Learning & Development # 10+ Companies With Exceptional Employee Development Programs Looking for inspiration for your company training programs for employees? Here are ten companies with exceptional career development programs. [Matthew Reeves\ \ CEO of Together, an Absorb company](https://www.togetherplatform.com/authors/matthew-reeves) Published on March 18, 2026 Updated on .svg) 10 mins read time ## Key Takeaways - Companies with exceptional career development programs focus beyond basic training, offering mentorship, career pathing, and ERGs to align employee growth with strategic objectives while improving retention and engagement. - Organizations like Heineken, Wellabe, and Mastercard have created successful development initiatives through reverse mentoring, internal mobility programs, and leadership development programs that prepare employees for advancement. - Effective development programs address both technical skills and personal growth, with many companies leveraging mentoring software to facilitate connections and measure program success through reduced turnover and increased employee satisfaction. 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](https://news.gallup.com/poll/695996/one-four-employees-lack-advancement-opportunities.aspx) 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 ## 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](https://www.theheinekencompany.com/sustainability-and-responsibility/social/diversity-equity-and-inclusion) 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. ### 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](https://www.togetherplatform.com/blog/mentorship-that-scales-how-we-transformed-learning-at-wellabe) 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. ### 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. ### 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](https://www.togetherplatform.com/case-studies/cdm-smith) is a full-service engineering and construction firm that provides water, environment, transportation, and energy solutions to clients around the world. ### 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](https://www.togetherplatform.com/case-studies/cruise-automation) cares deeply about internal career development. They want to attract top talent and nurture them to grow further within the company. ### 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](https://wwd.com/beauty-industry-news/beauty-features/feature/estee-lauder-advancing-innovation-through-reverse-mentorship-1234885901/) 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.” ### 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 ### 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 ### 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 ### 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 ## 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](https://www.togetherplatform.com/blog/employee-development-programs) generally have a specific problem they’re trying to address, whether it’s reducing turnover, creating opportunities for people from underrepresented backgrounds, or [developing leadership capabilities.](https://www.togetherplatform.com/blog/leadership-competencies-every-organization-should-develop) - **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 One of the biggest reasons is that career development is a top priority for employees. In fact, [Work Institute’s 2025 Retention Report](https://info.workinstitute.com/hubfs/2025%20Retention%20Report/2025%20Retention%20Report%20-%20Employee%20Retention%20Truths%20in%20Todays%20Workplace.pdf) 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. ## 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. 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 ## 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. ## 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.