In many organizations, performance reviews and individual development plans are not well connected. According to the report, 67% of employees have goals related to developing for future roles, yet only 33% strongly agree that their performance management process has helped them build the necessary skills.
A practical framework for post-review development can help address this issue. This framework involves analyzing performance review findings, identifying development goals, choosing development activities, structuring the plan around a realistic 90-day cycle, and evaluating progress.
Building A 90-Day Development Plan
Let’s consider the example of Dave, a team lead who was promoted a few months ago. This includes looking at KPIs, competency assessments, manager observations, and feedback from colleagues.
For Dave, they are particularly interested in how his leadership skills show up in everyday interactions. One way to assess this is through 360° feedback, which gathers perspectives from managers, peers, direct reports, and the employee themselves. In iSpring LMS, they can run the entire 360° review online and collect responses automatically.
The review findings might reveal gaps between Dave’s self-assessment and feedback from others, as well as competencies that consistently receive lower ratings across reviewer groups. They can then identify one or two observable development goals, such as improving communication skills.
To make this goal more specific, they can imagine what they would like to see in Dave’s next performance review. For example, they might want his direct reports to consistently report that Dave gives specific, actionable feedback. They can set a target for the relevant 360° indicators and build Dave’s upskilling program using the Development Plans module in iSpring LMS.
Choosing Development Activities
The next step is to choose development activities that match the gap. If Dave struggles to put the principles of constructive feedback into practice, they can assign an interactive course with realistic feedback conversations and branching role-plays. They can also add a task for Dave to shadow an experienced manager during a feedback session and set up an OJT session where a supervisor observes Dave giving feedback in a real conversation.
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These activities can be structured around a realistic 90-day cycle, with phases for learning and observation, practice with support, and applying independently. In iSpring LMS, each phase can become a separate stage of Dave’s Development Plan, with its own tasks and deadlines.
As Dave moves through the plan, both he and his manager can see what’s done and what’s coming up next. The plan can be adjusted based on progress, and the next 360° review can be used to evaluate whether the gap between Dave’s self-assessment and his team’s view has narrowed.
Evaluating progress involves looking at three levels of evidence: learning activity, skill demonstration, and workplace outcomes. In iSpring LMS, all three levels of evidence are available in one place, allowing managers to see whether the development goal has been achieved.
When interpreting the results, it’s essential to be careful about assuming that every low competency score is a training need. The employee might lack knowledge, struggle to apply it in practice, or receive ratings that don’t fully reflect their performance. Before assigning another course, it’s essential to understand what’s actually behind the score.
Connecting performance reviews and development plans allows organizations to test assumptions and make adjustments as needed.
A key aspect of this approach is to think of continuing professional development as a working hypothesis. This means making an educated guess about what’s holding someone back, what might help, and what improvement should look like. Sometimes this approach will be successful, and other times it may not be, but either way, it provides useful information for future development plans.
Evaluating Progress And Adjusting The Plan
Course reports show completion and test results, OJT observations capture how the employee performs in real situations, and the Team Development Dashboard gives managers an overview of where each person stands in their plan.
