Career Path by TalentGuard transforms how employee development is managed in the work environment. Employees are looking at careers in new ways. For them, it has become less about ascending methodically from job to job within a single company until the corner office is theirs. Instead of climbing the corporate career ladder — vertical and inflexible — employees are navigating career lattices. Career lattices provide strategic insight into lateral, upward and downward career paths.
Today, employees feel stumped, bored, and frustrated in their current positions, likely because they’re craving change, growth and development. It’s becoming easier and easier for people to change jobs, especially considering the growth of online job boards and company careers pages, which make it less cumbersome to both find opportunities and pursue them.
When this problem is left unresolved, companies will face major turnover and job satisfaction issues, forcing them to look externally for employees that fit their experience and competency requirements. For many companies, a constantly in-flux workforce has become a daily challenge of doing business. This trend is due in part to companies either placing an insufficient emphasis on supporting the professional development of their employees or simply lacking the skills and expertise to do so. Investing more time and energy into recruiting, holding onto, and developing their best employees can be unexpectedly complicated. Yet, it would be highly beneficial for companies to develop their existing employees in order to create a steady source of highly qualified talent from within.
Career pathing resolves these issues through a structured, communicated and holistic development plan to help employees visualize their career growth within the company. In companies that organize themselves this way, employees are better equipped to:
Enhance career progress
Identify and pursue employment opportunities within the company
Excel through aligned learning and development
Receive coaching and mentoring from managerial, HR and business leaders
Without active career planning, employees will be much more likely to see their best opportunities as lying elsewhere and leave for competitors in pursuit of their self-interest. Career planning assistance programs are not reserved for thriving, expanding companies with a wealth of resources to devote to human resource initiatives. Rather, career pathing is for every organization, whether it is flat, single-location or, multinational, whether in the high-tech, government, consumer packaged goods sectors, or any other industry. Keeping employees motivated, positive, and productive during stressful times is not easy, but actively providing career guidance can help maintain morale and reinforce a sense of loyalty when it’s needed most.