Stalled career progression could prompt rise in employee turnover ⁰

A lack of career opportunities is resulting in more people leaving their job and this increase in employee turnover is costing organisations thousands in lost productivity, finds a CEB survey of more than 12,000 employees worldwide. Traditional, linear career paths where employees climb the corporate ladder one promotion at a time are a thing of the past, but the resulting flat organisational structures mean employees spend more time at each level – roughly three more years than in 2010. This stalled progression has caused 70 percent of employees to be dissatisfied with their opportunities, leading to greater turnover. Rather than encouraging an environment where promotions are the measure of career progression, companies should build growth-based cultures where moves across functions are not only planned but encouraged says CEB. Doing so not only improves engagement but also helps improve the bottom line.

By providing better career opportunities for employees, organizations can decrease turnover by 33 percent, saving an organization with 10,000 employees $7.5 million dollars per year.

“Employees don’t jump for joy at the idea of a lateral move because companies don’t promote such movements as being beneficial to career development,” said Brian Kropp, HR practice leader at CEB.

“To continuously improve skills and build job satisfaction, employers and employees need to start thinking about careers in terms of continuous growth rather than focusing on promotions. Increasing job satisfaction does more than keep employees happy – it can save significant money by reducing unwanted turnover.”

The key to building a growth-based career culture is to create reciprocal value between employee and organizational interests. Rather than encouraging staff to manage their own career paths, employers should build career partnerships, where employers and employees work together to ensure development opportunities encourage personal growth and fulfil organizational needs.

In successful career partnerships, employees receive the development they are seeking to grow their careers and organizations decrease the skills gap by helping build capabilities needed in the business. These partnerships are three times more effective at increasing employees’ satisfaction with their careers than when employees are encouraged to own their individual career path.

To build career partnerships and create growth-based cultures that provide competitive and satisfying careers for employees, companies should:

• Design careers around experiences that allow employees to grow with the organization;
• Motivate employees with employability – the capabilities, skills, knowledge, experiences, achievements and personal attributes that make him/her more valuable to an employer – rather than title progression;
• Deliver targeted internal job opportunities to employees before they actively look for a job; and
• Overcome talent hoarding by creating a talent brokerage that allows managers to both import and export talent.

“While employees should play an active role in their own development, they shouldn’t be encouraged to go at it alone,” Kropp added. “When organizations approach employee career paths as a partnership and make development a regular part of conversations, not only do they improve employee engagement but they also ensure development happens where the business needs it most.”