All enterprises have their own plans to grow their organization to next level. Some focus on individual departments while some focus on a product and some even go bound to focus their customers. But understanding and planning what will give greater results is a bit tough. In between the so-called co-ordinated planning where things can go of track are the efforts hyper focused, it is important to give priority to employment development.

Your business might be doing very well with the products and services that you provide but a company is affluent with employees. Every employee of every designation working from home, office or from wherever possible wants to feel cared by the organization. This can be achieved by guaranteeing to support them in their professional advancement and personal growth.

Employee development is a long-term initiative, but it also leads to short-term benefits like increased loyalty and improved performance and engagement. Here are five ways you can begin improving employee development at your company:

1. Offer professional training from the get-go:
Setting your employees up for achievement in their role starts with giving them all the tools and resources they need to do their job well. This includes professional training. You can practice this from an employee’s first day and beyond by creating a knowledge-base of critical information and best practices for new hires as you grow your team. For remote employees that may not get the same opportunities to ask one-off questions at your desk, this is especially important for getting them ramped up.

As the progression of technology speeds up, more pathways for employee development in the workplace begin to take shape. Online learning solutions like Udemy, LinkedIn Learning, and CodeAcademy are quicker, more personalized ways to develop new skills and can fit into any schedule.

But the desire to learn isn’t limited to those just starting out in their careers; seventy-five percent of managers surveyed in 15Five’s Next Generation Workplace Report state they want more managerial and leadership training. This shows that the desire to learn is immense.

2. Help your managers be better coaches
Most managers have been told that they should be a great coach to their employees, but what does that really mean? Helping someone to learn or master a skill rather than to tell them dictate what to do is much harder to do, especially when it comes to managing remote employees where you may not have as much quality time with them carved out of your day, but becoming an effective coach can boost the employee experience significantly no matter where they work.

Part of being a great mentor is learning about your direct report; their unique strengths, what drains them, what motivates them, so to ease into coaching, start by asking some simple questions every week:

– Are there any obstacles you are facing, and can I help?

– What parts of your day do you find most energizing?

– What would you like to learn that could help you in your role?

When company leaders are intentional about having the right conversations regularly take place, employees can self-reflect on their accomplishments, and managers can support them in achieving their true potential.

3. Enhance cross-departmental collaboration
It is important to understand that all the employees of your organization will communicate with each other because many only are limited to communicate with colleagues within their department or their teams.Maybe the marketing department wants to enhance the company’s brand with new content, but doesn’t consult with the sales or customer service departments to find out what pain points customers want to address most—which means the message may not resonate as well with the audience. Or maybe HR wants to implement new technology to streamline processes but doesn’t include stakeholders from other departments when planning.

Despite the difficulties of managing truly cohesive workforce, putting an emphasis on cross-departmental training can help bridge the gap between cultures, give employees the opportunity to learn more about other parts of the business, and encourage more empathy.

4. Emphasize soft skills
It’s unfortunate that these crucial competencies have been minimized in corporate environments. Even the name “soft skills” makes them seem relatively unnecessary, which is why at 15Five, we refer to them as “primary skills,” and industry analyst, Josh Bersin calls them “power skills.”

According to Bersin, “the skills of the future are not technical, they’re behavioral.” He goes on to share that “These skills are not ‘soft’ – they’re highly complex, take years to learn, and are always changing in their scope. Take the number one skill CEOs ask for: ‘willingness to be flexible, agile, and adaptable to change.’”

It turns out that businesses are just a collection of human beings working together, so building core relationship skills like the ability to participate and communicate is one of the most important things that a company can encourage.

5. Invest in personal development
Your employees don’t just exist in a professional capacity to serve your organization. They are whole human beings comprised of physical, intellectual, and emotional experiences. For them to evolve both personally and professionally, employee development must be holistic:

Emotional balance
Ask questions like, “How do you feel about your work lately? Are you struggling with anything?” This meets our basic needs to be seen, heard, acknowledged, and validated—needs that often go unmet in many work environments. A supportive manager who is skilled at listening and staying present to employee challenges can help raise them out of a tough emotional space.

Intellectual growth
Books and seminars don’t just have to be about business. You can provide continuing education around personal finance or fostering healthy relationships. When you have occasion to reward an employee for stellar performance, sponsor their attendance at a class that will further their personal goals and hobbies.

Physical health
15 Five is a deep believer in cultivating health and vitality, which is why every employee is provided a gym membership and free access to virtual mediation classes with Meditation.Live. Encouraging your people to step away from their desks when the workday is complete and practice self-care shows that you don’t just depend on the skills on their job description, but you care about them as people.

When people are given the tools to do their jobs well and training to advance in their careers, they feel supported and happy. Not only are they likely to stay longer, but they will also perform better and contribute to overall company growth. And your reputation for stellar employee development might just encourage the best and brightest candidates to join your team.