Paul Dumas

Delving a little deeper from an Employer perspective. Employees appreciate when their organization invests in their growth and development. High turnover can be costly for employers in terms of recruitment, training, and lost productivity. Career planning helps retain valuable talent, reducing the need for frequent hiring and onboarding. Employees are encouraged to acquire new skills and share knowledge, contributing to a more innovative and agile workforce. Career path planning is an essential tool for personal and professional growth. It empowers employees to achieve their career goals while benefiting employers through an enhanced employer brand-reputation.

Examples would include; leadership development training, project management workshops or technical skill enhancement programs. Sponsor employees to attend external courses or certifications. Offer tuition reimbursement or support employees in pursuing advanced degrees. Establish mentoring programs where experienced employees can guide and support junior colleagues. Arrange opportunities for employees to shadow professionals in different roles or departments. Encourage employees to participate in projects that involve collaboration with colleagues from other functions. Offer stretch assignments that go beyond employees' current job responsibilities. Foster a culture of continuous learning to create opportunities for peer-to-peer development.

Based on your organizational structure, identify the possible career paths within your company. This can include vertical advancement within a specific role or function or lateral moves to gain cross-functional experience. Define the skills, competencies, and experiences needed to progress through each level. This provides clarity and structure for employees to understand the steps involved in their career progression. Clearly communicate the available career paths and the associated expectations and requirements to your employees. Provide them with information on the skills and experiences needed to progress in their chosen career path. This helps employees understand the opportunities available and sets their expectations for advancement.

By understanding the current and future capabilities of your employees, you can make informed decisions about career paths, training and development initiatives, succession planning, and overall talent management strategies. Utilizing these assessment tools and methods, you can gain a holistic understanding of your talent pool. It also enables you to align individual aspirations with organizational goals, create personalized individual development plans, and make informed decisions regarding promotions, lateral moves, or succession planning.