Papers in hands of young man explaining business plan to his creative team
ATD Blog

Cost of Neglecting Development Planning

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Training is not just important—it is vital. It brings all team members to a higher level, with similar skills and knowledge needed to effectively and efficiently perform on the job. It closes skill gaps, enhances current competencies, and teaches newly needed abilities to better operate in our ever-changing professional environment. Failing to plan development pathways and personalized learning paths is not only detrimental to the learning of the employee, it can also be quite costly to the organization.

View the infograph below for just a few of the possible costs associated with neglecting learning and development planning.

About the Author

Nikki O’Keeffe is an internal ATD Facilitator. She is dedicated training specialist who delivers a positive, memorable, and meaningful service that repeatedly meets or exceeds the expectations of the client. She has experience creating strategies and visions to ensure training requirements and deliveries are in line with quality, probability, and client need. 

Nikki has worked in varied industries, including education, healthcare, and pharmaceuticals. In her role as the global senior training and development specialist at PAREXEL International, her focus was on managing and developing courses for new and existing staff on technical systems, process changes, new products, and soft skills.  Her educational background includes a BA in psychology from Butler University and a master’s degree in exercise science, health, and wellness from Northeastern Illinois University. Her specific areas of interest include virtual training, facilitation techniques, and mentoring new trainers. 

Nikki is skilled at providing face-to-face and online learning programs for global participants of varying experience levels. In addition to delivering training, she has performed training needs analyses to identify gaps and recommend training solutions, worked with SMEs as a consultant to develop courses and curriculums, and evaluated programs for effectiveness. 

As a certified ATD Master Trainer and certified ATD Master Instructional Designer she understands the value of solid training plans and strong facilitation. Nikki looks forward to sharing her experiences and expanding her knowledge base by learning from her participants in the upcoming ATD courses that she leads.