Career Path Development

It’s no secret that employees feel more engaged when they believe their employer is concerned about their personal and career development.

Career paths provide employees with an ongoing mechanism to enhance their knowledge and skills, often leading to a mastery of their current job, promotions, and new or different positions.

Implementing career paths within your organization can improve morale, career satisfaction, employee retention, productivity, and responsiveness in meeting company objectives. In this post, LC Staffing outlines the types of career paths and ways to develop plans within your organization.

Types of Career Paths:

1. Traditional Career Ladder
Traditional Career Ladders are based on the assumption that the individual wishes to continue to climb the ladder as long as he or she is able to and that the employer continues to provide opportunities.

Career ladders still exist, but changes in organizations over the last several decades have led to the need for more non-traditional career progression.

2. Dual Career Ladder
A dual career ladder is a career development plan that allows upward mobility for employees without requiring that they be placed into supervisory or managerial positions.

This type of program has typically served as a way to advance employees who may have particular technical skills or education but who are not interested, or suited, to management.

3. Job Redesign
Job redesign can provide increased challenges and opportunities for employees to get more out of their jobs while staying on the same rung of their ladders.

4. Job Rotation
Job rotation is an effective method to provide job enrichment from an employee’s perspective. It involves the systematic movement of employees from job to job within an organization.

Typically, formal job rotation programs offer customized assignments to promising employees in an effort to give them a view of the entire business.

5. Horizontal Ladder
In organizations with limited number of management and leadership positions, employees are encouraged to think of career paths both horizontally and vertically.

Career Path Creation

1. Job Description
Start with clear job descriptions that include performance standards as well as viable career path options.

2. Outline Career Paths
Include action items, milestones, or K.P.I.s (key performance indicators), that need to be met in order to progress to next career steps.

3. Budget
Determine a budget for employee development and training, know how much you’re willing to invest in your workforce.

4. Communication
Make sure supervisors and managers are talking to their employees about available career paths. Communicate them at their interview, upon hire, at goal setting check ins and during performance reviews.

5. Align Career Paths with Organizational Goals
Your organization’s career paths should align with strategic goals of your business. Create career paths that support promoting within and growing employees to fulfill future management and leadership roles.