Developmental Programs   Today’s employer of choice for the best candidates offers developmental programs. Organizations are using opportunities to grow professionally to attract and retain talent. Developmental programs can consist of on-the-job learning experiences, onor off- site courses, and/or self-study materials. These exercises should be linked to an organization’s core competencies. The employee and the organization benefit when this is the case. Obviously, employees should have new or improved skills after finishing a developmental program. This gives employees the tools to be more productive, produce higher quality work, and be more promotable. However, other benefits of developmental programs may not be so obvious. Providing developmental opportunities shows employees that the organization is interested in them and is making an investment in them. This is likely to increase an employee’s feelings of commitment to the organization and their job satisfaction. These feelings have been shown to reduce an employee’s intention to quit. Developmental programs have produced the following ROI’s:     575 firms were ranked according to their spending on developmental programs. The firms in the top half of the ranking had a total shareholder return (a combination of change in stock price and any dividends issued) 86% higher than the firms in the bottom half.     An IT firm found a return of investment of 123% in turnover savings and increased productivity from its developmental program.     An international petroleum products company created a sales competency developmental program. In the first year, $1.9 million in new sales were attributed to the developmental program (a return on investment of over 200%).