Career Development: An Organizational Tool for the Manager’s Tool Box

By Rob Shea

Career development is not just for high school students anymore.

For many years most organizations operated without due regard for their employees career development. Any career development activity financed or administered by the organization was relegated to a reactive response to layoffs and or a few workshops here and there.

With the downsizing of the 90’s and the current challenges posed by Canadian workforce demographics including globalization, credentialing, technology and education many large organizations are beginning to take a new look at the importance of assisting their employees plan and prepare for careers within the organization. This move signals a very proactive opportunity for organizations who wish to retain qualified talent and provide challenging opportunities for employees who wish to enhance their skills.

The 4 views of organizational career development

In my work with organizations, and individual employees who have participated in my career development seminars I have noticed that there are four commonly held views of career development programming in organizations. They include the senior executive view, the Human Resources view; the front line manager view; and finally the view from the employee.

The first is the senior executive view. This level usually at the chief executive or vice presidential level views career development as a means to retain talent and develop succession planning. Visioning for the future is the predominant reason for support from the senior executive level for career development initiatives.

The Human Resources view of career development is primarily ensuring a fit between existing programming such as mentoring, programs, job shadowing programs and selection procedures. A new challenge for this group is understanding how learning plans intersect with career development programs.

The individual for the most part views career development programs as an opportunity to gain insight into themselves and an opportunity to enhance their chances for upward mobility.

Front line managers often see this type of programming as another opportunity to gain a skill to assist employees to maintain their motivation and ensure productivity.

The views noted are not necessarily the only views within an organization. More enlightened managers may have other views of career development and there is some research currently ongoing which purports to show a return on investment for those organizations who offer career development workshops to their employees. Never the less there are a number of central tenets to any comprehensive career development program.

The 5 components of a successful corporate career program

The 5 components include 1) career planning, 2) an understanding of self, 3) personal learning plans, 4) intersection of work and career, and 5) career portfolios.

The Career planning component allows the employee an opportunity to plan their career. Rarely do employees plan their career within the organization. An employee with a 5 year career plan is more of a rarity that the norm. Yet we spend most of our waking lives at work. Our career impacts our work life balance, our family income, and for many it defines who they are. Yet we tend to stagger down the career road without a map to help guide us. The career planning component allows the employee time to reflect on where they are going, and what it will take to get there. Through career planning, one also gains a greater appreciation of their individual strengths and developmental needs. It also provides an opportunity to plan ones learning needs.

The understanding of self component is critical to any career development program. Without an individual employees understanding of themselves career planning and career development work in general is very hard to-do. There are a number of instruments used to assist employees in gaining a greater appreciation of themselves. They include but are not limited to Myers Briggs Type Indicator, Career Occupational Preference System, Career Orientation Placement and Evaluation Survey, Emotional Quotient Inventory, Career Exploration Inventory and True Colors. It is critical that each of these assessments be administered by a qualified practitioner. Some career development programs select one or two of the instruments to use while others employ all of the instruments over a period of days or weeks. Whatever instrument is used, it is important that participants understand the limitations and how to interpret the findings.

Personal Learning Plans add an interesting element which allows an individual the opportunity to use their career plan and intersect the educational learning requirements the plan requires, into a formalized learning plan. This plan will allow individual learners an opportunity to pick courses and decide what workshops to participate in. This is a more focused approach to education and learning than most individuals currently use. Many individuals will choose whatever program or course is offered hoping that the skills and/or competencies that they develop will allow them an opportunity to develop a learning goal, identify learning needs that are supportive of career plans, and linking learning goals with those of the organization.

The Intersection of work and career component allows the employee to gain a greater appreciation of how their individual work values and attitude impacts their career mobility and career satisfaction. In this component of a corporate career program, special attention must be paid to the realities of what career development programs offer and what they do not and, to challenge participants to look inward at their own strengths and areas for improvements as they relate to career development.

Finally the career portfolio component allows employees to draw all the proceeding components together in a formal fashion. It also provides an opportunity to reflect on the previous components and how they are important for the development of future goal setting and career satisfaction.

The above information is not intended to be all inclusive and each organizational career development program will be individualized to the culture and organizational realities of the organization. As a word to organizations contemplating the establishment of career development programs. Start with an internal committee to assess the need, conduct a number of focus groups with employees from all levels to ensure an accurate assessment of the need for the programming and develop a rollout plan for the career development program. It has been my experience that the most successful programs for organizations are those that are rolled out with a) organizational support from the top down, and b) support which is provided by a dedicated internal individual who believes in the program and is allowed the time to develop the program and finally d) develop the program in consultation with individuals who have had prior experience developing organizational career development programs.

In short career development is not only for high school students anymore but rather for individuals at all levels of the organization and throughout an individual’s lifespan.

Rob Shea is Director, Career Development and Experiential Learning, and a instructor at the Centre for Management Development, Faculty of Business, Memorial University of Newfoundland.