Individual Development Plan
Also known as IDP · خطة التطوير الفردية
Definition
An Individual Development Plan (IDP) is a documented agreement between an employee and their manager setting out development goals for a period, the activities that will achieve them, the support required, and how progress will be reviewed. It connects organizational capability needs to one person's specific next steps.
IDPs work when they are specific and resourced. "Improve leadership skills" produces nothing; "lead the vendor review in Q3 with fortnightly coaching from the department head, after completing the negotiation module" produces both a development activity and evidence of it. The manager's commitments belong in the plan as explicitly as the employee's.
Many IDPs end up as annual paperwork nobody revisits. Plans that are reviewed in existing one-to-ones, adjusted when priorities shift, and connected to real assignments stay in use. Plans written only to satisfy an HR completion metric are filed and forgotten.