---
title: "Use the Development Plan Tab to Guide Growth"
canonical: "https://help.skillpanel.com/space/TBG/4114120716/Use%20the%20Development%20Plan%20Tab%20to%20Guide%20Growth"
format: markdown
---
The **Development Plans** tab in SkillPanel provides a structured framework for managing employee growth, aligning learning goals with business needs, and tracking progress over time. Both managers and employees can use this section to define specific skills, attitudes, and milestones that support professional advancement.

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### When to Use This

- During performance reviews or career planning discussions.
- When defining promotion readiness or transition goals.
- To assign new learning tasks or track skill-based development.

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### If You’re a Manager

You can access and manage employee development plans directly from this tab.

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### Step 1. Open the Development Plans List

Go to **Talent tracking → Development plans** to see all active and archived employee plans.  
From here, you can search by employee name or email and view each employee’s **source job position**, **target job position**, **team**, and **status** (e.g., *Started*, *Accepted*, *Cancelled*).

![image-20251023-085513.png](media://0a38ddf7-1668-4a05-ba71-87ee6eb27775)

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### Step 2. Add Skills to the Promotion Path

Once inside an employee’s development plan, go to the **Skills to learn** section.  
Click **Add new +**, expand the relevant **Skill Area** (for example, *Cloud → Azure → Compute*), and select the skill(s) you want the employee to develop (e.g., *Azure App Service*).  
Be sure to save your changes after adding skills.

**Why this matters:**  
Defining precise, measurable skill targets makes progress transparent and allows for more objective performance evaluation.

![image-20251023-085530.png](media://04eace07-cbd1-46a8-a3a2-ff7ff519b8ce)

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### Step 3. Define Attitude and Behavioral Goals

In the **Attitude** section, click **Add new +** to add a new task or behavior you want to monitor (e.g., *Lead 10 presales processes* or *Conduct internal training*).  
Set its **Importance** level (from 1 to 5), or click **Edit** to modify existing goals.

**Why this matters:**  
Including behavioral and soft-skill objectives ensures well-rounded professional growth—not just technical development.

![image-20251023-085548.png](media://a8000cdb-d4b3-4eb0-8b7f-4b4461ca993a)

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### Example Workflow

1. Open the Development Plans tab.
2. Choose an employee aiming for promotion or skill advancement.
3. Add technical skills under **Promotion path skills**.
4. Add behavioral goals under **Attitude**.
5. Save and review progress regularly.

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### Summary of Benefits

| Feature | Benefit | How |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Development plan overview | Centralized visibility | Managers can track progress, detect stalled plans, and coordinate support efforts. |
| Skill selection | Targeted learning | Employees focus on specific, measurable skills tied to promotion or project readiness. |
| Attitude tracking | Balanced development | Encourages alignment between technical growth and workplace behavior. |
| Importance levels | Prioritization clarity | Weighted tasks make it easier to focus on what impacts promotion the most. |

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### Example Scenario

A **Junior Frontend Developer** working toward a **Senior Frontend Developer** position might have the following setup:

- Skills to Learn: *Azure App Service*, *React Hooks*, *Unit Testing Fundamentals*
- Attitude Tasks: *Mentor a new team member* (Importance: 5), *Lead 2 sprint retrospectives* (Importance: 3)

This structure allows both the employee and manager to measure readiness clearly, with evidence tied to tangible outcomes.