advancing careers driving results

8/9/2019 Advancing Careers Driving Results

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Advancing Careers,Driving ResultsCareer Development for Business Success


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Table of Contents

A WORD FROM THE PRESIDENT 02

INTRODUCTION: HEIGHTENING THE CHALLENGE AND MEANING OF WORK 03

HOW THIS RESEARCH WAS CONDUCTED 04

KEY FINDINGS: DEVELOPMENT PERFORMS 05

Regional Variations

IMPLICATIONS: RE-ENGAGING THE DISENGAGED 09

Career Development Linked to Individual Engagement Drivers

Career Development and Talent Attraction

Underlying World of Work Trends

RECOMMENDATIONS AND ADVICE: ALIGN TALENT WITH BUSINESS STRATEGY 14

Keys Drivers of Learning and Development

Be Systematic in Your Approach

Make It Cultural

CONCLUSION: THE DEVELOPMENT IMPERATIVE 18


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A Word From the PresidentJob dissatisfaction doesnt just destroy morale; it destroys businesses.

At Right Management, we have been seeing increasing signs that

employees in workplaces worldwide are becoming dissatisfied and

disengaged, with inevitable consequences for productivity and

business performance.

This white paper not only investigates the extent of discontent in theworkplace, but also offers a view, based on groundbreaking research,

of how the issue can be effectively addressed. In a major study of

organizational effectiveness involving more than 28,000 employees

around the world, we found that providing employees with learning

and development opportunities expands their capabilities and,

just as importantly, enhances their engagement with both their job

and organization.

Read on to discover what your organization can do to drive its results

by creating more satisfying jobs and careers for your most important

assetyour people.

Dougla J. Matthew

President & Chief Operating Officer

Right Management


5/22

ADVANCING CAREERS, DRIVING RESULTS3

rdc

Heightening the Challengeand Meaning of Work

Boredom and discontent in the workplace is a serious business

performance issue. In a major international study of organizational

effectiveness involving more than 28,000 respondents, Right

Management has found that two-thirds of employees globally are

less than fully engaged by their work and organization. With weak

engagement translating into lower retention, greater absenteeismand poorer productivity, organizations almost everywhere are

simply failing to perform to their true potential.

What can organizations do? Offering employees career development opportunities

provides an important answer. As our study shows, career development not only builds

skills and capacities that can help organizations achieve their strategic goals, but

also addresses the motivators driving employees to put their skills and capacities to

optimal use. Employees are looking for challenge in their jobs. They want to contribute

meaningfully to their organizations success. By equipping employees to find greaterchallenge and meaning in their work, career development promotes engagement and

enhances the performance of the individual and the organization alike.


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Conducted between November 2008 and January 2009, our

study surveyed 28,810 employees across 10 business sectors

in 15 countries to get their views on 11 major topics related to

organizational effectiveness.

Respondents indicated their level of agreement with nearly 100 different statements grouped

according to each of these 11 general topics. We then tested for statistically significant (i.e.

greater-than-chance) relationships between responses to the statement There are career

opportunities for me at my organizationan item belonging to the learning and development

topicand responses to statements addressing engagement and other key determinants of

organizational effectiveness. While the existence of a strong relationship, or correlation, is not

necessarily an indication of a causal link, it does provide reasonable grounds for concluding

that causality may be involved. Over 90% of our respondents worked for private corporations

employing 50 or more people and earning revenues between $1 million and $1 billion. The

study used a stratified sample of employees that matched workforce population in each

country on several factors, including industry, size of organization, gender and age.

15 COUNTRIESUnited States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, UK , France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, China,

India, Japan, South Korea

10 BUSINESS SECTORSAgriculture, Forestry and Fishing; Mining and Quarrying; Manufacturing; Electricity, Gas and Water Supply; Construction;

Wholesale and Retail Trade; Restaurants and Hotels; Transportation, Storage and Communication; Finance, Insurance,

Real Estate and Business Services; Government, Social and Personal Services

How This Research Was Conducted

NORTH AMERICA

SOUTH AMERICA

MIDDLE EAST

AND AFRICA

EUROPE

JAPAN

ASIA-PACIFIC


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Opportunity for learning and development is a top driver of

engagement. Of the 11 general topics, learning and development

opportunities was the second highest ranking item to drive

engagement, more important than leadership, culture and

compensation.

Our research revealed significant correlations between the statement There are career

opportunities for me at my organization and several statements and topics addressing

organizational effectiveness. The key findings include:

Poviing aee oppotunitie ive engagement. Organizations that provide career

development opportunities are six times more likely to engage their employees than

organizations that do not. Fifty-four percent of employees who responded favorably to (i.e.

either agreed with or strongly agreed with) the statement There are career opportunities for

me at my organization reported being engaged. That figure compares to an engagement rate

of only 9% among employees who responded unfavorably to this statement.

y ds

Development Performs

1. Work processes 6. Structure, roles and capability

2. Learning and development opportunities 7. Recognition and reward

3. Culture 8. Customer focus

4. Senior leaders 9. Strategy

5. Communication 10. Immediate managers

ENGAGEMENT DRIVERS BY TOPIC IN RANK ORDER


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Poviing aee oppotunitie ive etention. Organizations that provide career

development opportunities are more than four times less likely to lose talent in the next year

than organizations that do not. Only 5% of respondents who agreed or strongly agreed that

their organization provides career opportunities indicated that they planned to leave within

the next year. By contrast, 22% of those who did not agree that their organization provides

career opportunities said they planned to leave within a year.

Figue 2: Relationship between There are career opportunities for me at my organization and retention

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THERE ARE CAREER OPPORTUNITIES FORME AT MY ORGANIZATION AND RETENTION

Plan to stay for

under 1 year

Plan to stay for 1 to

less than 5 years

Plan to stay for at

least 5 years

Favorable

Unfavorable

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

Poviing aee oppotunitie ive poutivit. Organizations that provide careerdevelopment opportunities are almost 2.5 times more likely to be productive than

organizations that do not. Seventy-two percent of employees who responded favorably to

the statement There are career opportunities for me at my organization reported that their

organization is productive. Among those who failed to respond favorably, by contrast, only

30% indicated that their organization is productive.

31%

37%

5%

22%

64%

42%

46%

54%Engaged

Not Engaged

Global Benchmarking Study, December 2008

Base: 28,810 Global Employees

IMPACT OF THERE ARE CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

FOR ME AT MY ORGANIZATION ON EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

Favorable

Unfavorable

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

91%

9%

Figue 1: Impact of There are career opportunities for me at my organization on employee engagement


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Poviing aee oppotunitie ive pefomane. Organizations that are judged to

be a best performer are almost three times more likely to provide career development

opportunities than those that are judged to be a below-average performer. Sixty-three

percent of respondents who identified their organization as one of the best performing

organizations in its sector(s) also responded favorably to the statement There are career

opportunities for me at my organization. By contrast, a favorable view of their organizations

commitment to providing career opportunities was taken by only 23% of those who identified

their organization as a below-average performer.

7%

72%Productive

Unproductive

Global Benchmarking Study, December 2008Base: 28,810 Global Employees

IMPACT OF THERE ARE CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

FOR ME AT MY ORGANIZATION ON PRODUCTIVITY

Favorable

Unfavorable

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

36%

30%

Figue 4: There are career opportunities for me at my organization by organization performance

Figue 3: Impact of There are career opportunities for me at my organization on productivity

THERE ARE CAREER OPPORTUNITIES FOR ME AT MY ORGANIZATION

BY ORGANIZATION PERFORMANCE

One of the best performingorganizations in its sector(s)

Above averageperformer

Average

performerBelow average

performer Favoable

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

63%

55%

39%

23%




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Our findings show a connection between providing career opportunities and all the links of

what we might call the performance chain. Career opportunities drive engagement, which, in

turn, drives retention and productivity. Best-performing organizations are significantly more

likely to provide career development opportunities than are below-average, average and evenabove-average performers because best performers recognize that providing such opportunities

works. It yields measurable results.

REGIONAL VARIATIONS

BRIC ountie povie the mot oppotunitie. At 68%, 59% and 53%, respectively,

employees in India, China and Brazil were most likely to agree or strongly agree that their

organizations provided career opportunities. France, Sweden and Japan recorded the lowest

favorable response rates at 38%, 36% and 33%, respectively. The United States favorable

response figure was 52%, the United Kingdoms figure was 44% and Germanys figure was

40%. It shouldnt perhaps surprise us that the countries that appear to be providing the most

career opportunities are three of the four so-called BRIC nations whose economies arewidely recognized for their fast-paced development.

Caee oppotunitie ouble engagement in Japan. At 63%, Canada, the United States

and Denmark showed the highest engagement levels among employees who agreed or

strongly agreed that their organizations provide career opportunities. By contrast, in China,

South Korea and Japan, those who agreed or strongly agreed that their organizations provide

career opportunities reported engagement rates of only 44%, 32% and 23%, respectivelythe

lowest rates of all 15 countries surveyed. Yet it is in these countries dwelling at the bottom of

the opportunities-engagement table that providing career opportunities has the biggest impact

on engagement. In Japan, where only 11% of respondents reported being engaged, extending

career opportunities to all employees would more than double engagement rates to 23%. Theincreases would be comparable in South Korea, where engagement would rise from 18% to 32%,

and in China, where it would rise from 29% to 44%. Extending career opportunities would have

a significant impact even in countries at the top of the table. In Canada, the United States and

Denmark, engagement would increase by more than one-quarter.

Caee oppotunitie ouble etention in South Koea, Bazil an China.German,

Canadian and U.S. respondents who agreed or strongly agreed that their organizations provide

career opportunities were most likely to indicate that they would stay with their employer for

at least five years. The figure for Germany was 73%, for Canada, 71% and for the United States,

70%. The greatest impact on five-year retention, however, was recorded in South Korea, Brazil

and China. While only 21% of South Korean respondents who said that their employers fail to

provide career opportunities indicated they would stay at least five years, 56% of those who

said that their employers do provide opportunities indicated they planned to stay at least five

years. The comparable figures for Brazil were 27% and 60% and for China were 25% and 50%.

Intentions to stay, in short, more than doubled when career opportunities were provided.


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cs

Re-engaging the Disengaged

The true significance of our findings can be appreciated only

when considered in relation to accumulating evidence that a large

and growing number of employees are not satisfied with their

jobs and places of work.

Our organizational effectiveness study itself provides a good deal of this evidence. It found

that only 34% of employees worldwide are fully engaged by their jobs and organizations. In

none of the countries surveyed did engagement levels top even 50%. The highest levels wererecorded in India (45%) and the United States (44%). European countries ranged from a high

of 40% (Denmark and Norway) to a low of 30% (Germany and France). East Asian countries

scored lowest of all, with China at 29%, South Korea at 18% and Japan at a mere 11%.

Figue 5: Engagement by country

ENGAGEMENT BY COUNTRY

India

U.S.

New Zealand

Canada

Denmark

Norway

Brazil

Australia

Sweden

UK

Germany

France

ChinaSouth Korea

Japan

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%



45%

44%

43%

41%

40%

40%

38%

36%

34%

33%

30%

30%

29%

18%

11%

Percent fully engaged


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Our study approached engagement as a state of mind encompassing an employees

satisfaction with, pride in and commitment to both the job and the organization. It also took

into account an employees willingness to speak well of (or advocate for) his or her job and

organization. Clearly, the low levels of engagement revealed by our study indicate that manyemployees worldwide are not only less than satisfied with their work and workplace, but also

less than committed, less than proud and less than willing to advocate.

Figue 6: Employee Engagement: Four Factors, Two Levels

These indications of dissatisfaction are supported by other research. In a recent poll of more

than 900 workers across North America, Right Management found that a remarkable 60% of

respondents plan to pursue new job opportunities as the economy improves in 2010. A further

21% indicated that they are considering making such a move and are actively networking as a

result. Only 13% said they intended to stay. Our results are largely consistent with the findings

of the Herman Group, which in its Herman Trend Alert: 2010 Workforce/Workplace Forecast

Factors

Commitment

Pride

Advocacy

Satisfaction

JOBENGAGEMENT

I am committed to doing what

is required to perform myjob well.

I am proud of the work I do.

I would recommend myorganization to my friendsand colleagues as a great

place to work.

Overall, I am satisfied withmy job.

FULLY ENGAGED

I am committed to doing what

is required to help myorganization succeed.

I am proud to work for myorganization.

I speak highly of myorganizations

products and services.

Overall, I am satisfied with myorganization as an employer.

ORGANIZATIONENGAGEMENT

1

2

3

4


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More evidence of discontent emerges in a recent Conference Board study involving 5,000

representative U.S. households. Researchers found that only 45% of U.S. employees find their

jobs satisfying and only a slim majority (51%) find their jobs interesting. This study is worth

pausing over since it not only presents a snapshot of employee attitudes at the moment,

but also identifies a long-term trend. Job satisfaction, it reveals, has declined by 16% since

1987, with about a quarter of that decline (nearly 4%) occurring in 2008 alone. The recessionhas clearly had a significant impact on workforce unhappiness, but the trend is not merely

cyclical and the challenge not merely short-term. The Conference Boards figure for U.S. job

satisfaction (45%), we should note, is almost identical to Right Managements figure for U.S.

employee engagement (44%).

It is, then, in the context of extensive disengagement, dissatisfaction and discontent within

workforces worldwide that we need to understand the findings of our organizational

effectiveness study. Career development represents one of the most effective means

organizations have at their disposal of addressing this pressing talent management issue.

Employees are not inspired by their jobs. Career development offers them opportunities to

assume roles of greater interest, challenge and/or variety, while providing greater meaning inwork by linking individual effort to the larger purposes of the organization. Employees want

to understand how they fit into the larger picture and they want to participate meaningfully

in helping the organization realize its strategy. Providing career development makes such

understanding and participation possible.

DO YOU PLAN TO PURSUE NEW JOB OPPORTUNITIES AS THE ECONOMY IMPROVES IN 2010?

Yes, I intend to leave

Maybe, so Im networking

Not likely, but Iveupdated my resume

No, I intend to stay

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

60%

21%

4%

13%

Right Management online poll of 236 employees conducted in November 2009.

Figue 7: Most workers want to quit

reports that 54 percent of todays employees are ready to jump, as soon as the economy

improves. Even if many of these employees fail to follow through on their stated intentions, as

may well prove the case, their survey responses reflect a significant degree of unhappiness in

the workplace. Contented, engaged employees are less likely even to consider leaving.


14/22


CAREER DEVELOPMENT LINKED TO INDIVIDUAL ENGAGEMENT DRIVERS

A consideration of the top individual engagement drivers revealed by our study offers

penetrating insight into just how providing career opportunities can enhance engagement.As stated earlier, our survey consisted of 100 statements grouped into general topics. We

analyzed the correlations not only of each general topic with engagement, but also of

each individual statement. Of all the statements comprising our survey, There are career

opportunities for me at my organization showed the 15th highest correlation. That ranking

alone demonstrates the connection between providing career opportunities and engagement.

It is important to appreciate, however, that providing career opportunities is

also connected with individual engagement drivers even higher on the list .

A well-designed career development program can help employees arrive at a better

understanding of the organization, including its core values (1), and of what it expects of

each employee at work (4). Through such a program, employees can better understand how

they can contribute to customer needs (5) and how their personal work objectives link to

their work areas business plan (10). Providing career development is also a means by which

senior leaders can show that they value employees (7) and by which the organization(when programs are available universally) can demonstrate that they treat everyone with

respect, regardless of who they are (8). Providing career development opportunities, in

short, touches on at least six of the top ten individual engagement drivers.

Providing career

development

opportunities

touches on at

least six of the

top 10 individual

engagement

drivers.

1. I am committed to my organizations core values (strategy)

2. Our customers think highly of our products and services (customer focus)

3. My opinions count (communications)

4. I have a clear understanding of what is expected of me at work(structure, roles and capability)

5. I understand how I can contribute to meeting the needs of our customers(customer focus)

6. I have been fairly rewarded (recognition and reward)

7. Senior leaders value employees (senior leaders)

8. Everyone is treated with respect at work, regardless of who they are (culture)

9. I can concentrate on my job when I am at my work area (work processes)

10. My personal work objectives are linked to my work areas business plan (strategy)

INDIVIDUAL ENGAGEMENT DRIVERS

In oe of thei anking, the top 10 of thee iniviual engagement iveae a follow:


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CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND TALENT ATTRACTION

An additional benefit of providing career development involves talent attraction. If organizations

do, indeed, begin to see talented employees leaving in large numbers within the next year,implementing effective career development initiatives could play a strong role not only in

reversing the trend, but also in filling vacant positions. Right Management recently conducted a

survey asking, What is most important when considering a new employer? Respondents singled

out career development prospects by a wide margin. Organizations offering career development

opportunities attract new talent by building their brand as an employer of choice.

UNDERLYING WORLD OF WORK TRENDS

Talent mimath iving nee fo oganization to evelop talent. The case for providing

career development must also be understood in conjunction with trends in the world of work tied

to changing demographics. In many countries, the working-age population is either growing more

slowly than in the past or experiencing outright decline. One result is an increasing talent mismatch

as highly skilled employees retire and as the nature of available work shifts, organizations are

already encountering difficulties filling key high-skill positions even as, paradoxically, they reduce

their workforces generally. Since this talent mismatch is only likely to intensify as the population

ages, the importance of developing talent that can help the organizations meet evolving needs

will become ever more urgent. Career development enables employees to proactively own their

career progression in view of the new skills they will need in the changing world of work.

Emploee emaning moe hoie an geate oppotunit. Another outcome of

demographic trends is a more varied, multi-generational workforce composed of individuals

with unique needs and desires. Especially in high-skill work environments, individuals will

expect, and be granted, more choices and greater control over their working lives. Even though

organizations have shed jobs and placed increasing emphasis on employee productivity, they

will increasingly find it necessary to adopt a new model that gives employees a more active

role to play, with higher levels of contribution and participation. Highly talented employees will

look for workplaces where they can express their individuality and realize their aspirations. A

workplace that doesnt promote, enable and support personal interests and creativity, and isnt

interested in listening to new ideas, is unlikely to hold many attractions.

Right Management online poll of 236 employees conducted in November 2009.

EMPLOYEES VALUE CAREER DEVELOPMENT MOST

Career development prospects

Work/life balance

Innovative company culture

Good rapport with manager

Competitive compensationand benefits

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

40%

21%

15%

8%

12%

Figue 8: What is most important when considering a new employer?


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rcds d dc

Align Talent with Business Strategy

What are the building blocks of an effective career development

strategy? How do organizations ensure that they demonstrate

their commitment to employees, that they have the right people

with the right skills to meet current and future business needs,

and that employees understand how they can contribute to the

organizations success? What, in short, do organizations need to

do to provide employees with career opportunities?

KEYS DRIVERS OF LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT

Our organizational effectiveness study provides some high-level guidance by identifying key

drivers of There are career opportunities for me at my organization. In order of impact, the

top seven are:

Investing in learning and development (4) and ensuring that individuals receive the development

they need to succeed in their jobs (2) are obvious steps in creating meaningful career

opportunities. So too is providing performance incentives (5): employees must be given reasonsfor advancing their careers. Clearly, organizations that ensure that they have people ready to

move into newly available positions (6) signal their commitment to providing career opportunities

rather than hiring from the outside. The most powerful driver of There are career opportunities

for me at my organization is empowering employees to take ownership of their development

(1). In part, such empowerment must involve ensuring that employees know how to progress (3),

which, in turn, may depend on managers facilitating effective career discussions (7).

1. I am encouraged to take ownership of my own development

2. I receive the development I need to do my job well

3. I know how to progress in my organization4. My organization invests in its peoples learning and development

5. There is sufficient incentive to perform well at my organization

6. My organization ensures that there are people ready to move into jobs whenpositions become available

7. My immediate manager facilitates effective discussions about mycareer development


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These drivers, then, can be reduced to four essential recommendations:

BE SYSTEMATIC IN YOUR APPROACH

How, then, do you invest? How do you make employees partners in their own development?

How do you ensure that qualified people are available internally to fill vacancies? An essential

step is to create a formal career development program. Depending on the needs of the

organization, such a program could take a variety forms, but certain features are universally

applicable. A distinction must first be drawn between the accountabilities of the organizationand those of employees.

Oganization Shoul Conut a Skill an Nee Invento. The organization must

undertake a rigorous analysis of present workforce skills and future talent needs. Creating

an inventory of present skills and future needs is key to giving proper direction to individual

development. Development cannot succeed for the individual, let alone for the organization,

unless it is strategically oriented towards achieving larger business goals. Employees who

develop capabilities of little relevance to their job or organization wont have an active part to

play in the organizations success.

Oganization Shoul Emphaize Meaningful Caee Diuion. The organization must

also take the lead in initiating and facilitating meaningful career discussions. Facilitating careerdiscussions is an essential step in empowering employees to drive their own development.

This point is worth emphasizing because our research shows that career discussions between

employees and immediate managers are rare. In a recent poll involving more than 650 U.S.

employees, 37% of respondents indicated that they neverengage in career discussions with

their managers, while 29% said they engage in such discussions just once a year. Only 16%

reported that they have career discussions once a quarter. Skilling and equipping managers to

have regular, meaningful, career coaching conversations with employees is a foundational step

in a systematic career development program. Just as important is holding managers accountable

for holding those career conversations as part of any systematic career development program.

Career discussions are not only vital to providing career development opportunities foremployees, it offers managers an occasion to address directly many of the top individual

drivers of engagement that were revealed in our organizational effectiveness study

(referenced above). Career discussions, for example, can be used to explore and/or reinforce

the organizations core values; demonstrate that employees opinions count; that senior

leaders value employees; and help employees understand what is expected of them at

work and how they can contribute to meeting the needs of the customer. Ten of the top 15

individual drivers of engagement can, in fact, be tied to career discussions.

1.Prefer developing from within versus hiring from the outside

2.Ensure that your investment in learning and development is meaningful

3.Provide employees with incentives to progress

4.Make employees partners in their own developmentempower them

Ten of the top

15 individual

drivers of

engagement

can, in fact, be

tied to career

discussions.


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Emploee Shoul Be Aountable fo a Poe of Caee Diove.A successful

learning and development program cannot rely on the organization alone. With guidance,

support and tools from their organization, employees must be held accountable for engaging

in a process of career discovery. This process should involve three phases:

Self-iove. Individuals employ reliable assessment tools to help them better

understand their abilities, interests and values. They must receive assistance in evaluating

assessment results.

Oganizational iove. Individuals look beyond their current role and business unit

to explore the needs, success factors, strategy, direction and values of the organization as

a whole. By doing so, they gain a more thorough insight into how their abilities, interests

and values can be aligned with the organizations priorities. It is here that the organizations

inventory of talent needs would come into play.

Caee iove. Individuals evaluate options, develop a career map and hone skills ,enabling them to manage their careers proactively. They receive guidance in the form of

structured career discussions with managers and team members.

This process must be continuous and dynamic. An individuals interests change, as do the

priorities of an organization. Career maps should not be set in stone, but regarded as guides

that will evolve as the individual evolves in his/her role.

Rolling out a formal career development program across an entire organization can be a

complicated and daunting proposition. A proven approach to lessening the burden would be

to build momentum gradually by starting with small pilot projects, moving on to individual

business units and eventually the organization as a whole.


19/22

Case StudyREAL EXAMPLES

Career Management Improves Retention

A leading global consumer products organization began experiencing

retention issues after a downsizing initiative significantly reduced

upward career growth opportunities for remaining employees. In

response, the organization, partnering with Right Management,

introduced a career management program equipping employees to

be more proactive and successful in managing their own careers.

Participants engaged in self-discovery and career planning activities

involving assessments, workshops and one-on-one coaching. In

analyzing results, the company found that attrition among those who

participated in the program fell to less than half of the companys

average and its return on investment exceeded 200%.


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MAKE IT CULTURAL

A formal career development program alone is not enough to provide employees with career

opportunities. If formal development is not to devolve into a set of sterile procedures, it must

be embedded in an organization-wide culture of learning and development. Senior leaders,

immediate leaders and employees all have a role to play in fostering such a culture.

An essential condition is the support of senior leadership. Senior leaders must throw their

weight behind career development, present it as a key strategic imperative and emphasize the

role of employees in taking ownership of their own careers. Doing so provides leaders with

a clear opportunity to demonstrate that they value employees, treat them with respect and

appreciate their opinions. As our organizational effectiveness study has shown, these are all

key engagement drivers.

The role of immediate leaders is to help make the organizations career development

intentions real and impactful. They must approach career development as a key responsibility

and hold themselves accountable for enhancing their career coaching skills, as a means of

supporting employees to realize their career goals. Facilitating varying work responsibilities,

offering stretch assignments, implementing a job-rotation scheme or providing opportunities

to run with new projects or initiatives, can support employees in their learning and growth on

the job. By initiating effective career development discussions, leaders can help employees

better understand the organizations core values and mission, what is expected of them in the

organizations changing landscape, how they can contribute to realizing the organizations

strategy, and how they can access opportunities beyond their immediate role. These, again,

have all been identified as important engagement drivers.

Employees, finally, must develop the capacity and be given the license to manage their

work and careers proactively. They must take the initiative not only in understanding theorganization and its priorities, but also in pursuing the experiences and skills that will help

them grow in their role, and in taking ownership of their work.


21/22


Workforces worldwide are showing increasing signs of being dissatisfied and disengaged,

even as a large and growing body of research has drawn a direct line from engagement

through retention, productivity and, ultimately, business performance. Organizations that

fail to address workplace discontent risk losing their competitive advantage; their ability

to respond quickly and effectively to changing market conditions; their investment in key

talent with hard-to-replace skills; and whatever productivity gains they have achieved. Our

evidence indicates that career development can make a significant contribution to diffusing

the threat. Career development provides work with interest, challenge and meaning. Aligning

the skills and capabilities of the employee with the business strategy of the organization

satisfies the need of employees to make a difference and invest in the organizations success.

It drives engagement, retention, productivity and performance.

ccs

The Development Imperative


22/22

Right Management Inc. 1818 Market Street, Thirty-Third Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19103 www.ight.om

Product #2001-1US A MANPOWER COMPANY

2010 Right Management. All Rights Reserved.

Right Management (www.right.com) is the talent and career management

expert within Manpower, the global leader in employment services. Right

Management helps clients win in the changing world of work by designing

and executing workforce solutions that align talent strategy with business

strategy. Our expertise spans Talent Assessment, Leader Development,

Organizational Effectiveness, Employee Engagement, and Workforce

Transition and Outplacement. With 300 offices in over 50 countries, Right

Management partners with companies of all sizes. More than 80% of

Fortune 500 companies are currently working with us to help them grow

talent, reduce costs and accelerate performance.

About Right Management

advancing careers driving results

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