To Keep Employees - Focus on Career Advancement
Why Does It Matter?
Employees want jobs with the opportunity for advancement. Companies can start by helping employees find and prepare for new internal opportunities and offering feedback and coaching.
In a Pew Research survey, 63% of respondents who left jobs in 2021 cited a lack of advancement opportunities. Further, a 2022 McKinsey study noted that a lack of career development and advancement was the most common reason given for quitting a job. (source: MIT Management Sloan School, 6.13.23)
At a recent Leadership Roundtable I co-facilitated, one breakout group said they needed to develop career roadmaps. And get better with lower-level positions, not just salaried positions. The group's approach is supported by new research by MIT Sloan. A survey of over 1,000 employees and interviews with talent and learning leaders at 25+ organizations found similar findings. In another study, sixty-seven percent of the individual contributors surveyed said they want to advance their career, but 49% said a lack of good career advice has hurt their job trajectory. Too often, executives ask employees to chart their own paths under the guise of empowerment, leaving them aimless. (source: MIT Management Sloan School, 6.13.23)
Other times, ill-prepared or poorly motivated managers are responsible for mentorship and their employees' career development. As an internal HR Director, I supported a manager I'll call Janet. She had a high-potential employee, Tim, who wanted to move up. Unfortunately, Janet selfishly held Tim back because his great work made her job easier. Fortunately, I intervened with the support of the center's Vice President. We found a promotional opportunity for Tim with another Manager. Further, Janet's career floundered because it became known throughout the organization that she didn't want to lead her staff appropriately. She resigned shortly after.
Following are two ways companies can help employees with career development.
1. Make opportunities and pathways visible for internal employees.
Create career roadmaps and share them with current and prospective employees. Companies should also help employees develop broader networks so they can explore job options, meet managers, and form relationships throughout the organization. These networks can help a manager become comfortable with hiring an internal transfer seeking a growth opportunity instead of always defaulting to hiring an external candidate.
2. Provide opportunities to learn and practice.
Employees need occasions to learn different skills that new roles might require before they get to their new jobs. It's interesting how often organizations promote a good widget builder into management to lead the other widget builders. However, the organization only provides management training after the new manager gets into the role and makes classic management and leadership mistakes.
A better approach is Identifying paths, courses, and learning opportunities that teach vital skills, whether management or advanced widget-building skills. Then, support learning with a culture of celebrating mistakes as learning opportunities. Give employees the chance to practice new skills, learn from mistakes, and reflect on the experience. I've seen and helped implement many ways for employees to learn new skills formally and informally. Some options include:
Mentor / Mentee programs
Self-initiated self-directed learning programs using cost-effective video and technology learning tools.
Emerging Leaders Programs.
Design specific career roadmaps for all levels in the organization. This also provides an excellent recruiting tool.
Formal rotation programs are also valuable for organizations that are large enough to support them.
Train managers on how to have effective career conversations with their employees to learn what people want to do in the organization.
Allow for career pauses for men and women as their personal lives change and impact their work lives.
How do you get started?
Don't try everything at once. Start small with one approach, pilot it, and improve it. Then, add to your programs. Get periodic employee feedback through surveys, manager meetings, or culture surveys. Discontinue programs that no longer fit your culture or employee's needs.