A Career Doesn't Come in the Mail

One question I've been asked time and again by employees is, "What is HR actually doing for my career development? Don't you have a career plan for me?". This question somewhat unsettled me as a young HR manager. Shouldn't we, as a support function, map out a progression for each job so that employees have something to go by? Surely not a bad thing, right? However, if you think about it, you will come to the conclusion fairly quickly that it doesn't work that way. And why is this? There are numerous reasons that speak against it being a good idea.

In general, career development within organizations is an interaction between the employee, the manager and the HR department. The driving force must be the employees, because they are the "owners" of their career. They make the decisions about where they want to develop and in which direction they would rather not go. Only they know what they really want in their (professional) life.

However, the manager and HR department do not stand by uninvolved, but they play their own roles in the employee's further development. The openness and honesty of the employees in the process are, however, the basis for the success of the process.

The manager's role in this interaction is to support the employee in their plans, to coach them, and to be a mentor to them. The manager can point out opportunities and remove roadblocks. Furthermore they can, together with the employee, develop plans that are in line with career goals and the needs of the company. This is not only valid for the case when the employee wants to develop vertically, i.e. climb the career ladder within their domain.

If the employee wants to take a career step into another field, this applies just as much. Every manager knows how difficult it is to replace a high performer on the team. Why should the manager then also support this? Well, there are two possibilities here: either I, as a manager, hope that the employee will continue to do their job for as long as possible, or I ask how the employee envisions their future, give them the freedom and trust to answer honestly, and try to support them as much as possible. I enrich the employee's role with tasks and projects where they gain experience and acquire skills they will need in the future. I connect the employee with people who can help them along the way and actively coach them toward the goal. This, therefore, brings the manager out of the spectator role and into the co-driver’s seat in the employee's development, as well as in team development.

When the job change of a high performer comes as a surprise, it usually puts the team into a state of alarm. However, when both the employee and the manager work together as a team on career development, it becomes a predictable, open and natural process. For example, both can work together to develop a successor and thus ensure a continuing successful process within the department. This also has a positive effect on the other team members, because not only enabling permeability (i.e., switching to other positions in the team/company), but actively promoting it and communicating it openly, which motivates everyone.

If the employee does not see their future in the company and would like to develop outside of it, it makes no difference in a team where trust and openness prevail. In this case, too, the task is to have a look at the things the employee still needs to learn for their professional future, how the manager can actively support them, and how the team can compensate for the departure of their colleague. It is really important (that’s why I repeat it) that the manager sits in the co-driver’s seat of the employee's career. Only in such a way, has it the possibility of controlling the development of its team optimally.

But what does the HR department have to do?

The task of the HR department is to pave the way for both employees and managers. It is important to provide processes, to encourage the employees and to support managers, for example through workshops, training and coaching for them to become good coaches and people developers. Moreover, managers should view the career goals expressed by their employees or their being poached by others not as a thread but as a compliment. They have guided their employees well. The HR department acts as an advisor to managers and employees. It also has the task of providing employees with tools to plan their own careers, to recognize and build on their strengths.

In this triangular relationship, all three parties have their role to play.

• The employee as the "driver": They must know their strengths, state theri wishes and goals and pursue them.

• The manager as "supporter": They are the developer, the coach, the bridge builder for their employee's career.

• The HR department as "enabler": They provide the tools and processes and are the guardian of the “open culture” in the company.

You are a leader and need help developing your employees?

You are dissatisfied and need help to change professionally?

You need help introducing a career-development-model in your organization?

Then feel free to contact me!