Free Employee Development Plan Template (Excel)
What's inside the free employee development plan template
Development Plans holds up to 100 rows across all your employees. Each row is one goal or competency: employee name, the goal, current skill level (1-5), target skill level (1-5), an action step, a target date and a status. Skill gap calculates automatically as target minus current level.
Team Roster holds up to 30 employees. Type a name and it counts that employee's total goals and how many are marked Complete on the Development Plans sheet, then calculates their percent complete - no manual tallying required.
Multi-employee tracking, not just a single-person form
Most free employee development plan templates (Smartsheet's included) are a flat, single-person form: one goal, one action, one sign-off line, with no formula logic and no way to see more than one employee at a time.
This template is built for tracking a whole team: log every employee's goals in one Development Plans sheet, then see a rolled-up view of who's on track and who isn't on the Team Roster - whether you're managing one direct report or a dozen. It also covers what's sometimes searched as an individual development plan: use one employee's name and it works exactly the same way for a single person.
How skill gap and % complete calculate
Skill gap = Target skill level minus Current skill level, on a 1-5 scale - a bigger gap flags which competency needs the most attention for that person.
On the roster, % complete divides goals marked Complete by that employee's total goal count, matching on the exact name typed in both sheets. Keep names spelled identically (e.g. 'Alice Chen' both places) so the count doesn't silently miss a row.
Who this template is for
Managers running development plans for a team who want current-vs-target skill levels, action steps and progress tracked in one file instead of a separate static form per employee.
It's a planning and tracking tool - performance ratings, compensation decisions and formal reviews still belong in your HR system or a dedicated performance review template.
How to use it
- On Development Plans, add one row per goal for each employee: current and target skill level, action step, target date and status.
- Skill gap calculates automatically as target minus current level.
- On Team Roster, type each employee's name to see their total goals and how many are complete.
- Watch % complete update automatically as you mark goals Complete on the Development Plans sheet.
Download the free Free Employee Development Plan Template (Excel)
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PTO & Leave Tracker — with Automatic Accrual
Once development plans are tracked, the PTO & Leave Tracker ($19) adds automatic accrual across PTO, sick and personal policies for the same team, with zero macros.
See the full versionFrequently asked questions
Does this work for a single employee, not just a team?
Yes. Enter one employee's name across their goal rows and the Team Roster rolls up their total goals and % complete the same way it would for a full team - this covers what's sometimes searched as an individual development plan.
How is skill gap calculated?
Skill gap = Target skill level minus Current skill level, both scored 1-5. A gap of 3 (e.g. current 1, target 4) flags that competency as needing the most attention.
Why does the Team Roster show 0% complete for an employee I know has finished goals?
Check that the employee's name is spelled identically on both sheets - the roster's count matches on exact text, so a typo in either sheet will silently drop that row from the total.
Can I use this in Google Sheets?
Yes. Upload the downloaded file to Google Drive, then open it and choose File > Save as Google Sheets. Skill gap and the roster rollup keep working.
How many goals and employees can I track?
Up to 100 goal rows on Development Plans and up to 30 employees on Team Roster. Add rows and extend the formulas if your team is larger.
What's the usage license?
Personal use or use within one business. It's not meant to be resold or redistributed as a template product.