With 13% of Britons switching jobs every 18 months—or less—due to a lack of career progression, the need for managers to have a strong career development plan for employees is critical.
Career development is one of the top priorities for employees and employers alike. With 70% of employees wanting to upskill, it’s no surprise that many consider it a key differentiator when it comes to switching jobs or staying at their current place of employment.
This is when employers need to be able to match their employees’ interests in career progression. However, these plans often get overlooked as other corporate responsibilities take centre stage.
Too often, managers assume that because their employees are happy and don’t voice their dissatisfaction, they are content in their roles. Unfortunately, this isn’t how careers are built and managers need to take a more active role in the career progression plans of their employees.
Ask yourself: “Do I have a career progression plan for my employees?”
If the answer is “no”, you’re heading for some turbulence and your team’s going to take a massive blow when one of your key team members surprises you with an unexpected departure. Maybe you don’t particularly pay attention to all the resources that back the idea that employees leave organisations due to a lack of growth and career opportunities, but the truth is all the research and data find that employees want career progression.
Here are the biggest questions you need to be asking when creating a career development plan for employees.
There isn’t one way to get started, but there are tips that’ll help you get started. Talk about their career aspirations and what motivates them. You can even focus on their strengths to get their buy-in to the conversation and have a productive two-way discussion.
Certain managers would love to hand out promotions, but it doesn’t work that way. Just because employees aren’t ready for a promotion, doesn’t mean you can’t improve their skills. You can even explore their passions and help employees use them in their daily roles.
Managers often find these conversations uncomfortable because their employees may be indecisive, but don’t let that stop you. Ask them if they want to try a different role or give them smaller tasks and goals to achieve to see where they stand and what they prefer.
The hallmark of a great manager isn’t just the ability to improve teams. They also need to take a more active role in developing team members into future leaders. You’ll also be able to define your success as a manager by how many managers you develop.
Employees are taking their careers more seriously as the lack of career development programs can create a negative impact on them and their future. Our guide—The benefits of a career development program for employees—gives you a good understanding of why career development programs are important and how they can benefit your employees.
When you sign-up to Kinhub, you give your people free, unlimited access to a dedicated team of specialists.
On hand for your team 24/7, for whenever they need support and guidance
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
Reach out to our team and learn more about how we can help you support your workplace.