Top 3 Tips for Effective Employee Career Development Programs

In the past, most organizations left it up to their employees to determine their own career path.  Today, many organizations have created career development programs to assist their employees with their career planning and development within the parameters of the existing structures and positions.  While this is an improvement over the traditional perspective that career planning was the employee’s responsibility, there are still three factors that we believe need to be incorporated into effective career development programs.

First, career development programs must take into account the rapidly changing workplace and a new generation of workers who are seeking multiple occupational roles in their lifetime, rather than just one. This means that mapping out clear opportunities within their company is not all that organizations need to do; they should project future needs and empower their employees to identify opportunities that capitalize on their strengths.  Second, current career development programs must expand to reach all employees.  Typically such programs focus on a small group of high performers as part of a leadership succession plan, and therefore are not benefiting the majority of employees. Third, career development programs should be individualized to effectively meet the needs of employees and the corporation. We describe each of these factors below, followed by some practical suggestions to help organizations improve their career development programs.

Career development programs based on existing roles and structures may have limited applicability for many of today’s constantly changing workplaces.  In the past, jobs were more stable and work environments much more static.[1]  Whereas today, work environments are constantly shifting and volatility of markets and environments means business needs are ever changing.  This can be particularly frustrating for Human Resources leaders and professionals who are tasked with helping “supervisors/managers to identify career options for employees that align with business needs.”, as outlined in the CHRP Required Professional Capabilities.  But what about individuals who seek career paths not currently offered, that may or may not be future possibilities within the organization?  In such cases, planning one’s career based on current structures and business needs may be very limiting for both the employee and the organization. Therefore, it is important that an organization’s career framework be regularly updated to reflect business and market changes,[2] and that employees and managers look beyond existing roles and identify new options and opportunities.

The changing work environment also demands that employees learn to be more effective career planners and be given the tools to proactively manage their careers. We recently worked with an employee who was new to an organization, and was surprised to be asked by his manager to create his “ideal job.” He was very excited, motivated and felt so valued that a company would give him an opportunity like this, but there was one thing holding him back – he did not know how to do this! While most employees would not have this much control over their career path, it is important for employees to be able to accurately identify their strengths, limitations, and motivators in order to identify what roles are a good fit for them. This can include providing support and tools internally through the human resources department or allowing employees to invest in career guidance and assessment services offered by an external expert provider.

The second limitation regarding how organizations are supporting career planning is that the focus tends to be on a select few high performers who are on the leadership track.  However, there are many individuals who may not be on a leadership track but make important contributions to the organization, can further develop in their current roles, or have the potential to succeed in other positions or on special projects.  Their career development needs should also be supported in order to help the organization better understand the strengths and development needs of such employees and  to maximize their retention.  One organization we know provides a career coach on-site for all employees to access as needed, regardless of whether they have been chosen as a high-potential or future leader.  This has proven to be very valuable to employees, and lets them know their career is being supported by their employer.

Finally, through our experience working with private and public organizations across various industries, we have found the most effective career planning is individualized to each employee. Some organizations may offer career planning workshops for employees, for example, with the intention of saving costs by supporting multiple individuals at once.  This approach makes it difficult to address individual career planning needs and forces a “one size fits all” solution on people who may have very different motivations, potential, and goals with respect to their professional progress and development. The result is that employees are not quite as engaged in the process as they could be and the person providing career support does not have the ability to adapt and customize tools and recommendations to individual circumstances as needed. Such an approach also does not guarantee confidentiality, which can hamper the open and honest discussions they need to have with the individual providing career support.

In summary, effective career development programs should include the following key elements:

1. Access to confidential one-on-one sessions with a career counsellor who is trained in career theory and assessment, and has experience working with adults on career planning and transition. It is  also important that this expert be knowledgeable about the organization, it’s culture, vision, as well as current and future career options.
2. Well-designed assessment methods that can help individuals gain self-insight and explore attributes critical to their future satisfaction and career choices. These typically include instruments that effectively measure interests, values, personality, and skills –the pieces of the “puzzle” that make up each individual, which are essential to identifying professional goals.
3. Freedom for employees to think and plan beyond the current positions available to them in their organization. This means openness of management to brainstorm and support ideas for new or modified roles, thinking outside of the standard hierarchical career paths, and finding opportunities that best match the individuals’ talents and interests.
4. A holistic approach, such as that used by IBM, which allows for consideration of both the business needs and the individual’s desires. [3] This process “helps employees determine what they want to do with their work—where their deeply embedded life interests are—as well as showing them how they can achieve such goals through career progression.”

The benefits to this type of individualized approach to career counselling are many, and include[4]:

1. Higher employee retention rates[5].  Although turnover may periodically result from career planning, in most cases employees tend to be more loyal if their career planning  is supported by their organization, and they see opportunities for their future career goals to be met.
2. More productive employees whose talents, interests, and goals are much better aligned with organizational strategy as they progress through their careers.
3. Employees who are happier and more satisfied, who view their company as growth-oriented and supportive!

We believe organizations have come a long way from the mindset that career development is solely the responsibility of employees.  However, there is still is a long way to go in supporting a broad range of employees with their ongoing career development needs. We believe providing innovative, individualized career support to all employees can greatly increase employee retention, productivity and satifisfaction.

This article was written by Dr. Laura Hambley, Ph.D., R. Psych, Founder of Calgary Career Counselling (CCC) & Emma Geoghegan, M.Ed., R. Psych, an associate of CCC. For further information regarding this article or the services available through Calgary Career Counselling please contact one of the authors at (403)261-5085  or see their website www.calgarycareercounselling.com