CAREER ADVANCEMENT

CAREER RELATED TERMS:

• Career goals:– The future position one strives to reach as a part of career

• Career path:– The sequential pattern of jobs that form a career

• Career progression:– Making progress in one’s career through promotions

• Career counseling:– Guiding and advising the people on their possible career paths

and what they must do to achieve promotions• Mentoring:

– The process wherein an executive or senior employee serves as guide, friend, philosopher and confidant to the new entrant

CAREER RELATED TERMS(CONTD…)

• Career development:– It involves those personal improvements that a person strives to

reach as a part of a career• Career management:

– It is the process of designing and implementing goals, plans and strategies to enable the organization, to satisfy employee needs while allowing individuals to achieve their career goals

• Career anchor:– The basic drive that gives the urge to take a certain type of

career• Career planning:

– The process by which one selects the career goals and path to these goals

CAREER PLANNING

• It is the systematic process by which one selects career goals and the path to these goals

• It is a managerial technique for mapping the entire career of young employees

• For example:– DESIGNATION AGE– Management trainee 22 years– Assistant manager 25years– Deputy manager 30years– Manager 35years– Deputy general manager 40 years– General manager 45years

Features of career planning

• It is a process rather than an event• It is a continuous process due to ever changing

environment• It is not an end but means of managing people to

obtain optimum results• It is the responsibility of organization to provide

guidance and counseling to its employees in planning their career

• The basic aim of career planning is integration of individual needs and organizational needs

Objectives of career planning

• Right person at right job at right time• Attract and retain employees by developing their

career• Increase motivation and morale of the employees• Reduce labor turnover and absenteeism• Develop employees for taking up higher

responsibilities by mapping their careers• Increase productivity and organizational

development

Process of career planning

• Preparing a manpower inventory• Identifying employees career needs• Identifying career opportunities• Matching of employees’ career needs with

career opportunities• Formulation and implementation of the

training and development programme• Periodic review of the career plans

Preparing a manpower inventory

• This steps help the organization to know whether there is surplus and shortage of manpower

• Manpower inventory also identifies age, qualification , and aptitude of the existing employees and their ability to take up higher responsibilities

Identifying employees career needs

• The HR manager can help the employee in identifying his/her career needs by analyzing with him/her information regarding his/her strengths and weaknesses, aptitude, type of work for which he/she is more suitable, and the way he/she is performing his/her work

• In large organizations, employees find assessment centers where they can undergo psychological tests and depth interviews to analyze their career needs

• The purpose of such analysis is to help employees to plan their career

Identifying employees career opportunities

• Career opportunities or career paths should be designed keeping in consideration the skill, knowledge, aptitude and experience of the employees

• Career path thus indicate the progress of an employee during his/her career

Matching career needs and opportunities

• There should be sufficient opportunities to meet the needs of the employees

• Therefore, the career should be in congruence with the career opportunities offered by the organization

Formulation and implementation of training and development programme

• The method by which training has to be imparted is different for different categories of employees, e.g., the emphasis is on improving skills in the case of skilled workers, and on improving leadership qualities and human relations skills in case of executive and managers

Review of career plans

• Periodic review helps the employee to know the direction in which the organization is moving and the type of skills that shall be required to adapt to the changing needs of the organization. Answers to the following questions are found through such periodic reviews:– Is there a mismatch of a job for any employee?– Is there a need for redesigning jobs?– Is there a change in the needs and aspirations of the employee?– Is the training and development programme designed such that

both individual as well as organizational needs are met?

Benefits of career planning• Helps employees to select his/her career• Attracting and retaining competent persons in the

organization• Identifying who can take up higher responsibilities• Two way communication between employees and superiors• Reduces labor turnover and absenteeism• Improves performance of the employee by identifying

his/her potential• Increases job satisfaction• Career planning plays an important role in individual

development and organizational development which leads to attainment of organizational goals

• Increases the reputation of the organization

Limitations of career planning

• Career planning in most of the organization is effective in short run

• Systematic career planning is not possible due to factors such as favoritism and nepotism politics etc

• Difficult to design career path for all employees

CAREER DEVELOPMENT

• Career development includes activities and programmes undertaken by the employee and the organization to acquire information regarding the attitudes and skills of the employee in order to meet the aspirations and requirements of the job

Stages in career development

• Identifying career needs:– Assessment centers or workshops on careers where

employees undergo psychological testing, simulation exercises and depth interviews

• Developing career opportunities:– These are identified through job analysis. The

employee should be provided information regarding the job postings that are available in the organization and for future reference, what requirements they will have to fulfill to achieve promotion which they aspire

Contd….

• Integration of employee needs with career opportunities:– It is necessary to align the needs and aspirations of the

employees with career opportunities in order to ensure right people will be available to meet the organizational manpower requirements. Therefore, emphasis is placed on the training on- and off-the-job, counseling, and coaching by supervisor, and planned rotation in positions of varying functions and in different locations. The process is pursued further with the help of periodic performance appraisals.

– Training and counseling will be wasteful exercise if employee does not make progress along his/her career path

– The two important techniques in this stage of career development are:• Management by objectives• Career counseling

Contd….

• Regular monitoring– It is necessary to regularly monitor the progress of the

employee towards his/her career development plans and see that the support is being provided to develop these career plans

– If there is discrepancy, steps should be taken to reassign work as necessary to ensure that career development plans are met.

– In situations where career opportunities are not available due to influence of technology and economic factors, the organization should redesign jobs or make career shifts

Problems in career development

• Mobility• Dual career families• Decline in career opportunities