Career Ladder or Lattice? Which Development Strategy is Best for Your Employees
Employees today are eager to grow in their careers and make meaningful progress within their organizations. But companies that don’t support career growth will face challenges with engagement and retention. So, how can organizations help employees move forward in their careers? Two main strategies offer different paths for career growth: the career ladder or lattice. Let’s explore what each approach involves and how it impacts career development.
What is a Career Ladder?
The career ladder is a traditional model for career advancement. Imagine a ladder with steps going straight up—that’s how this path works. It’s a vertical approach best suited for careers that are highly specialized, where employees want to progress upward in a specific field. With the ladder model, employees move from one role to a higher-level role in a straight line, becoming experts in their chosen field.
While the career ladder offers a logical and predictable path, it has limitations. Employees only focus on their own field, which can restrict their perspective on the company as a whole. Moving up the ladder might also depend on tenure (how long they’ve been with the company) or the size of the organization—if there aren’t many higher roles, progression can be slow. Additionally, ladder roles are often rigidly defined, which may make it challenging for employees to achieve a work-life balance or feel personally fulfilled.
Because of these limitations, more employees are now looking for alternatives to the traditional career ladder.
What is a Career Lattice?
A career lattice is a newer model for career growth that offers variety and flexibility. Unlike the career ladder, the lattice allows employees to make vertical, lateral (sideways), or even diagonal moves within the company. This model is especially appealing to those who want new challenges, skill-building opportunities, and more control over their careers.
With the lattice approach, employees can explore roles across different departments or functional areas, helping them gain cross-functional skills and a broader understanding of the company. This is especially valuable for younger employees and Millennial workers who value variety and active engagement in their roles. The lattice model also supports employees in finding roles that better match their desired work-life balance—something particularly important to women, with 60% saying work-life balance is “very important” to them.
However, the lattice model comes with its own challenges. Employees often don’t know how to navigate this flexible career path or lack visibility into the roles they can pursue. They may be unsure of which skills they need to develop to move into new roles or how to create a sequence of moves that supports their long-term goals.
How Career Pathing Software Can Help
This is where career pathing software can be a game-changer. Career pathing software helps employees understand and plan their career paths within the organization. With this software, employees can:
– Map out multiple career paths and see different progression scenarios
– Identify job competencies and evaluate skill gaps
– Receive dynamic role recommendations based on their current skills and experience
By giving employees tools to map their career journeys, companies can boost engagement and empower employees to take charge of their development.
Which is Right for Your Organization?
Whether you choose a career ladder or lattice, one thing is clear: employees want a clear path forward. They want opportunities to learn, grow, and take on new challenges. Companies that support employees in navigating their careers are rewarded with higher retention and increased engagement.
To learn more about career development strategies and tools, visit our Learning Center for insights and best practices.
Employees Develop Career Paths and Stay Longer
Employees want to understand what is required of them to change roles or advance in their careers but the necessary processes may not be in place. By understanding how to help employees develop career paths, you will soon be able to provide employees with a clear road map to career development and growth. If employees are left to guess and wonder what steps they need to take, you will likely find them moving to another company that can meet their needs.
Are You Ready to Start a Career Pathing Program?
You know the basics: Career pathing boosts employee engagement, improves retention, and significantly increases customer satisfaction and overall profitability. You’re sold. You want to start implementing a career pathing program at your company today. The only problem is you’re not sure where to start.
What is Career Pathing? Understanding The Answer To Today’s Biggest Workplace Problem
Employee engagement is the holy grail of the modern workplace. Despite insights into the problem of a disengaged workforce, however, statistics on engagement have hardly changed in more than a decade. (On average, two out of three employees remain disengaged.) New evidence, however, supports the growing conclusion that career pathing may be the answer to improving […]