Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Providing Career Opportunity

This article relates to the Career Opportunity competency, commonly evaluated in employee satisfaction surveys. It explores issues such as internal growth opportunities, potential for advancement, career development importance, and the relationship between job performance and career advancement. It examines whether your employees believe they have a chance to grow within the organization. Studies show that lack of career opportunity is one of the top reasons why employees leave an organization.

Also, continually hiring open positions from outside the organization can be detrimental to morale when a qualified candidate is available internally. Topics covered in this competency are: perceived opportunity for advancement, existence of a career development plan, and organizational commitment to staff development.

This short story, Providing Career Opportunity, is part of AlphaMeasure's compilation, Tales From the Corporate Frontlines. It illustrates how employers can offer career opportunity to their employees using a well-planned career development strategy, and reap the benefits of a knowledgeable and dedicated workforce.

Anonymous Submission

While searching through the employment ads in my local newspaper, I noticed that several companies made a point of adding the line----"we promote from within". Those are definitely the companies I would apply to - if I were on a job hunt.

But, the fact is, I am currently working for one of those companies. That's not to say that we never hire from the outside; sometimes it's unavoidable. If an employee leaves the company with a unique level of skill or training, it may have to look outside for a replacement. The point is that whenever possible, our company offers a career opportunity to a current employee.

This advancement doesn't happen magically. Employees have to be on the lookout for career opportunity within the company, and prepare for it. Our company helps them by operating a structured career development program. Managers are entrusted with the duty to help employees evaluate their skills and performance on a regular basis and create a plan for the future based career goals.

Departments also form career development teams. They meet regularly and help employees to define their goals, provide feedback about applicable training programs, assign duties to employees to help them gain new skills, formulate job descriptions and generally make sure that employee career development programs are on the right track.

As for my own career development, I've been promoted three times over the past five years. Once because of an opening left by a retiring coworker, and twice into new positions created due to expansion. A few months after I was hired, my manager sat down with me and began to work up a career development program. He was very helpful in evaluating my current skills and finding ways to learn new ones that would help me to advance. He evaluated me honestly and encouraged me to alleviate any shortcomings and examine problems before they grew into major issues.

I can't imagine working for a company that doesn't offer its employees substantial career opportunity. It takes more than just posting job openings, it's a lengthy process that takes time, effort, organization and planning. Companies must be willing to invest the effort and money to cultivate their workforce. It's a worthy effort, in my opinion. I'll stay where I am - and those classified ads that I mentioned earlier? I'd be willing to bet that those positions are filled quickly - with no shortage of qualified applicants.


------------------------------------------------------------
© 2005 EngagedMetrics, Inc. - All Rights Reserved
This article may be reprinted, provided it is published in its entirety, includes the author bio information, and all links remain active.
------------------------------------------------------------

Measure. Report. Improve your organization with EngagedMetrics.

Josh Greenberg is President of EngagedMetrics, Inc.

EngagedMetrics provides organizations of all sizes a powerful web based method for measuring employee satisfaction, determining employee engagement, and increasing employee retention.

Launch your EngagedMetrics Employee Survey System with EngagedMetrics.

In The News:


pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


Rules for Running a Meeting

As an experienced manager, I can announce without a doubt... Read More

Deciding What to Delegate

DECIDING WHAT TO DELEGATE: Once the benefits of delegation are... Read More

Never Wrestle with a PIG

The business books at the library and book stores fill... Read More

Guidelines For Conducting A Good Meeting

Okay, so you've figured out what kind of meeting is... Read More

The ?Better Product? fallacy

Another fallacy ingrained in the minds of most marketing managers... Read More

How to Hold Effective Staff Meetings

Many people believe that they conduct effective meetings, when all... Read More

The Higher You Go

The higher you go, the cooler it becomes. Really? Let... Read More

The 20/60/20 Rule Of Leadership. Dont Go Solving The Wrong Problems

Several decades ago, a passenger jet approached a Florida airport... Read More

Recruitment - What Youre Really, Really Looking For

Imagine that you're a sports coach and you need a... Read More

Training Managers and New Trainers

Training managers use many of the same interpersonal and analytical... Read More

Quick Tip - Effective Meetings Earn a Profit

Most people treat meetings as a free resource that can... Read More

Million Dollar Support System For You and For Your Business

Whether you are a consultant, coach, business owner, doctor, professional,... Read More

10 Resolutions For The New Year!!

Each year many people create a list of resolutions designed... Read More

Quality Improvement is Free

The point of a quality improvement program should not only... Read More

Implementing Change

There are different reactions that individuals experience during time of... Read More

Creativity and Innovation Management ? Hierarchies

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

How To Decrease Downtime and Increase Productivity

All maintenance activities of the workforce must be documented, this... Read More

Better Management Performance - The Easy 3-Step Way

Managers make three mistakes when they try to run businesses.... Read More

Rapport - How to Build it with Your Team

I've often heard managers say - "My door is always... Read More

Innovation Management ? Producing Great Products, Motivation

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

Effective Ways to Give Performance Feedback

Consequences of Not Giving Effective FeedbackLet's take a look at... Read More

Spirits in the Corporate Boardroom.......Oh, sure......

There is a growing movement in the spiritual... Read More

How To Delegate for Fun and Profit

Ah, the wretched pain of delegation. It comes easy to... Read More

Coaching Can Get The Boss In Shape

Who tells the boss that they can improve their management... Read More

Communicate To The Four Main Personality Types

You probably know this already, but there are generally held... Read More

Safety Policy Sample Outline

Writing a safety manual is a tough job and most... Read More

Inspiring Loyalty and Contentment in Your Workforce

One of the first things I look at when I... Read More

Knowledge Management: More Than Just Know-how!

People sometimes interchange the terms "know-how" and "knowledge", but there's... Read More

Jack Welch--Success Is Getting Back Up on the Horse

A few months ago I had the opportunity to spend... Read More

Bye-Bye Boring Meetings! Make Yours Remarkable!

It's the middle of the night. You've woken up with... Read More

How To Get 10% More Work Out Of Your Employees

It is getting harder to run a business for a... Read More

The Boss Didn?t Understand Why His Staff Wasn?t Reading His Mind

Many people believe that everyone sees the world exactly the... Read More

Build Rapport Fast! - Eight Easy Steps

Building rapport is all about creating a relationship, in the... Read More