Streamline Training & Documentation: The Employee Role in Career Planning

Monday, October 09, 2006

The Employee Role in Career Planning

Yesterday, in the process of writing an abstract for a career planning case study, I pulled together a summary of the phases of exploration and decision-making an employee goes through in a thoughtful effort to decide on his or her next career move. The phases involve these steps:

Do a self-assessment of skills, interests, preferences, and dislikes. Understand what creates a personal sense of self-esteem and well-being.

Investigate the available possibilities, e.g., advancement in the current position by taking on expanded responsibilities, remaining an individual contributor but making a lateral move into a different department or function, or moving into a management or supervisory position. Jobs suitable for consideration will depend on both the individual’s preferences and the employer's needs.

Scoping out the possibilities includes getting ideas and advice from one’s manager and others familiar with the specifics of jobs under consideration — their respective roles and responsibilities, working environments, knowledge and skill requirements, etc.

Envision what the future would look like for each of the career moves under consideration. Decide which option best fits one’s aspirations and preferences.

Sketch out action steps that will help close any gaps between current competencies and those needed for the targeted next position. Continue networking.

An employer concerned about retaining valuable talent will ensure that both managers and those reporting to them understand their roles in defining next steps in an employee's career, and pinning down specifics of how to qualify for desired advancement.

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Labels: Competencies, Employee development, Employee performance management

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