As a vital component of any company, recruitment is one of the critical aspects of ensuring long-term success in an ever-evolving marketplace.
HR professionals are always seeking out new talent for companies and they also are focused on the various ways in which they can source valuable employees. Outside of promoting employee wellbeing in the workplace and helping to forge a very strong culture for a company, it’s clear to see that HR plays a leading role in recruitment.
With this said, recruitment is important but what about career development for existing employees?
In this article, we take a look at what career development is and how companies can do more to offer great career development for their staff.
How is career development defined?
In layman terms, career development is defined as the process which involves encouragement of upskilling and progressing a career. Though employees are pretty much responsible for their own career development, companies still contribute to helping employees along their career pathways.
Through the offering of training and education in the workplace, there are many ways that employers can assist and ensure that their staff members have access to career progression. Highly valued by HR professionals, career development requires constant attention and is pretty much a philosophy for HR management.
Career development: why is it important?
Employees are constantly prioritising companies that offer them clear career progression. A recent poll carried out by JAM revealed that when applying for new roles, candidates wanted to know the following about a company’s career and development opportunities:
Specific courses - 14%
Budget - 16%
In depth career path - 68%
Other (comment below) - 2%
It is clear that candidates seek companies who value career development. In fact, 94% of employees admitted they would stay at a company for the long-term if a company invested in their development.
When a company offers its employees clear career development opportunities it also profoundly and positively impacts job engagement and overall satisfaction. This can result in a more motivated workforce overall.
When you invest in your employees’ career progression, you are proving to them that they are valued and helping them to achieve new skills. As a result of this, great things can be achieved.
Why personalised career development is needed
When an employee starts a new role, they understandably have unique expectations, priorities, and goals. Because of this, it is important for a company to acknowledge unique requirements and react to this accordingly, especially in relation to career progression.
Whilst some employees will be hoping to broaden their skills, some may be looking to build upon existing skills. By getting to know your employees and their personal career goals, you can offer a personalised career development plan along with opportunities for them.
There are several ways in which you can create appealing career pathways for your individual employees. We’ve put together some information below to help.
Career progression plans for staff: How to create them
1. Get clear on your employees’ career goals
As mentioned above, as a Manager, you can’t make a clear decision on what is best for an employee’s career progression without speaking to them. Instead of making assumptions, you should discuss openly and set aside some time to do so. This will greatly benefit your company and will ensure that their expectations are feasible.
2. Help your employee map out their career path
The next thing that you can do is to sit with your employee and map out their career progression plan. Collaborate and match their skills with ways in which they can develop. If they want to climb the career ladder, you’ll both have a clear idea of how to hold one another accountable.
3. Offer mentorship
By offering a mentor for your employee, you can help them to clarify which direction in which they’d like to move. Mentors could be internal staff members, professional coaches, or any other person you feel suitable.
4. Be considerate of time and space
If an employee decides that they want to progress their career, they will need the time and space to do so. Keep in mind that candidates engaged with training and development may need to take time out from their day-to-day duties. They also may be dedicating more hours to work and therefore you should check-in regularly to see how they are coping.
In a candidate-driven market, recruitment and retention are proving to be more difficult than ever. When you partner with JAM Recruitment you will gain a unique insight into what our candidates are seeking, and what it will take for them to accept your job offer. Make sure you bag the top candidates in 2023 and partner with JAM Recruitment.