Early Access Program Notice

Launching a Development Cycle is available in our Early Access Program (EAP). This means it’s still in testing, so there may be some limitations while we fine-tune things. By using it, you can give feedback and try it out before it’s fully launched. For any questions or help, just reply with "Ask a Person" in a support conversation to speak with a Product Support Specialist.

Overview

Development Cycles is a new feature that enables administrators to set a specific timeframe for employees and managers to create and act on an employee's development plan. By anchoring development planning within a defined window, Development Cycles offer a more structured, guided approach to fostering a culture of continuous learning and growth.

What makes Development Cycles different from ‘always on’ development planning is that the core activities of Culture Amp’s Develop - drafting, discussing, and setting development goals - remain familiar, but now they take place within a clear start and end date. This focus ensures that intentions lead to action, supported by automated reminders throughout the cycle.

Why This Matters

Implementing Development Cycles provides significant benefits for everyone in the organization:

For employees: Development Cycles create a dedicated, structured time for focusing on professional growth, reducing the risk that development goals are overlooked. They’ll know exactly when to create and activate their plan, making development more actionable. Automated reminders prompt them to act so that they can start developing with clear support from their manager.
For managers: Development Cycles offer a straightforward and systematic approach to having ongoing development conversations, moving beyond a one-time annual discussion to continuous, focused coaching. Live dashboards display completion rates and plan statuses, helping them to provide timely support and guidance to their team.
For the organization: Development Cycles help align employee growth with business goals and formalize development planning. Completion rates and progress are visible in live reporting dashboards so managers, HR, and admins can monitor progress and offer timely support.

Step 1: Planning Your Key Cycle Dates

The first step is determining the overall timing of your development cycle. We will make some recommendations below, however you will likely want to adjust to ensure that the timings work well with your current performance processes. We do recommend that it's best to introduce Development Cycles as a separate activity from other key people processes, such as engagement surveys, to give it the attention it deserves.

When should we start our development cycle?

We recommend starting the development cycle shortly after your performance processes are completed - that is, after performance reviews are finished and your new performance goals are set for the upcoming cycle. This means that your employees can use reflections from their reviews and consider any skills they may want to gain to meet their goals to inform the content of their development plans.

Timeline and Overall Duration of the Cycle

Phase	Description	Recommended Duration
Planning	This includes time for employees to create their draft plan in the Culture Amp platform, and then time for the manager and employee to review the plan during a development conversation, before marking it as ‘active’.	We recommend a total of four weeks for this phase: two weeks for drafting plans, and two weeks to have development conversations
Action	This is the period when employees, supported by their managers, work on their development plans. The length should ideally align with your company’s performance cycle, with planned check-ins to ensure progress is being made.	We generally suggest an annualized cycle over a 6 month one, as development often takes more time than business goals to come to fruition. Plan for at least one mid-cycle check in for 6 month cycles, and 2-3 for annualised cycles.
Closing	Formally close out the plan, and reflect back on development progress made.	We recommend closing the cycle just before your performance review activities start, this way any reflections on growth can be inputs to the review. We suggest scheduling a reminder to review and reflect on the plan two weeks ahead of the cycle closing date.

Step 2: Plan Your Communication and Implementation Approach

Effective communication is critical for a successful rollout and high user adoption. Plan out your schedule of communication ahead of the cycle - you can take advantage of automated Culture Amp notifications and in-platform tools to support your communication plan and implementation.

When	When	In Platform Tools
Pre-Launch Announcement Send a clear announcement to all employees and managers. Explain the "why": the purpose and benefits of development cycles. Outline the timeline for the first cycle. Direct them to a central resource (like a help article or internal wiki) for more information.	1-2 weeks before launch
Launch Day Communication Send a reminder to kick off the cycle, advising employees that they will receive an invitation to start their plan. Clearly state the first key date: the deadline for the planning phase. Provide a quick, step-by-step guide on how to get started.	Day of launch
All selected employees will receive an invitation via Slack, Microsoft Teams, or email with a direct link to the platform. If an employee has an open plan, they'll be prompted to close it before creating a new one. Managers are notified about their direct reports in the cycle, and can see the plan status for each employee.		Automated platform invitation Launch a Development Cycle
Planning phase Send tailored communications to areas in the business that might need additional communication or support, if you see low uptake or completion rates. Develop Administrators can view real-time participation dashboards showing completion rates and plan statuses by cohort, team, and manager. This data can be exported as a CSV. People Managers can see the plan status for their direct reports.	During planning phase	Admin and manager reporting Launch a Development Cycle
The Culture Amp platform will send automated reminders to employees to complete their plan. Confirmation emails – sent to employees after they complete each step and to the employee’s manager after step two (Build Your Plan) is completed Reminders – Sent every three days (maximum of two) until you complete the step. Plan Creation Deadline notification - lets employees know when they should have an “Active” plan in place.	At each stage of the plan	Automated platform reminders Creating a Development Plan
Action phase During the Action phase, Culture Amp’s Check-in Sliders in 1-on-1s encourage regular conversations around development.	In each 1-on-1	1-on-1 Conversations
To ensure that progress is being discussed, we recommend prompting development progress conversations using Assigned topics. Encourage employees and managers to discuss and track progress in development goals, and adjust as needed.	For a 12 month cycle, consider scheduling 2-3 check-ins. For a 6 month cycle, one check-in may be sufficient.	Admin-assigned in the platform Assigned Topics in 1-on-1 Conversations Best Practices for Using 1-on-1 Assigned Topics
Closing the cycle We suggest using an Assigned topic in 1-on-1s to prompt self-reflection from employees and to plan for a ‘wrap up’ conversation with their manager. In this conversation they should discuss goal progress, and reflect on their learning and growth throughout the cycle.	2 weeks before cycle close date	Admin-assigned in the platform Assigned Topics in 1-on-1 Conversations
Highlight to managers and employees that they should document reflections and that can be used to track development progress, and support any development-related questions in performance reviews. This can be done in several ways: Employees can update their goals and add comments to capture learning and insights. Goals are available to managers to use in their Manager Review as a part of the performance cycle. Both managers and employees can use the Bookmark feature (available October 2025) to save topics for later use. These will stay saved in the employee profile, making them handy for use in Performance reviews. For example, they can add notes to the Assigned topic in the 1-on-1, and then bookmark the assigned topic for later use.		Managing Individual Goals Bookmarks
Additionally, managers can use Personal notes to save their own insights and reflections on the employees' growth during the cycle reflections to the EP for use in review.		Personal notes in 1-on-1 conversations
On the scheduled close date, the cycle status automatically changes to "Closed." The system sends a final notification to employees and managers to prompt them to review, reflect and close any still-open plans.	Cycle close date	Automated platform invitation Launch a Development Cycle

Step 3: Measuring Success and Iterating

If this is your first time running a formal development cycle, you may wish to measure engagement and gather feedback to improve future cycles.

Track Key Metrics:
- Adoption: How many employees started a development plan? Was the feature being used beyond just initial setup? Has there been an uptake in usage from previous time periods?
Gather Qualitative Feedback:
- Ask for feedback from managers and employees on their experience with the process.
- Conduct a quick pulse survey or focus groups to understand what worked well and what could be improved.

FAQs

Can an employee roll over goals that are still a focus?

Yes - we’d encourage employees to roll over goals if they are still focusing on the development area. They can create a new goal using the details from the previous plan. This will be most effective when they refresh the goal at the same time, rather than simply copying and pasting the same details. We recommend these three steps:

Reflect: Ask if the goal is still relevant for your role or your longer-term goals. Consider what kept you from completing it in the last plan, and celebrate any progress you’ve made so far.
Adjust: Update your goal if needed. This might mean breaking it into smaller steps, adjusting your timeframe, or trying out a new approach. Remember, some goals are bigger and take time: development isn’t always about quick wins!
Discuss the Change: In your development conversation with your manager, talk about the goal you’re rolling over and share why you’re choosing to stick with it. Discuss what you’ve updated or learned, and your thinking behind rolling it over.

How can we align development planning to the performance process?

You can create alignment in two ways:

Aligning the timing of the development cycle to start after performance activities (e.g. after the performance review for the previous period has finished, and after performance goals have been set for the upcoming period. Development plans should close shortly before the performance review activities commence, with a prompt to ‘wrap up’ their plan and reflect on their growth.
Including development in your performance review. We suggest asking a few development-related questions on the manager review as part of performance reviews.
- Templated questions: "How has this person progressed over [time frame]?" and "What are 2-3 skills or competencies you'd like them to focus on for further development?"
- This also provides an opportunity to use the development plan content to inform the review and discuss progress.

What if an employee doesn't start or finish drafting their plan?

We recommend a two-step approach: First, the manager should have a supportive follow-up conversation to understand any blockers and provide guidance. If the issue persists, the manager should reinforce the importance of the process for the employee’s career growth and development within the company.
- If you notice that more than one of a manager’s direct reports have incomplete drafts, check in with the manager to see if they need more support on the process.

How do we handle new hires?

New hires can either be included in the next scheduled development cycle or can start a plan ad-hoc outside of the cycle dates.

➡️ Next Steps

Set your cycle dates and configure your first Development Cycle using the Launch a Development Cycle guide
Bookmark this article for quick reference during rollout
Have questions or feedback? Reach out to Culture Amp Support

💬 Need help? Just reply with "Ask a Person" in a Support conversation to speak with a Product Support Specialist.

Admin Rollout Guide for Development Cycles