Career Development-Chapter-7

Career Development Programs

HR planning involves charting the moves of large number

of employees through various positions in an organization and identifying future staffing and development needs.
Career development program, with their greater

emphasis on the individual , introduce a personalised aspect to the process.

Career development program should be viewed as a

dynamic process that matches the needs of the organization with the needs of employees.

Elements of Career Development Program

HRs Role in Career Development

1.

The Goal: Matching -> Individual and Organizational needs

Create a supportive context Establish mutual goal setting Communicate direction of org.

2. Identify Career

Opportunities & Requirements

Identify future competency needs Establish job progression/ career

paths Establish dual career path

4.

Career Development Initiatives

Career planning work book Provide career counselling Provide career self-management training Provide mentoring

<- 3. Gauge Employee

Potential
Measure competencies (appraisal) Establish talent inventories Establish succession plan

Elements of Career Development Program

The Goal: Matching Individual and Organizational Needs

The Employees Role
in todays organizations, individuals are responsible for initiating and managing their own career planning. It is up to each individual to identify his or her knowledge skills and abilities, interests, values and seek out information about career options in order to set goals and set career plans.

The Organizations Role: Establishing Favourable Context

If career development is to succeed, it must receive complete support of top management. Senior line managers and HR department should work together to design and implement career development program.

Blending Individual and Organizational Goals

Employees should have an awareness of the organizations philosophy and understanding and future direction. Especially the more immediate goals.

Elements of Career Development Program

Identifying Career Opportunities and Requirements

Competency Analysis
Organizations needs to study its job carefully in order to identify and assign to the knowledge and skills that each one require. For example: Sears measures three basic competencies for each job: know-how, problem solving and accountability.

Job Progression
Hierarchy of jobs a new employee might experience, ranging from a starting job to jobs that successively require more knowledge and/or skill.

Career Paths
Lines of advancement for individual employees within in an occupational field within an organization.

Elements of Career Development Program

Gauging Employee Potential

Measuring Competencies using Performance Appraisal
Managers should identify and develop talents in individuals. As they conduct performance appraisal, they should be concerned with their subordinates potential for managerial or advanced technical jobs and encourage their growth in that direction.

Inventorying Management Talent

These inventories provide an indication of the skills employees have as well as their interests and experience. An important part of this process is to identify high-potential employees for succession planning.

Using Assessment Centres

Process by which individuals are evaluated as they participate in a series of situations that resemble what they might be called upon to handle on the job.

Elements of Career Development Program

Career Development Initiatives

Career Planning Workbooks
Several organizations have prepared workbooks to guide their employees individually through systematic self-assessment of values, interests, abilities, goals and personal development plans. Some organizations workbooks written for general public.

Career Planning Workshops

Workshops offer experiences similar to those provided by workbooks

Career Counselling
Process of discussing with employees their current job activities and performance, their personal and career interests and goals, their personal skills and suitable career development objectives. It is normally conducted during performance appraisal. Generally it is voluntary.

Elements of Career Development Program

Career Development Initiatives

Determining Individual Development Needs
Fast-track Program to retain young managers with high

potential Career-Self Management Training

Employees should assume greater responsibility for their own career management. This training focuses on two major objectives: 1) helping employees to learn to continuously gather feedback and information about their career and 2) encouraging them to prepare for mobility.

Mentoring
The process where executives coach, advise and encourage individuals of lesser rank.

Networking

Career Development for Women

Eliminating Barriers to Advancement
So called old boys network. Women now developing their network.

Glass Ceiling Audits

Glass Ceiling: those artificial barriers based on attitudinal or organizational biases that prevents qualified individuals from advancing upward in their organizations into management level positions

Preparing Women for Advancement

Special training for women on career path management.

Accommodating Families
Major problem of women to balance between managerial career and family. Many organizations are coming up with programs such as alternative career path, extended leave, flexitime, telecommuting to help female employees to balance career and family.

Personal Career Development

Stages of Career Development

Stage 1: Preparation for Work (ages 0-25) Stage 2: Organizational Entry (ages 18-25) Stage 3: Early Career (ages 25-40)
(learn job, fit into chosen organization and occupation, increase competencies, pursue goals)

Stage 4: Midcareer (ages 40-55) (reappraise early career goals, make choices appropriate to middle adult years,
remain productive)

Stage 5: Late Career (ages55-retirement)

(remain productive, maintain self-esteem, prepare for retirement)

Personal Career Development

The Plateauing Trap

Career Plateau
Situation in which for either organizational or personal reasons the probability of moving up the career ladder is low Structural Plateau: End of promotion. One will now have to leave the organization to find new opportunities and challenges. Content Plateau: When a person learns a job too well and is bored with day to day activities Life Plateau: People who experience life plateaus often have allowed work or some other major factor to become the most significant aspect of their lives, and they experience a loss of identity and self esteem when there is no longer success in that area.

Personal Career Development

Entrepreneur as a Career path

Over the past 20 years , a heightened interest entrepreneurial careers

has been observed. Pierre Omidyar, Oprah Winfrey , Michael Dell, Bill Gates
Entrepreneurship offers a personal challenge that many individuals

may prefer over being an employees.

3 out of 10 young (18 to 29) American want to run their own business.

Many universities, business schools started to offer program on how to

start new business and entrepreneurship.

Personal Career Development

Keeping Career in Perspective

Off-the- Job Interest
Most people find it necessary to turn to interests and activities outside their career. Off-the-Job activities not only provide a respite from daily work but also offer satisfaction in areas unrelated to work.

Marital and/Family Life

Spouses and children should be taken into account in career development plans.

Planning for Retirement

It is never too early to plan for retirement

Maintaining a Balance
Appropriate work-life balance has been found a top indicator of personal career success.