Preparing a Career Development Plan

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Chapter 5: Expanding the Talent Pool: Recruitment and Careers: 5.4c Career Development Initiatives Book Title: Managing Human Resources Printed By: Cedric Turner ([email protected]) © 2016 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning

5.4c Career Development Initiatives

In a study undertaken by the human resources consulting firm Drake Beam Morin, the six most successful career management practices used within organizations are as follows:

Making sure employees know what is expected of them throughout their careers with the organization.

Giving employees the opportunity to transfer to other office locations, both domestically and internationally.

Providing a clear and thorough succession plan to employees.

Encouraging employees to perform well by rewarding and recognizing them.

Giving employees the time and resources they need to consider short- and long-term career goals.

Encouraging employees to continually assess their skills and career direction.

Career Counseling

A key part of developing your talent pool is talking to your employees about their current job activities and performance, personal and career interests and goals, personal skills, and suitable career development objectives. This can be provided by HR staff members, managers and supervisors, or outside consultants. Often it is done as part of the performance appraisals. Once the conversation has begun, how those goals can be achieved and fit in with the organization’s goals can be discussed and a career “action” plan for the employees established. The telecommunications company Verizon has rolled out a program whereby career advisors counsel employees one on one and hold periodic webinars and workshops about the career and education opportunities the company offers. The firm also has an online career center with careers maps to help employees chart possible job progressions.

Some organizations have instituted “career self-management” programs to help employees learn to continuously gather feedback and information about themselves and their careers. Employees typically undertake self-assessments to increase their awareness of their own career attitudes and values and attend workshops. In addition, they are encouraged to widen their viewpoint beyond the next company promotion to broader opportunities in the marketplace, attend conferences, and develop good long-term relationships with their bosses and colleagues. (See the discussion on boundaryless careers in this chapter’s

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appendix.) General Electric has developed an extensive set of career development programs to help employees explore life issues that affect career decisions.

Mentoring Programs

It is common to hear people mention individuals at work who influenced them. They frequently refer to their immediate managers who were especially helpful as career developers. But they also mention others at higher levels in the organization who provided them with guidance and support in the development of their careers. Executives and managers who coach, advise, and encourage employees are called mentors (Individuals who coach, advise, and encourage individuals of lesser rank) . GE, for example, selects the top 20 percent of its performers and allows these people to choose their own mentors from a list of top executives.

Mentors need not be managers and executives, however. Reverse mentoring (A program whereby younger employees are called on to mentor older employees and executives about social media trends, new technology, and market place trends) is a program whereby younger employees are called on to mentor older employees and executives about social media trends, new technology, and marketplace trends. Hewlett-Packard, Cisco, and the advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather are among the companies that have implemented reverse mentoring.

Spencer Osborn, an executive with Ogilvy and Mather, said his younger mentors helped him jazz up his Twitter posts, which had a reputation for being boring. At Cisco, when the word got out that some executives had younger mentors, other executives wanted mentors too. Reverse mentoring programs help younger employees feel valued and “heard” and can increase their retention.

Mentoring relationships don’t have to be formal either. In reality, informal mentoring goes on daily within every type of organization. Generally, the mentor initiates the relationship, but sometimes an employee will approach a potential mentor for advice. Most mentoring relationships develop over time on an informal basis. They frequently end that way, too. A study of 15 high-ranking executive women found that although many of them lacked formal mentors, they had successfully engaged in a kind of “360-degree” networking: The women made it a point to form and maintain relationships with people above, below, and at the same level as themselves, which helped advance their careers. Highlights in HRM 7 shows some of the myths about mentoring relations. Highlights in HRM 8 shows how, as an employee, you can take the initiative to form a relationship with a mentor, even if your firm doesn’t have a formal mentoring program.

Highlights in HRM 7

Myths about Mentors

Mentors exist only for career development. Sometimes the mentor focuses on formal career development. Sometimes the mentor is teacher, counselor, and

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friend.

You need only one mentor. We can have multiple mentors in our lives. Different mentors provide different things.

Mentoring is a one-way process. Learning flows both ways. The mentor often learns from the protégé, so the growth is reciprocal.

A mentor has to be older than the protégé. Age does not matter. Experience and wisdom matter.

A mentor has to be the same gender and race as the protégé. Seek mentors who are different from you.

Mentor relationships just happen. Being in the right place at the right time can help, but don’t be afraid to actively seek a mentor.

High-profile people make the best mentors. Prestige and success can help, but good mentors are people who challenge you according to your needs, readiness, and aspirations.

Once a mentor, always a mentor. Over time, the mentor should let the protégé go his or her own way but maintain contact. The relationship changes over time.

Not surprisingly, mentoring and networking are being done electronically. “A lot of our people work virtually, and mentoring can erase geographic and business-unit borders,” explained one IBM manager. At Rockwell Collins, a communication and aviation electronics company, nearly 6,000 employees utilize an e-mentoring software solution. The software can connect to a firm’s existing talent management software, gauge competency gaps, and match mentors and mentees based upon their knowledge and learning needs.

Tuition Assistance Programs

Large corporations often offer their employees tuition assistance to help them further their careers if they take courses related to the firms’ businesses. For example, managers or would-be managers might be reimbursed for taking postgraduate classes such as MBA courses or other courses related to their professional development. The terms of the programs vary as do the amounts employees are reimbursed annually. Sometimes the amount of reimbursement depends on the grade an employee earns in class. Also, companies often require employees who are reimbursed for courses to remain with their firms for a certain amount of time after completing the courses.

Career Plateau Initiatives

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Career plateaus are common obstacles in the career development of employees. A career plateau (A situation in which for either organizational or personal reasons the probability of moving up the career ladder is low) is a situation in which, for either organizational or personal reasons, the probability of moving up the career ladder is low. There are three types of plateaus: structural, content, and life. A structural plateau marks the end of promotions. A content plateau occurs when a person has learned a job too well and is bored with day-to-day activities. A life plateau is more profound and may feel like a midlife crisis. 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 they are no longer advancing in their careers. Figure 5.11 lists some probing questions managers can ask themselves if they think their employees themselves are experiencing a career plateau.

Figure 5.11

Career Plateau Questions

“No” answers may indicate an employee is facing a career plateau

1. Does the employee accept high visibility assignments?

2. Has the employee continued to advance his or her education, both formal and vocational?

3. Is the employee recognized by leaders in the organization, routinely promoted, and rewarded

4. Does the employee get high performance ratings and larger-than-normal raises?

5. Does the employee have a career plan with measurable objectives that has been updated recently?

Source: John Rosche, “Who’s Managing Your Career?” Contract Management 44, no. 2 (February 2004):

20–22.

Highlights in HRM 8

Establishing a Relationship with a Mentor

1. Research the person’s background. The more you know about your potential mentor, the easier it will be to approach him or her and establish a relationship that will work for both of you.

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2. Make contact with the person. Introduce yourself or have a mutual friend or acquaintance do it. Alternately, get involved with your potential mentor in business settings. That will help the mentor see your skills in action.

3. Request help on a particular matter. Let the mentor know that you admire him or her, and ask for help in that arena. For example, you might say, “You’re good at dealing with customers. Would it be ok if I came to you for advice on my customers from time to time?”

4. Consider what you can offer in exchange. Mentoring is a two-way street. If you can do something for your potential mentor then, by all means, tell him or her.

5. Arrange a meeting. Prepare a list of questions for the meeting. Listen attentively.

6. Follow up. Try some of your potential mentor’s suggestions and share the results. Ask to meet on an ongoing basis. Express appreciation and suggest that you meet with your mentor regularly, or ask permission to get help on an ad hoc basis.

Sources: Jeff Barbian, “The Road Best Traveled,” Training 39, no. 5 (May 2002): 38–42; Kathleen

Barton, “Will You Mentor Me?” Training and Development 56, no. 5 (May 2002): 90–92.

Organizations can help individuals cope with plateaus by providing them with opportunities for lateral growth or allowing them to choose their own assignments when opportunities for advancement do not exist. Companies with international divisions can encourage employees to take assignments abroad to expand their horizons, lead philanthropic and volunteer activities for their firms, or take sabbaticals. A sabbatical (An extended period of time in which an employee leaves an organization to pursue other activities and later returns to his or her job; paid (or unpaid) time away from a job for four or more weeks employees take off to renew themselves before returning to work) is an extended period of time during which an employee leaves an organization to pursue other activities before returning to the firm. Career enrichment programs can help people learn more about what gives them satisfaction within a company, as well as what kinds of opportunities will make them happiest if they go elsewhere.

Chapter 5: Expanding the Talent Pool: Recruitment and Careers: 5.4c Career Development Initiatives Book Title: Managing Human Resources Printed By: Cedric Turner ([email protected]) © 2016 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning

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