Employee development and organizational performance: a review of literature and directions for future research

This review of literature examines the relationship between employee development and organizational performance. The research supports the commonly held belief that employee development programs make positive contributions to organizational performance. However, there continues to be limited information beyond this basic relationship. From an HRD perspective, research on employee development seems an area of high importance. Employee development means more than helping employees become continuous learners, regardless of the requirements of the organization. To be beneficial for both individual employees and organizations, research on employee development should seek greater understanding about the wide range of conditions within which employee development programs exist in organizations. Undertaking the three proposed research directions would do much for improving organizational performance in the long term.