How the best-performing organisations focus on career growth

Encouraging career growth is a hallmark of successful organisations — see how they achieve it.

Career growth might initially sound like something that benefits the individual rather than the organisation. But delivering career growth for employees brings many advantages for employers.

These include:

• Lower recruitment costs
• Greater continuity
• Increased loyalty
• Higher staff retention
• More effective succession planning

More than 41% of employees leave their jobs due to a lack of career development and advancement, according to one McKinsey study. A similar Pew Research Center survey found that having no opportunities for advancement was the reason for 63% of people quitting a job.

That’s why the best-performing organisations place such a strong focus on providing career growth opportunities. Let’s explore some of the tactics they use to achieve this.

Clear competencies framework

The foundation for career growth in any organisation is an easily understood competencies framework. All employees should be able to cross-reference how they are performing in their jobs against the competencies needed for that role.

Equally important, they should be able to see the competencies they need to build to reach the next rung on the career ladder or any other role in the organisation.

Competencies are at the heart of learning management systems, such as Moodle LMS, Moodle Workplace and Totara Learn.

Automated upskilling pathways

Building on the competencies framework, the best-performing organisations make it easy for employees to build the skills they need or want. This could include automated learning pathways tailored to specific roles or career paths.

These can be set using rule-based dynamic audiences based on each employee’s role, experience and interests.

Boosting internal recruitment

Career growth is dependent on employees being able to progress through the organisation. They need to have confidence that there are opportunities to do so and see evidence of their colleagues achieving this. That means opting for internal recruitment whenever feasible.

The best-performing organisations use their LMS to oversee this entire process. That includes:

• Putting in place automated learning pathways to aid succession planning.
• Using LMS reporting systems to earmark potential candidates for vacant positions.
• Identifying skills gaps and upskilling employees to close those gaps.

It’s not enough to use these tactics as HR policy: they must be visible and obvious to all employees to deliver maximum impact.

Positive performance management

No organisation can be successful without taking performance management seriously. The best-performing organisations do this in a positive way that encourages employees, makes them want to stay and helps them see a future with the organisation.

Automatically scheduled check-ins and appraisals encourage an ongoing flow of feedback between employees and their managers. A strong performance management culture not only helps to equip employees with the attributes they need to achieve career growth, but also creates a platform for their own aspirations to become part of the planning process. 

Developing new leaders

We’ve talked about upskilling, career pathways and internal recruitment. For many organisations, those progressions will involve taking on managerial responsibilities. This often results in accidental managers: people who wanted to progress within their chosen field but didn’t necessarily aspire to manage others.

The same McKinsey study we mentioned earlier found that uncaring or uninspiring leaders were the top reason for 34% of people quitting their previous job. This demonstrates that having effective managers has a significant impact on the career progression of the managers themselves as well as the employees in their teams.

The best-performing organisations implement leadership and management programmes that equip employees with the skills needed to manage others. This has several benefits, including:

• A better calibre of manager at all levels of the organisation.
• Avoiding promoting people who are not suited to management roles.
• Smoother succession planning.

Valuing employees

When employees feel valued, they are more likely to have a sense of belonging that encourages them to develop careers within the organisation. The most successful organisations often use very simple methods to achieve this, such as:

• Rewarding employees who engage with learning and development through badges, awards and gamification.
• Encouraging employees to explore learning opportunities related to their personal development and interests, as well as those that meet the organisation’s needs.
• Showing employees how you’re investing in their development.

Increase career growth in your organisation

Talk to our learning technology experts about creating the infrastructure needed to boost career growth among your employees. Book a meeting right now.

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