Definition · Training and development
Individual Development Plan
Definition
Individual development plan (IDP) is the term for a written plan, agreed between an employee and their manager, that sets out the skills the employee will build over the next six to twelve months, the specific activities to build them, the support needed and how progress will be checked. It links personal growth to the needs of the role and team.
Also called: IDP, employee development plan, personal development plan, PDP
What an IDP includes
A useful IDP fits on one or two pages:
- Career direction: where the employee wants to be in one to three years, even if it's "get better at my current role."
- Strengths to build on.
- Two or three development goals, written as specific, measurable outcomes. More than three rarely gets done.
- Activities for each goal: on-the-job assignments, coaching, a mentor, courses, shadowing.
- Support and resources: time, budget, people.
- Timeline and check-in dates.
- How success will be judged.
Our individual development plan template lays these out with space for both the employee and manager to sign off.
Filled-in example
Priya is a senior customer service agent in a bank's card services center. She wants to become a team lead within 18 months.
Goal 1: Coach peers effectively. Activities: complete the internal peer coaching course by March; coach two new hires during their nesting weeks; review one coaching session a month with her team lead. Measure: both new hires reach quality targets on schedule.
Goal 2: Read and act on team metrics. Activities: spend two hours a week with the workforce analyst for six weeks; prepare the team's weekly performance summary for a month. Measure: her manager signs off that she can explain service level, adherence and handle time trends and suggest actions.
Goal 3: Handle escalations independently. Activities: take supervisor escalations with her lead listening for one month, then independently. Measure: escalations resolved without supervisor involvement and complaint outcomes reviewed by QA.
Check-ins are monthly in her regular one-on-one, with a formal review at six months. Most of her plan is real work with support, which matches the 70-20-10 model, and her manager has arranged a mentoring partner from another site who made the same move.
IDP versus performance improvement plan
An IDP is forward-looking and developmental: it helps someone who is performing adequately or well to grow. A performance improvement plan is corrective, time-bound and documents a gap between current performance and required standards, often with employment consequences. Mixing the two confuses employees and undermines trust in IDPs. Keep them separate, and never relabel a PIP as a development plan.
Connecting IDPs to reviews and careers
IDPs work best when they come out of a real conversation, usually during or right after the performance review, and when the goals connect to a visible route. If the organization has defined career paths, the IDP becomes the plan for reaching the next step on one. Without that, employees tend to write vague goals like "improve leadership skills" because they don't know what the next role requires.
Aggregate IDP data is useful to L&D. If 40 agents' plans all include "learn Spanish-language billing," that's a training need, not 40 individual ones.
Common mistakes
- Written once a year and filed. Review it in regular one-on-ones, at least quarterly.
- Course lists only. Most development comes from assignments and feedback, not courses.
- Manager writes it alone. The employee should draft it; ownership matters.
- Goals no one can measure.
- No time allowed. If shadowing the analyst never fits the schedule, the plan is fiction. Build development time into the roster, especially for shift workers.
Frequently asked questions
What is an individual development plan?
A written plan agreed between an employee and their manager that sets out development goals, the activities to reach them, support needed and how progress will be checked, usually over six to twelve months.
What should be included in an IDP?
Career direction, strengths, two or three specific development goals, activities and resources for each, a timeline with check-in dates and how success will be measured.
What is the difference between an IDP and a PIP?
An IDP is developmental and forward-looking. A PIP is corrective, formal and documents performance that must improve by a deadline, often with consequences. They should be kept separate.
Who writes the individual development plan?
Ideally the employee drafts it and the manager reviews, adds support and agrees it. Shared ownership makes it much more likely the plan is followed.
How often should an IDP be reviewed?
Discuss progress in regular one-on-ones and formally review at least every quarter or six months, updating goals as the role or ambitions change.