be effective leaders who can contribute to the growth of their teams.

4. 91% of employees want personalized, relevant training.

Employers are searching for innovative ways to attract quality talent, bridge the skills gap, and give employees a reason to stay — and employee development is it. But companies need to do more than just present their employees with some training courses. As these statistics on employee training and development show, organizations need to offer training and development opportunities more effectively.

The key to successfully bridging the gap and providing learning opportunities that your employees will benefit from? Find out the methods they prefer when it comes to training and development, and put those into practice. Using learning and development strategies that work for your employees makes it much more likely that those strategies will be successful.

54% of employees would spend more time on employee development if they were given specific courses recommendations geared toward helping them reach their professional goals.
A well-planned employee training program would positively impact engagement for 93% of employees.
85% of employees want to choose their own training times and remain in control of their training schedule.

5. Companies that spend $1,500 or more on employee development per year report 24% higher annual profits than organizations that spend less.

Companies that invest in their employees are more profitable. That means career development and training is not only good for your workforce — it’s good for business, too. Offering learning, development, and training is a competitive advantage in business for a myriad of other reasons, too. Not least of those is that the organization ends up with knowledgeable, capable employees. Employees are also more invested in a company that invests in them.

Several large organizations are upping their investment in upskilling and training. That’s a sign that many businesses are becoming aware of the benefits of employee development. In addition, organizations are talking more about the need for career development and naming it as a top priority.

64% of L&D professionals say that reskilling current employees to fill in skills gaps is a top priority.
JPMorgan Chase, Amazon, and PwC are investing in their employees in a big way:
JPMorgan Chase increased their $250 million upskilling investment to $600 million.
Amazon is spending $700 million on upskilling for their employees.
PwC is investing $3 billion in upskilling over the next three to four years.

These employee development statistics show that the demand for growth, upskilling, and continued training is high. Employees are more engaged at organizations that prioritize career development, and it’s a powerful tool for recruitment and retention.

Talent management software is expected to be a $16 billion market by 2023, so it’s clear that businesses are choosing software to enhance their strategies. The right tracking and performance management software can make a world of difference in creating a strong, effective employee development program.

Talent success has the power to reshape business, and it all begins with your company’s mission and goals. The ClearCompany Talent Management System is the only software that utilizes your business’s mission, competencies, and goals to hire, retain, and engage more top talent to reach unparalleled levels of success. Sign up for a demo and learn how to get started today.

This article was originally published on ClearCompany’s blog.