How Employees and Companies Benefit from Career Pathing

What do you want to be when you grow up?
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Today, there are millions of possible answers to that question. Anyone might want to be a marketer, manager, fashion designer, programmer, or make-up artist. But probably very few would aspire to be an elevator operator or scribe. Why? Because those jobs have become mostly obsolete due to technology.

Nowadays, a career isn’t necessarily for life. Many people have more than one career or profession as they explore new opportunities, priorities, and achievements. Research from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the average U.S. worker takes up to 10 different jobs before reaching the age of 50.

That's why more organizations need to consider careful career pathing to ensure the future of their workforces and the overall business.

What is Career Pathing in HR?

Career pathing in HR is laying down a detailed plan for developing employees’ skills so they can transition smoothly into future job roles.

The workforce has become more diverse, with employees coming from various backgrounds and quickly changing roles. These factors make it even more challenging to ensure that employees understand possible career paths and how they can move forward.

Companies use various strategies to retain top talent and develop skills. Keeping employee engagement high and improving the employee experience are key to retaining employees.

Advantages of Career Pathing for Employees

Career pathing is a powerful way to enrich an employee’s experience at your organization. It provides meaning, purpose, and builds a sense of loyalty and engagement within the workforce. It also helps employees:

• ‍Control their career journey: Many employees — especially those in recent generations — are interested in more than just pay raises, benefits, and promotions — today's talent also seeks professional development and personal growth. Continuous career pathing gives these employees a direction, goals, and a sense of control in their employment journey.‍
• Feel more motivated: Career path planning can also increase motivation. Instead of feeling stuck in a position with no possibility of progression, every task becomes more meaningful when working toward specific goals in the career path. Allowing employees to take charge of their careers will inspire them to work harder and smarter.
• ‍Gain career development support: Once a career path is set, an employee can start planning the steps to achieve their career goals and develop a supportive network of peers, mentors, team leaders, and so on.‍
• Focus on required skills: Let’s say an employee wants to become a marketing manager. Career pathing, along with workforce gap analysis, provides a clearer view of the role's skill requirements, such as the ability to manage paid advertising, and encourages training to help employees focus on necessary future skills.

Advantages of Career Pathing for Organizations

Career pathing may require additional involvement in training and development from HR and managers. Still, it can yield tangible benefits to businesses, including:

• Greater return on hiring investment: Investing a fair amount of time, energy, and resources is unavoidable when hiring and training new employees. However, the longer an employee stays with a company and effectively contributes, the higher the return on investment (ROI) for the business.
• More engaged employees: Organizations that create career paths for employees typically see a higher degree of engagement as a result. When employees see organizations investing in them, it motivates them to perform better and creates loyalty. In addition, these paths show employees the scope of their careers in the future and the contributions they'll make to the company. Clearly communicating how employees can achieve their goals through feedback is key here.
• Better employee retention: A career path can serve as a guide to determine what skills or experiences an employee might need to qualify for organizational opportunities. Imagine an employee has lost interest in their position, for example — if HR can map an employee’s career path before they look elsewhere, the chances of retaining that employee significantly increase. By initiating a conversation about an employee’s career path, organizations can communicate the importance of individuals' contributions to the company and the possibilities for learning and developing new skills. All these factors nurture a positive work environment and healthy company culture that can increase employee productivity and, ultimately, create a stronger employer brand and more favorable conditions for hiring future employees.
• Increased loyalty: Employees with a long-term view of their relationship with an employer are more likely to be invested in helping the company succeed, and career pathing can play a key role here. Despite the short-term gains that may come with switching to a new job, an employee with a career path may see that the long-term opportunities at your business are more compelling.

Stages of Career Pathing for the Organization

Conduct a workforce gap analysis

Gap analysis using a competency framework and talent inventories helps identify roles, skills, and knowledge that will support individual advancement and organizational growth. This analysis aims to select occupational fields and specific jobs within those fields to target the development of career pathways. Once target jobs have been identified, the following steps will help HR teams assess how well current programs meet workforce needs and determine whether more investment in training is required.

Form a career pathway planning team

In addition to the HR team, planning teams need input from organizational leaders to align strategic career pathway planning with workforce and business goals.

To gain greater buy-in from leadership, career pathway planning teams can create a written statement that outlines what the business can expect to contribute and gain from the process. This helps to develop a common language and understanding with leadership about the commitments and processes needed and can also highlight potential benefits such as targeted recruitment and screening of candidates, input into training design, support for training, and developing more competitive employee value propositions in the market.

Implement career pathing plans

Once teams have gained leadership buy-in and started solidifying plans, it's time to coordinate the work. This includes program development, recruitment, delivery of programs and support services, job development, and tracking results.

HR leaders play a critical role in this part of career pathing development by keeping teams focused and working toward strategic workforce planning and transformation goals.

Continuous improvement through evaluation and feedback

Industries face never-ending technology, economic, and other global changes, and pathways must evolve in response. When evaluating career pathing programs, HR leaders should stay informed of labor market trends to calibrate efforts and realign with workforce needs and business goals.

This means modifying career pathway programs and services where necessary, helping employees advance more readily and rapidly toward careers while at the same time responding to the organization’s evolving needs. A regular in-process review of training program performance can help address the following questions:

• What is the rate at which employees complete training programs at each level? Why do some participants not complete programs? What can be done to improve completion rates?
• How successful are those who complete programs in advancing to the next level in their careers? What changes to training programs could help to improve career advancement outcomes?
• How do those who complete training programs view the quality of their experiences? What suggestions do these employees have for improving programs and services?