Career development for employees

With a career development plan, you can organize your career goals and identify your individual pathway toward success. Explore tips for creating your professional development plan and resources that can support you on your path.

What Is Career Development for Employees?

Organizations use the structured and strategic process of employee career development to help employees achieve their career goals by enhancing their skills, knowledge, and experiences. It is a comprehensive approach that includes coaching, training, mentoring, and opportunities for advancement within the company.

Employee career development begins with identifying an employee’s strengths, weaknesses, and aspirations, often through performance evaluations, assessments, and discussions. Once these factors are reviewed, a personalized development plan is created to guide the employee’s professional growth. This plan may involve training programs, workshops, job rotations, or higher-level responsibilities that align with the employee’s career objectives.

Career development is not limited to acquiring job-specific skills but also includes the development of soft skills, such as leadership, communication, and problem-solving abilities.

It is an ongoing commitment by both the employer and the employee to ensure that the individual’s career path aligns with their personal and professional aspirations while contributing to the organization’s success. Effective career development programs benefit both the employee and the business, creating a symbiotic relationship where personal growth and organizational success go hand-in-hand.

Why Is Employee Career Development Important?

Employee career development promotes individual well-being and professional growth while strengthening the organization’s performance, sustainability, and competitive edge.

For the employee, career development offers a sense of purpose, motivation, and personal growth. It allows the individual to acquire new skills, knowledge, and experiences, which can lead to higher job satisfaction and self-esteem. Setting and achieving career goals provides direction, helping employees stay engaged and committed to their work. Moreover, career development enhances job security and opportunities for advancement, reducing the fear of stagnation or job obsolescence.

For employers, investing in employee career development is equally beneficial. It fosters a more skilled and adaptable workforce, improving productivity, innovation, and competitiveness. When employees feel their growth is supported, they are more likely to stay with the company, reducing both turnover and the associated costs of recruitment and training. Moreover, a strong commitment to employee advancement can enhance the company’s reputation as an employer of choice, attracting top talent and boosting employee morale and loyalty.

10 Proven Ways to Support Employee Career Development

1. Encourage your team to evaluate their capabilities

Having a thorough understanding of the strengths an employee brings to a company will heavily influence their career path. Certain positions are better suited to workers with specific qualities, such as shift leaders and event coordinators who need strong multitasking skills to succeed in their roles. Employers who are familiar with their staff’s best traits can guide them to jobs requiring specific talents that overlap with their abilities.

Giving the employee the opportunity to assess their skills may even reveal strengths they were unaware they possessed and provide them with a better understanding of and confidence in the areas they excel in. Your team members will gain self-confidence and discover new career opportunities if you emphasize the qualities that make them an asset to your business. If the assessment brings attention to underdeveloped skills, then you can work with the employee to improve their weaker traits as needed for their current or future roles.

2. Promote training and development

A worker who is not given the opportunity to expand their abilities will never have the chance to professionally develop over time. Training programs provide staff members with the necessary education for becoming a valuable part of the workplace by teaching them specialized skills and familiarizing them with the duties of other positions in the company. Those who take and appreciate the program may become more loyal to your organization.

Offering training, including reskilling and upskilling courses and cross-training, to employees will lead to additional benefits for the company. Not only will employees gain additional skills that will boost their own career growth, but in the case of unforeseen events such as layoffs, you as an employer will more easily be able to redeploy remaining employees for business continuity. You can also use the programs to prepare high-potential employees for more senior positions rather than risk hiring an unknown applicant who is unfamiliar with the company’s culture and policies.

3. Mentoring services

Businesses may set up mentorship programs to help new employees become acquainted with their positions and the workplace by forming in-house connections with experienced employees. Those who have worked in the company will be familiar with the brand’s culture, values, and expectations for staff members, which makes the mentor a perfect fit for answering questions and giving vital advice to the trainee. Learning by example allows employees to better understand their obligations in the workplace.

Those who consider transferring into a different department of an organization can also benefit from participating in mentorship programs. Attending sessions with the mentor will give the mentee an accurate impression of their desired role while also providing them with first-hand experience. Businesses may ask their mentors to submit an evaluation of the trainee to determine if they will be a suitable fit for the position, and to gain insight into the worker’s skills.

4. Train managers

Managerial training programs can give talented entry-level workers an opportunity to grow from within the company, which can lead to an increased desire to maintain an excellent work ethic. Having the option to be trained for advanced positions in the same corporation may even reduce the likelihood of employees transitioning to a new career outside the brand. Those who are trained and promoted from within the organization will already be familiar with the company’s practices and culture, which helps the worker avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.

Employers can customize training programs to help aspiring managers develop crucial soft skills and talents that are specific to their brand, such as organizations with an emphasis on quality customer service incorporating extra hospitality courses into their programs. During the training sessions, the company’s history and mission may be reinforced to ensure that the company’s future leaders embody the brand’s core values.

5. Offer career coaching

Employees might be in a position where they are unsure of how to advance their careers, whether it is because they lack a sense of direction for the future or they want to try out a new functional area within your company. Offering career coaching can give your team members some needed professional guidance to help them feel more fulfilled, confident, and invested in their careers. They can do this by guiding the employee through self-discovery exercises and assessments and working with them to develop a strategy to meet their professional goals. Employees who create such job-related goals for themselves are also likely to stay productive and motivated while working.

Finding support for your career development plan

Your career goals may feel personal, but that doesn’t mean you have to pursue them on your own. In fact, your interest in career development planning is good for your employer—companies that partner with employees on career growth tend to improve employee retention and decrease turnover. So, if you’re comfortable letting them in on your plans, you can foster a mutually productive relationship by seeking support within your organization.

Some people within your company who may support your career development might be:

Your manager may be willing to assign you projects or offer opportunities that can directly support your goals.

Your HR or People Ops representative may have additional tools available to support your growth.

Cross-functional colleagues whose role or work style you admire may be willing to let you assist on upcoming projects if your goals relate to their line of work.

If you aren’t comfortable sharing your goals with anyone within your organization or if your goals don’t pertain to the work you’re currently doing, you can also seek support elsewhere. For example:

Mentors and people you admire from previous jobs or schools may be willing to share insights they’ve learned along the way to help guide you toward progress.

New connections you meet through networking events or informational interviews may be open to staying in touch as you make progress on your goals.

A career coach can help you assess your career path and come up with ways to move toward progress.