How to Assist Employees with the Career Management Process

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Human resources departments are recognizing the importance of developing a talent management process and strategy. This emerging approach is concerned with the long-term professional development of employees within a company.

The Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior described talent management as a “recent, practitioner-generated term covering a range of long-standing practices that aim at getting the right person in the right job at the right time. These include workforce planning, succession planning, employee development and career management.”

The career management process is an important subset of talent management, but as an article from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) reported, these types of programs are falling short of their goals. Ideally, career management programs help employees understand advancement opportunities and chart career paths in their organizations; however, that’s not happening for many employees, according to a survey.

  • 49 percent of employers said the programs are effective at providing traditional career advancement opportunities
  • 38 percent said they are effective at providing nontraditional career development opportunities
  • 45 percent said they make effective use of technology, such as corporate intranet platforms, to deliver career advancement programs
  • 47 percent said they provide their managers with career management training and tools in the form of talking points or discussion guides (and 41 percent of employees rate their managers as effective in holding career development discussions)
  • 48 percent report that their organizations have career architectures (or formalized frameworks) and career paths in place
  • 27 percent of employees monitor the effectiveness of their career management programs

These figures represent opportunities for organizations to improve career management programs. The following section looks at the career management process from the perspective of employees.

The Career Management Process

There are six key steps of effective career management, according to author and consultant, Stuart McAdam.

  1. Mapping: Before rushing to action, employees need to understand their situations by reflecting on where they are and what their motives are. Mapping can also help people come to terms with their strengths, deficits and true potential.
  2. Planning: Planning allows employees to verify assumptions, receive feedback from others and examine next steps. It also helps determine where certain scenarios might lead, along with the knowledge, skills and behaviors the scenarios would require executing. Planning begins by defining specific objectives and benefits.
  3. Exploring: This is where ideas are tested. Employees share and test their ideas, drawing on previous plans. Seeking and reflecting on feedback will help with becoming successful.
  4. Demonstrating Competence: Employees should ensure that their CVs show their capability and capacity. They should also ensure “the ‘real’ you is present at the interview,” according to McAdam, and “establish goals and targets for job search/career shift, and regularly review progress, potential derailers, hindrances. Without this, nothing will happen!”
  5. Delivering When in the New Role: Cultural understanding and a focus on delivering what’s required is crucial during the first 100 days in a new role. For senior roles, it’s critical to hit the ground running and deliver results, even if it’s in a very different environment than anticipated.
  6. Consolidating and Reviewing: The career management process is not complete when a new position is found. Employees should continue focusing on delivery, maintaining their channels of communication, networking and remembering to scan the horizon within the organization and the market.

Pursuing a Career in Human Resource Management

Paying attention to the career management process can help organizations attract, develop and retain the right talent. An online bachelor’s in business administration (available with a concentration in human resource management), online applied business degree and online MBA from Concordia University Texas can equip you with the skills needed to succeed in helping organizations thrive. Learn in a flexible, convenient online environment with a schedule that fits your life.