Why Career Pathing Is Vital To Your Talent Management Strategy In 2019

Every January sees a rise in the number of people looking for a new job and this year is expected to continue that trend. 2018 saw American employees leaving their jobs in record numbers and employers struggling to attract and retain talent. Is 2019 the year to introduce career pathing to your business to prevent a talent exodus?

What is career pathing? 

Career pathing empowers your employees to create their own path for career development, focusing on both vertical and lateral opportunities. It takes them through an easy to follow process encompassing an in-depth evaluation of their career goals, current experience, personal characteristics and the skills they need to attain to meet those aspirations.

Why is it important?

Building the 21st century career emerged as the third most important trend in Deloitte’s Human Capital Survey in 2018 but the report notes a marked disconnect between company development programs and today’s career paths. Nearly 75% of employers suggest that their career paths are no longer based on a traditional hierarchy – but nearly half base their programs on the skills needed to follow a traditional career path.

Bridging that disconnect and engaging your employees with a personalized HR experience is also predicted to be a key trend in 2019 – and a central component of this strategy is the customization of where each of your employees are in their career cycle, ie, career pathing. As each employee is unique, each career path is also unique.

Career pathing enables HR to understand and analyze employee aspirations through internal mobility programs aligned with your culture and goals. It enhances employee development and engagement as well as supporting your succession planning program.

Best practices for getting started with career pathing

Implement a visible career development strategy: Internal mobility encourages your staff to create a career path that meets their aspirations. Empowering people to develop their own careers enhances engagement and retention and fosters a culture which attracts external talent looking for an employer to support their professional growth. Research from the Conference Board suggests that only 37.5% of people are happy with the potential for growth in their current job, while 57% believe that the only way to achieve their next career move is to leave their employer.

Focus on all employees, not just the C suite: Not all employees have aspirations to become managers but a successful internal mobility program will enable a variety of career moves, including lateral roles and even a step back if needed. Employees who aren’t seeking promotion will also welcome the opportunity to grow and learn new skills within their role.  Alternatively, implementing a lattice, rather than a ‘ladder’ framework enables individuals to move into a new role where they can learn new skills, with the prospect of a promotion in the future.

Support continuous performance management: Career pathing can support a program of continuous performance management. Include career development and career aspirations as part of your regular check-ins with your employees. What skills do they need to develop to achieve their career goals? Where do they see themselves in the next 12 months and beyond? Their responses will enable HR to provide appropriate training and development.

Align internal mobility with business goals: Implementing a career pathing program for all of your employees is straightforward but decisions around promotions or lateral moves must be aligned with your organizational aims. That is achieved with accurate data on individual job competencies and a framework which includes career roadmaps and career pathing tools for your employees.

Support your talent management strategy now with award winning software from TalentGuard. Our dedicated career pathing software supports your employees to map multiple career path scenarios, review job competencies and evaluate skills gaps in order to achieve their career goals.

To learn more about career pathing, visit our Learning Center to view webinars and other content or visit our career pathing page.

Download the white paper: Career Pathing as a Talent Imperative

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