10+ Companies With Exceptional Employee Development Programs

When it comes to career growth and development, are you providing the tools that will help your employees learn—or leaving them to fend for themselves? It’s worth taking a closer look, since according to Gallup, one out of four US employees say they lack opportunities for career advancement. 

The good news is that companies with career development programs approach this in many different ways. Some common formats include:

• Development plan tracks
• Mentoring programs
• Employee connection programs
• Upskilling/reskilling
• Employee resource groups (ERGs)
• Career pathing

But rather than dwell on the theory, let’s get into the practice. How are actual companies investing in their employees’ careers—and what makes the best company training programs stand out? We’ll dive into ten real-life examples below.

👋 P.S. Looking to launch an employee development program in your organization? Book a quick, low-pressure chat with us to learn best practices, insights from top companies, and how Together can help you reach your employee development goals through mentorship. 

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10+ companies with the best training and development programs

Let’s look at a few examples of how companies have created and managed career development programs.

1. Heineken

• Program type: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Key strengths: Fostering a listening culture, building a pipeline of female talent, and ensuring equal pay for equal work
• Noteworthy outcome: 31% women now in senior management roles

Heineken launched its Inclusive Practices programs in 2020, which are designed to demonstrate the company’s commitment to inclusion. There are several components, including Inclusion & Diversity (I&D) councils, leadership development programs designed to grow their pipeline of female talent below senior management levels, and processes that ensure equal representation for new hires and promotions.

Here’s what Heineken USA CEO Maggie Timoney says about the power of learning about employees’ experiences through reverse mentorship: “We also know through efforts like reverse mentorship that perspective and expertise can be imparted from employees at all levels, helping to further develop talent and mitigate potential age-related biases.”

2. Wellabe

• Program type: 1:1, coffee chat, leadership development, and onboarding
• Key strengths: Programs customized to employees’ needs, automated matching that makes programs scalable
• Noteworthy outcome: 23 percentage point engagement lift

When Senior Learning & Development Specialist Joey Spivey joined insurance company Wellabe, the mentorship program relied on “spreadsheets, best guesses, and hours of coordination.” They were spending 20 to 30 hours just getting the program off the ground and could only serve 26 employees through mentoring. Luckily, Joey had a vision for scaling the mentorship program, which involved enlisting Together to automate the previously manual processes. This made mentorship feel like an opportunity and not another item on a to-do list. 

Joey was able to launch four distinct mentorship programs that were each designed to serve a specific population of Wellabe employees: those seeking long-term development, those who wanted casual connections with coworkers, emerging leaders, and new hires going through onboarding. “Each of these is designed to meet employees where they are,” writes Joey. And these programs have been incredibly successful. Employee participation in mentorship programs quadrupled, 92% of employees now rate the company favorably (compared to 69% before the program), and voluntary turnover has remained steady.

3. Cooley

• Program type: New hire onboarding
• Key strengths: Provided agendas for sessions; launched a “Mentoring Madness” challenge to drive engagement; used reporting to gather insights on matching, sessions, and goal achievement
• Noteworthy outcome: 95% of employees say Cooley is a great place to work

Global law firm Cooley has 1,500 employees across 17 offices in the United States, Asia, and Europe. Because they’re focused on complicated litigation and legal work, they needed a scalable way to onboard new hires to get them up to speed quickly. They decided the best way to do this was by connecting new hires with more experienced individuals.

The Cooley Academy Mentoring Program (CAMP) provides session agendas, which takes the guesswork out of logistics and allows participants to focus on making genuine connections and growing their careers. Plus, program administrators added a little healthy competition into the mix with a “Mentoring Madness” challenge where attorneys had three weeks to compete for the chance to be named the best mentoring duo. Weekly tasks and leaderboards drove engagement in the program and contributed to high ratings from participants (3.9 out of 4!) and overall employee favorability scores (95% say Cooley is a great place to work).

4. CDM Smith

• Program type: 1:1 mentorship
• Key strengths: Resources helped guide participants through registration and profile setup, algorithm-based matching paired participants based on job criteria and goals, and program administrators monitored engagement
• Noteworthy outcome: $3.2 million in savings due to increased employee retention 

CDM Smith is a full-service engineering and construction firm that provides water, environment, transportation, and energy solutions to clients around the world. 

Their Career Compass program gives employees a clear direction for their career advancement. Employees can set actionable goals, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and align their daily work with their long-term aspirations. 

And it’s been incredibly effective—96% of participants report new gains in confidence, responsibilities, and leadership capabilities. Promotion rates at CDM Smith are a testament to the impact of mentoring on career development: 34% of mentees have received promotions vs. 13% of non-participants. Plus, the company estimates it’s saved $3.2 million due to increased employee retention.

5. Cruise Automation

• Program type: 1:1 mentorship
• Key strengths: Automated registration and matching that saved days of time, templated agendas provided structure and resources 
• Noteworthy outcome: 50% more participants enrolled than anticipated

Cruise Automation cares deeply about internal career development. They want to attract top talent and nurture them to grow further within the company. 

Through their training and mentorship programs, they were able to accelerate employee career development by matching new hires with experienced employees. They used templated mentoring agendas with guiding questions, to-do tasks, links to further reading, and other resources so that teams could have meaningful conversations about skills and goals.

While Cruise was initially planning to enroll 200 participants in this program, the ease of automated registration and matching in Together enabled Cruise to enroll 300 participants in the pilot program. And participants loved the program: the average rating mentors and mentees gave their experience was 3.8 out of 4.

6. Estée Lauder

• Program type: Reverse mentorship
• Key strengths: Provides insights into product and market trends and internal company culture
• Noteworthy outcome: 600+ senior leaders matched with reverse mentors

Estée Lauder launched its CEO Reverse Mentor Program in 2015 with the mission of keeping senior leaders in touch with the “mindset and ethos of today’s younger consumers.” The program matches executives with young employees who have been with the company for less than a year. Early iterations of the program involved “retail safaris” where the reverse mentors would take their mentees through brick and mortar stores to showcase their favorite brands and shopping habits.

Today, the program has over 600 leaders matched with reverse mentors, who keep their mentees up to date on products, trends, and sociocultural shifts. One reverse mentor, Camila Dauhajre, an assistant manager for social listening and analytics, describes the impact of the program this way: “It is building a special relationship with a senior leader, teaching us as much as they can so that one day we will become the leaders. Having a program that revolves around the feedback of young people in the company urges me to stay here and continue growing.”

7. Chipotle

• Program type: Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)
• Key strengths: ERGs provide support to employees while also providing valuable feedback to company leadership
• Noteworthy outcome: More than 90% of restaurant management roles promoted from within the company

Employee turnover is notoriously high in the fast food industry, but Chipotle has created several employee development programs to overcome this common challenge. Former Chief Diversity, Inclusion, and People Officer Marissa Andrada took on the role in 2018, and under her stewardship the company established four employee resource groups the following year.

Chipotle’s ERGs serve several purposes: they allow employees to create community and live Chipotle values, they provide resources and support to employees in these communities, and they provide feedback to the company leadership that shapes its policies and practices. And while ERGs are just part of Chipotle’s broader commitment to employee development, they are one factor that’s influencing the impressive internal promotion practices that lead to more than 90% of restaurant management roles coming from within the company. 

8. Mastercard

• Program type: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
• Key strengths: brings together Black executives and employees in small cohorts
• Noteworthy outcome: 100% of participants say the program met or exceeded their expectations

Mastercard recognizes there’s still a lack of diversity at the highest levels of corporate America. The Uplift program is one of the ways the company is trying to address this situation. Uplift is a global mentoring program specifically for Black men at Mastercard. Small cohorts give executives and employees the chance to share the challenges they face and offer advice for growing their careers.

By 2024, the program included over 30 participants from entry level to executive vice president and spanned 10 countries. All participants said the program met or exceeded their expectations and their satisfaction with the program grew by 23% from the previous year. Derek Hill, a technology account manager at Mastercard described his experience this way: “You can easily feel invisible at times. To be able to get on the phone with someone to bounce ideas off of, to talk about the struggles of the day, it makes a big difference.”

9. Compass Group

• Program type: Peer mentoring and 1:1 mentoring
• Key strengths: Different programs appeal to different employee needs, promotional campaign used to drive interest
• Noteworthy outcome: 3.91 out of 4 average rating from mentees

Compass Group's divisions Eurest and ESFM operate across numerous client locations nationwide. One of their biggest challenges? Fostering meaningful connection and supporting professional development among managers who are scattered across different regions, many of whom worked in isolated environments. 

Compass Group partnered with Together to offer two mentorship programs to their employees: Connect is an evergreen program that allows participants to connect informally, primarily for short-term advice or knowledge sharing. And Grow is a traditional, career-focused mentorship program that provides fresh perspectives and learning opportunities to mentees.

A promotional campaign at the beginning of the year led to a 39% increase in scheduled sessions and over 60 hours of future sessions booked, indicating that participants were finding long-term value from mentoring. Program participants also loved the experience, with mentors giving an average rating of 3.86 out of 4 and mentees giving an average rating of 3.91 out of 4 for the Grow program. The peer mentorship program earned even higher ratings, with an average of 3.96 out of 4 from all participants.

10. Biogen

• Program type: Reverse mentorship
• Key strengths: Program focuses on improving leaders’ understanding of employee experience and promoting career development for women
• Noteworthy outcome: 40% of leadership roles in Pharmaceutical Operations and Technology (PO&T) held by women

Pharmaceutical company Biogen is seeking to increase the number of women in manufacturing and engineering leadership roles, both within their company and in the industry at large. One of the company’s primary goals is to achieve 50% women in leadership roles. They’re getting there—40% of leadership roles in PO&T are currently held by women. 

The reverse mentorship program is one way they’re trying to move the needle, since it’s designed to give junior female employees a direct line of communication with leaders. These junior reverse mentors share the realities of their day-to-day work and how they’d like to learn on the job and grow their careers.

Nicole Murphy, EVP, Head of PO&T and mentee in the program, shared that she loves participating because she wants to encourage young women to thrive in traditionally male-dominated spaces. And her reverse mentor, Lynsey Copley, Facilities Engineering Lead, RTP North Carolina, said, “The open discussions with Nicole allowed me to see the business from the big picture view, not just from an engineering perspective.” 

Bonus: Real results from Together customers

We’ve already highlighted a few Together customers above, but we’re just so proud of what our customers are doing that we wanted to share a few more of their impressive accomplishments.

• Samsara enrolled 25% of its entire workforce in its mentorship program—30% above its original participation goal
• Louisiana Office of Public Health saw 100% of mentees reach proficiency in their target skill, up from 83% who started with little to no knowledge
• Lightspeed achieved a 3.95 out of 4 mentee satisfaction score, with over 50% of participants logging 100+ minutes of mentoring sessions
• First Horizon grew its program by 25%—with no additional headcount—running four programs serving 350 users with its existing HR team                     

What you can take from these examples

The industries, company sizes, and locations may vary, but there are a few common threads these companies with the best training programs share:

• They start with an employee or business problem. Companies that invest in employee training programs generally have a specific problem they’re trying to address, whether it’s reducing turnover, creating opportunities from people from underrepresented backgrounds, or developing leadership capabilities.  
• They set specific goals. It’s not enough to simply identify a problem: You need to consider what metrics you’d like to see change and which goals are ambitious but still realistic for you to achieve.
• They tailor their program to specific employees’ needs (even if that means excluding other employees). Not all company training programs for employees are suitable for every single employee—and that’s perfectly okay. This goes back to the first point: You want to settle on one specific problem and customize the program to the employees who are most affected. You always have the opportunity to expand later, but in the early stages, a narrow focus will increase your chances of success.
• They find ways to make it fun. Program admins understand that sometimes employees need a little nudge to do something that’s not strictly part of their day-to-day responsibilities. Creating campaigns or generating some healthy competition with leaderboards and prizes is often all it takes to get employees to engage.

Why your company needs an employee development program

Now that we’ve seen what works well, let’s take a step back to consider a foundational question: Why should you invest time and resources into company training programs for employees in the first place?

One of the biggest reasons is that career development is a top priority for employees. In fact, Work Institute’s 2025 Retention Report found that career-related reasons are the leading cause of turnover and offering transparent career pathways, growth opportunities, and role alignment are critical for retaining talent.

As the examples we shared earlier demonstrate, career training programs can be designed to address various business needs, including: 

• Upskilling and reskilling employees
• Leadership and management training
• Digital transformation and skill expansion
• Bridging the confidence and readiness gap
• Employee performance support
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Improving the success of internship and returnship programs
• Increasing connectedness of teams

The next question to ask yourself is: What are our top priorities as a business? Once you have the answer to that, you can start designing a program to meet those specific needs. But when it comes to whether you need an employee development program at all? We hope by now the answer is obvious!

What do the best company training programs do differently?

Most development programs only cover the basics: online reading materials or courses, on-the-job training sessions, and once-a-month meetings. But corporate e-learning alone isn’t enough. 

Organizations need to go beyond, providing employees with the tools to do their jobs and also helping them feel challenged, motivated, and ready to take on new endeavors. 

Companies with the best training programs do this by focusing on areas that benefit the business and the employee, such as:

• Employee retention and job satisfaction
• DEIB initiatives that promote a positive work environment
• Visibility of minority employees for leadership opportunities
• Fresh perspectives from junior employees for executives
• Retention of Millennial and Gen Z employees
• Feedback and evaluation to further improve the program
• Support for remote and distributed teams

One other point that’s worth noting: The successful programs we’ve highlighted make sure that employees are active participants. They help employees build relationships with people outside their immediate team, provide communication channels where employees can share their perspectives, and offer opportunities for them to put what they’re learning into practice.

Level-up your corporate training and development programs with Together

If you’re planning to work on your own career development program, remember that it takes more than just building a training program and assigning courses or tasks. Employees must feel empowered to learn for your L&D efforts to pay off. The best programs make employees active participants in their own learning. 

And the most effective program admins have learned that they don’t have to do it alone—choosing the right partner can help remove administrative burdens and provide data that helps you meaningfully report on your progress.

Book a demo with our team to see how you can design a career development program that makes a positive impact.

Employee development programs FAQs 

1. What types of training programs support employee development?

There are many different types of training programs that can support employee development. 

For example:

• Mentorship programs pair experienced employees with those seeking guidance, fostering knowledge transfer and career growth. 
• Onboarding programs help new hires acclimate quickly to company culture and expectations. 
• Leadership development initiatives prepare high-potential employees and new managers for increased responsibilities. 
• Peer learning programs encourage knowledge sharing across teams and departments, which can break down silos and increase the adoption of best practices. 
• Skills-based training addresses specific competency gaps, whether technical or interpersonal.

Many organizations also implement ERG-sponsored programs that support underrepresented groups and promote diversity, equity, and inclusion through targeted development opportunities.

2. What are some best practices for companies with career development programs?

There are countless ways that companies can approach career training and employee development—there’s no single one-size-fits-all approach. But the companies with the best training programs do share a few key characteristics. 

• A mix of structure and flexibility. The best programs create structured yet flexible learning pathways that align with both the business’s goals and individual employees’ career aspirations. 
• An emphasis on mentorship. Companies with the best career development programs prioritize mentorship and peer learning. They recognize that development happens through relationships, not just formal coursework. 
• Using technology strategically. Effective training programs use technology to scale their programs efficiently. This way, they can track participation, measure outcomes, and make adjustments based on data. 
• Integrating learning into the company culture. Successful companies understand that training can’t simply be a one-off event and see it as an ongoing investment. They build learning into their culture through regular touchpoints and continuous support.

3. What distinguishes companies with training programs that drive real results?

At Together, we’ve had the opportunity to work with companies of all sizes and from a broad range of industries on their training programs (you’ve just read about several of them earlier in this article!). Based on our experience, there are a few elements the most successful companies tend to have in common:

• They secure executive sponsorship. When companies secure visible executive sponsorship (which means that executives participate in the program and regularly encourage others to participate as well), this sends the message that training is valued. 
• They treat learning as an ongoing process. Successful companies don’t see learning or training as a simple box to check—they create a culture of learning by celebrating development milestones, rewarding participation, and making time for career growth activities within employees’ regular work schedules. 
• They collect data to measure program performance. Finally, companies that have effective training programs track data such as participant satisfaction, completion rates, and skill acquisition as well as business impact metrics like retention, promotion rates, and performance improvements.

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