Business Bites: Career advancement
When seeking new employment, people will generally prioritise businesses that provide career advancement opportunities and pathways to new job roles or career trajectories.
A clear career development plan is important in attracting the best candidates to your business – and if you can offer such a plan, you will also enhance employee retention.
Career development involves identifying employees’ strengths and weaknesses, and recognising aspirations, leading to a tailored development plans aimed at career growth. By investing in the career development of their employees, businesses can build a highly skilled and highly motivated team not only benefiting the employees themselves but also enhancing your business overall.
Why is this important?
Offering a well-defined career development plan is crucial to job seekers and can significantly enhance your organisation’s appeal. This can also be seamlessly integrated into your employee value proposition (EVP) – see below.
Employee value proposition example
Grow your own (GYO)
Investing in developing and re-skilling existing employees is often more cost-effective than recruiting individuals with pre-existing skills. You enhance your team’s capabilities, thereby improving their confidence and competence, which ultimately leads to long-term benefits including significant cost linked to recruitment. This GYO approach does require more forward planning and should be aligned with your business plans and strategy for the next one, two, or three years.
Improving employee engagement
Employee turnover is a concern for many businesses, and Gallup research indicates that the number one motivator for job hunting is the absence of career growth and development opportunities in existing roles.
The research found: “An impressive 87 per cent of millennials rate professional or career growth and development opportunities as important to them in a job – far more than the 69% of non-millennials who say the same.”
Many employees state that they would remain with their current employer if investments were made in their career development.
When employees possess a personal development plan (PDP) and discuss their career growth with their manager during one-to-one sessions as well as appraisals, they are more likely to be engaged in daily tasks and long-term professional development.
What can you do?
As a leader or manager, you can enhance your employees’ career growth and thereby improve your business. Some key approaches include:
1. Create effective PDPs
Allow employees to envision their future within the business and the steps required to achieve their career aspirations. Along with your employees, compile a comprehensive and bespoke PDP that promotes their professional growth. Understand each employee’s career objectives and create a tailored development plan that aligns their goals with the strategic goals of your business. The plan should document any skills, education, experience and qualifications required to advance in your business. Employees should be able to clearly see the path and the learning they must undertake to reach the end goals.
2. Implement ongoing performance evaluation/reviews as a ‘norm’
It is essential for leaders and managers to engage in ongoing discussions with employees about their performance and career advancement. These conversations should take place during one-to-one meetings, annual reviews and appraisals where managers review performance, assess progress and agree the next steps in the career development plan. Regularly revisiting and reassessing career development goals and pathways is beneficial to ensure they remain aligned with the employee’s aspirations and are achievable. Adjustments could be added if needed to keep their development on course.
3. Create a learning culture in your business
Your employees’ career development is best achieved by cultivating a learning-centric environment within your business. To achieve this, embed learning and growth into your core values, ensuring these principles are reflected in your business’s strategic goals and actions. Promote open discussions with your team members around potential growth opportunities within their careers. By fostering a learning culture, you can empower your employees to excel in their current roles and continue their advancement within your business.
4. Promote training and development
Promoting and offering training and development opportunities produces substantial benefits for both your business and employees. Employees acquire new competencies that enhance their career opportunities and fosters loyalty which, in turn, reduces staff turnover. Appreciate the importance of setting aside time from ‘business as usual’ for educational growth. When employees participate in training sessions to enhance their skills and knowledge, they learn the specific skills and responsibilities that their current and future roles demand.
Career development is a journey that needs patience to make significant individual transformations. It is important to support team members in their career growth by recognising and rewarding their efforts and achievements. By highlighting the progress team members make toward their goals, you can motivate them to continue their professional development as well as encouraging others to make the most of their career potential with you.
Chauncy Crail, in his Forbes article, ‘Effective employee retention strategies‘, tells us: “A great business recognises how important training is during the onboarding process of an employee, but a business with strong employee retention also recognises the value of continuing to invest in training and upskilling employees. Upskilling your employees by investing time and resources and providing them access to additional education and training within their field not only makes them happier and more likely to stay with your company, but also makes your company stronger as a whole.”