Technology as a substitute
Much of the time spent by employees in operational functions has a high probability of being influenced if not replaced by artificial intelligence 🤖
As technology increasingly automates, the requirements for talent are shifting from "basic technical skills" to "strategic and technological skills."
This acceleration toward more strategic responsibilities and tasks early in a career reduces the number of steps needed to reach a position of greater executive leadership. Promotions can come quickly in the early stages of a career, but less frequently as employees move to intermediate positions.
People, however, want more and more new stimuli, change and variety, and companies must adapt to offer them a broader set of experiences while continuing to develop them.
Changing employee expectations
A growing number of employees, especially younger ones, say money is no longer their only concern. A 2022 Pew Research Center survey found that 63 percent of workers say no opportunity for a pay raise played a role, large or small, in why they left their jobs the year before.
What do employees need now?
Employees want more confidence, clarity, and recognition so they can reach the next level in their career path, then:
- To sense trust from their managers and team leaders 💑
- Flexibility in terms of time and place of work 🤸
- Clearly defined responsibilities 💪
- A positive and inclusive corporate culture 💖
People need clearly defined responsibilities to excel.
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Without meaningful career paths, companies risk losing employees to organizations that are already investing in retention strategies, thus risking losing satisfied customers as well.
That is why it is worth investing in career paths and the entire talent management process.
3 steps to develop career paths
Transforming traditional, linear career paths into paths with greater flexibility, breadth and depth requires HR departments to take the lead, moving from "applying policies on the workforce" to "redesigning work across the enterprise."
- Flexibility 🤸Corporatestructure provides a framework for defining how positions are classified within an organization. At one time, the labor architecture was much more rigid: it charted a straight-line schedule from junior-level employee to senior-level executive, with little room for horizontal movement between different teams within an organization. But modern work architecture allows and promotes a more flexible approach. An organization might have fewer rungs on the ladder to senior leadership, but HR can create more opportunities for top talent to advance upward and encourage lateral movement between departments or teams to keep employees engaged and challenged. This could include assignment and ownership of individual projects.
The new workforce is purpose-driven where it can have a positive and meaningful impact.
- Reconsidering required skills 🌀Asemployers redesign career paths, soft skills may be the attributes that qualify employees for lateral shift or promotion, rather than strictly technical skills. This may require a change in mindset. Companies need to re-imagine what they think about talent and not having specific titles or skills to align perfectly with the job offer.
The career path should be more about attitude and approach rather than competence and skill specifically.
- Support employee growth 🧗Offeremployees ongoing learning opportunities, career development conversations, competency frameworks, and individual development plans that help employees chart their trajectory from their current role to their next one.Conversations about career paths, professional development needs, and interests should occur at least quarterly between managers and their direct reports, possibly during one-on-one meetings. Regular, routine conversations such as these might reveal an individual's skills or hobbies that the organization could benefit from and that the employee might enjoy working on.
Design career paths with LinkHub 🚀
Redesigning career paths and developing new ones will require changes for organizations and a reframing of what is required and who will carry it out. Companies with HR teams that can take charge and lead this process will come out on top.
Human resources will increasingly be seen as the central place that can manage companies' most valuable resource-people.
Ready to prepare your employees for inspiring growth?Try LinkHub's OKRs and 360 method to create an effective and engaging incentive system for people on a growth path that is beneficial to them and the entire organization! 🧑🚀
