The Best Companies to Work For make a considerable investment in employee training programs, and that investment pays off, with 31% of job openings at the 100 Best filled through internal promotions.  The Best Companies develop employees for the job they have today, and the job they hope to have tomorrow.  Here’s how the training focus breaks down at the Best Companies:

Interesting Practices:

• At Mattel, all performance reviews are followed up with a separate meeting to establish a Career Action Plan.
• A Career Development Workshop at Intel invites employees at all levels of the organization to think strategically about their career development, and how to conduct conversations with their managers about their career goals.
• The Drive Your Development Program at JM Family sees several associates completing departmental rotations, site visits to call centers, and process improvement projects. 
• Mercedes-Benz USA uses an Early Talent Identification Survey to identify high-potential individuals, several who are invited to participate in an Emerging Leader Development Program where they receive coaching, interact with executive management, and complete a management simulation exercise.  
• The Executive Shadowing program at Cisco offers women employees the opportunity to work closely with an executive for the day.
• At Darden Restaurants, the “Strengthening the Pipeline” Leadership Institute gathers select African American employees for executive-level seminars, peer mentoring and coaching, and networking with top corporate executives.