Development Plans give your team members a clear, structured path to grow — built around competencies and topics, tracked over time, and discussed in your 1-to-1s. This guide shows Managers and Administrators how to assign pre-built Development Plans, track progress, add comments, and edit or delete plans as people develop.
Who this is for: Managers and Administrators
Read time: 7 minutes
About Development Plans
Development Plans are created and approved by Administrators in consultation with Managers. As a Manager or Administrator, you assign these pre-built plans to your team members, then work through them together — tracking the status of competencies and tasks, and capturing the conversation through comments.
A Development Plan in Prosper is made up of:
- The Development Plan — the overall plan assigned to the member.
- Competencies — the capability areas the member is developing.
- Topics / Tasks — the specific items of work within each competency.
Each level can have its own timing (Ongoing or a Due Date), its own status, and its own comments.
Prerequisites
- You must be a Manager or Administrator.
- The Performance module must be enabled for your organisation.
- At least one Development Plan must have been pre-built by an Administrator.
Part 1 — Assigning a Development Plan
Step 1 — Open the member's Development Plans
Navigate to the member's profile through Performance or People & Skills Finder in the menu, and select Development Plans.
Step 2 — Start a new Development Plan
Select New Development Plan.
Step 3 — Select the Development Plan
Select the Development Plan you want to assign. Pre-built Competencies and Topics will auto-populate in the dropdown.
Step 4 — Set timing
Select Ongoing or a Due Date for the Development Plan. Repeat for each Competency and Topic.
Step 5 — Set status
Select the Status of the Development Plan. Repeat for each Competency and Topic.
Step 6 — Save
Select Save. The sliding tracker is now enabled, giving a visual view of progress.
Step 7 — Track progress in your 1-to-1s
As a Manager, you can track the status of tasks in consultation with the employee during your 1-to-1s — updating status as the member progresses.
Adding and tracking comments
Both the Manager and the employee can add comments at every level — Development Plans, Competencies, and Tasks.
- Add comments on any plan, competency, or task to capture the conversation.
- Track comments via the comment icon — the icon shows a blue fill when comments have been left.
- Review comments by clicking the icon to see comments with their dates.
- Comments auto-save — there's no separate save step.
Tip: Treat the comment thread as a running record of the development conversation. Capturing a short note after each 1-to-1 builds into a rich history of progress — invaluable at review time and for the employee's own motivation.
Part 2 — Editing a Development Plan
Step 1 — Open the member's Development Plans
Navigate to the member's profile through Performance or People & Skills Finder, and select Development Plans.
Step 2 — Select the Development Plan
Select the Development Plan you want to edit.
Step 3 — Make your edits
From here you can:
- Edit the Development Plan — update title
- Edit Competencies — adjust the competency areas.
- Edit Tasks — update individual tasks.
- Add new items — select Add Task and/or New Competency to extend the plan.
Tip: Development Plans are living documents. As a member grows, add new competencies and tasks to keep the plan stretching them — and mark completed items so the tracker reflects genuine progress.
Part 3 — Deleting a Development Plan
Step 1 — Open the member's Development Plans
Navigate to the member's profile through Performance or People & Skills Finder, and select Development Plans.
Step 2 — Select the Development Plan
Select the Development Plan you want to remove.
Step 3 — Delete
Select Delete and confirm.
Note: Deleting a Development Plan removes the plan and its associated progress and comments for that member. If the plan contains a valuable record of development conversations, consider whether you want to retain it before deleting.
Tips and best practices
- Set realistic timing. Mix Ongoing items (continuous development areas) with Due Dates (specific milestones) so the plan has both direction and accountability.
- Update status in the moment. The sliding tracker is most useful when it's current. Update statuses live during your 1-to-1s so progress is always accurate.
- Make it a two-way conversation. Both you and the employee can comment — encourage them to add their own reflections, not just respond to yours. Ownership drives development.
- Use comments as your prep. Reviewing the comment history before each 1-to-1 takes seconds and makes the conversation far more focused.
- Keep plans alive. Add new competencies and tasks as the member grows rather than letting a plan go stale. A completed plan is a great moment to assign the next one.
- Align with reviews. Development Plans pair naturally with performance reviews and Manager Ratings — use them together to connect day-to-day growth with formal performance conversations.
Troubleshooting
The Development Plan I want isn't in the dropdown.
Development Plans are pre-built and approved by Administrators. If the plan you need isn't available, ask your Administrator to create it in consultation with you.
Competencies and topics didn't auto-populate.
Auto-population draws from the pre-built plan. If nothing appears, the plan may not have competencies and topics configured — check with your Administrator.
My comments don't seem to have saved.
Comments auto-save, so there's no separate save action. Refresh and click the comment icon. If a comment genuinely didn't save, check your connection and re-enter it.
The employee can't see or comment on their plan.
Both Manager and employee can add and track comments. If the employee can't access the plan, confirm it's been saved and that the member is correctly linked to you in the reporting structure.
I can't find a member to assign a plan to.
You can assign plans to members you manage or have access to. If a member is missing, check the reporting structure in their profile or ask your Administrator about your access.
I deleted a plan by mistake.
Deletion removes the plan and its progress and comments.
Can the same member have more than one Development Plan?
Yes — you can assign multiple plans to a member over time. Use clear timing and statuses so it's obvious which plans are active and which are complete.
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