the strategic value of enabling employee career plans.

Employee engagement and talent retention are two of the most burning challenges at the hands of Human Resources today.  Workforce dynamics have evolved and so have work processes. Both organizations and employees are redefining their needs in terms of functionality, skills and flexibility. All of this makes a strong business case for devising new career paths for employees and enabling them to seamlessly navigate it.  According to a study, 73% of employers agreed that fostering employee development is important, but only 49% of employees felt that the leadership is actually investing in it.

So what value does an employee development plan bring to an organization and why is it so crucial to implement it today? Let’s take a deep dive into five major benefits. 

Improves employer brand to attract the right talent

High potential employees look for organizations that can provide them with ample opportunities to grow professionally. Organizations that are progressive in terms of adapting new technology and work techniques tend to attract more skilled and result-oriented employees. On the other hand, companies that do not invest in training and development programs for employees increase their chances of losing good talent to their competition.

Boosts employee engagement 

Another immediate benefit of having a well-strategized career plan for your employees is that it gives them a personal career vision. Employees need to feel aligned in terms of their personal goals vis-à-vis their organization’s goals. The Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement Report by SHRM revealed that Millennials (88%) place career development higher than Baby Boomers (76%) as a factor of their job satisfaction. Getting new opportunities to learn new skills and expanding their domain knowledge tends to increase their sense of involvement with the work, resulting in a positive impact on their job engagement.

Improves employee efficiency

 Once you map a career plan to your employees, you will need a performance management system in place to track employee progress. Employees need to be aware of the metrics based on which their performance is being measured along with their career milestones within the organization. This, in turn, motivates them to work towards clear goals that drive specific business outcomes. The Harvard Office of Human Resources emphasizes that goal setting is crucial for making efficient use of resources as well as making work more meaningful. 

Fills the skill gap internally 

One of the best upsides of devising an internal career plan for your employees is that you can effectively manage the skill needs of different functions in the organization. A study on millennial employees conducted by Deloitte shows that only 20% of millennials feel that their current employers are making full use of their skills. With relevant training and development modules and employee skill surveys, you can fix skill-gap issues internally and save the costs and burden of re-hiring. This also prevents any lag that might occur due to fresh hiring for critical roles. Having internal talent trained and ready to take on new critical roles is a double advantage in terms of business success and employee experience.

Retain high performers

In the on-going war for talent, attracting top talent is only half the battle. Providing quality employee experience that can instill a sense of loyalty in the workers is the next step to retaining young employees who are fully aware of their worth in the job market. According to Statista, voluntary turnover among companies in India in FY 2018 was as high as 18% in the retail sector, with the lowest being 7% for the automotive sector. The millennial generation of workers seeks to work in an environment that is both personally meaningful and challenging in terms of new opportunities. They are more likely to appreciate a curated career path. 

The current industrial age demands that employers have a vision not just for the business, but for their employees as well. Undoubtedly, valuable and relevant employee-driven strategies make organizations a strong employer brand in the eyes of new age talent.