Paint Your Employees The Picture They Crave With A Defined Career Path

Big workplace problem alert: 44% of employees don’t feel like they have enough growth opportunities in their current career path. And, 54% aren’t sure what their promotion and career path is. Yikes and yikes.

Want to solve both issues in one fell swoop? Create a career development plan for your staff members. 

Does It Matter? (Spoiler: It Does)

Career growth is oh-so important to the majority of employees. Eighty-seven percent of millennials and 69% of non-millennials want professional or career growth and development opportunities. 

And if you ask your fellow employers, 73% would say that fostering employee development is important. So, employers know what they need to be doing. But, only 49% are actively pursuing this. 

Employers, this is your chance to stand out and give your employer brand a boost. Clearly, employees want to work somewhere where they can grow their career. Your small business will have an upper hand against the big guys and gals if you can offer employees the career growth they crave.

Here’s a snapshot of what creating a career plan for your team can help you accomplish:

• Attract and retain employees
• Keep employees engaged
• Boost employee morale 

Sound good? Read on. On the fence? Read on (it never hurts to stay in the know)!

Creating A Career Path For Employees 

If you want to drive employee career development, you have to start with a plan. Use the following steps to create a unique career development plan for your valued employees. 

1. Do Some Research

You may not know what sorts of positions need what type of degree or training. And that’s OK. Nobody expects you to know every single possible career path one position can have. 

But, you should do a little research when you start mapping out your career development plan. Each position will likely have a different “standard” path, and it’s your job to learn what they are. 

Let’s say you have someone in sales. They might start as a sales development representative and work their way to an account executive, then sales manager or director. 

Of course, you may have some employees who want to veer off the typical path and hop on a different ladder (e.g., cross-departmental jumps). Your research may not account for this. That’s why you must…

2. Meet With Employees

Chances are, your employees know what they want. Not all, but most employees know what they want out of a job and their overall professional growth. After all, they’ve likely had more education and experience in their specific field. 

That’s why it’s important to get their input. Set up a time to meet with employees and talk to them about what they want out of their job. You can even do this during your performance review. 

Ask your employee some prodding questions, such as:

• What are your career goals?
• What projects are you most passionate about?
• Are you interested in taking on new responsibilities? Which ones?
• Do you need training to help you reach your career goals?
• What can I do to help you achieve those goals? 

Consider your employees’ strengths to determine how their career goals could contribute to your company growth strategy. And, take notes throughout your conversation so you don’t forget about what your employee shared with you. Forgetting your employee’s goals could be a major morale buzzkill.  

3. Create Individual Career Paths

After doing your research and talking with each employee, create individual career paths for the positions and—if applicable—your team members. 

You absolutely must document everything. Not only will this be helpful in keeping track of things for your current staff, but it could also save you some time for future hires. 

Once you create individual career paths for your employees, meet with them again to discuss how they can get there. Do they need to take on additional training to hold their end-goal position? Is there a certain amount of time they need to spend in their current position before advancing? Clearly explain what the employee needs to do to progress up the career ladder. 

Something you need to keep in mind is that you should never guarantee a future position to an employee. There are so many unknowns (e.g., shifts in company operations, the economy, etc.) that could take place before that happens. 

4. Conduct Semiannual Performance Reviews

After you’ve created the career paths, you have to manage them. How are employees doing in their journey up the ladder? You can find out by conducting semiannual performance reviews. 

Before the review, ask employees to document things they’ve learned and things they want to learn. Ask them about any additional training they need to accomplish their goals. And, give them feedback on how you think they’re doing in accomplishing their career goals. What else do you need to see from them before they can advance? 

You can also use performance reviews as a time to assess the employee’s performance and let them know they’re ready to move on to their next position (can anyone say, promotion time?). 

5. Use Performance Management Software

To keep you and your employees on the same page, consider using a performance management software (e.g., 15Five) to document performance reviews, career paths, and employee progress. 

Employees can fill out a weekly report letting you know what they did and what they plan on doing in the coming weeks. And, they can give you insight into what they’re learning, any challenges they’re facing, and how engaged they are. 

It’ll make it a heck of a lot easier to manage different career paths.