Career Planning within Organizations

It will be a good idea also to read the related topics at: (Talent Management) http://managing-talent.blogspot.com/, (Motivation) http://motivation-people.blogspot.com/, (Performance Management and Appraisal) http://performance-appraisal-management.blogspot.com/, (Training and Development) http://training-function.blogspot.com/, (Human Resource Planning) http://human-resource-planning.blogspot.com/

Career

Dictionary meaning of career is an individual's "course or progress through entire life (or a distinct portion of life)". It is understood mainly to be concerned with the remunerative or professional work and also, sometimes with formal education.

Career Planning

Career planning process spans the entire or a significant portion of one's life.
To start with it includes aiming for an occupation, getting necessary and related formal professional education, choosing a specific profession stream and getting an appropriate job.
Next step includes growing in one's job, possibly changing careers before finally, retiring.
For some, it may be just once for every phase in career and for others, it may be a more dynamic process. For the latter, it is more likely to happen several times in their life span as they first define and then redefine their life time goals.

Career Planning within Organizations: Corporate and HR Responsibility

While each individual on his job in an organization will start planning out his career growth path and crossing the mile stones along the path to finally reach his goals, organization where he works is also responsible to support or to proactively carve his career progression.
Therefore, the organizations should keep a track on the performance and progress of all the professionals working in the organization.
Organizations should enable their people with the knowledge of the existing and future opportunities and growth avenues that can be pursued and achieved within.
Organizations should also let their people know about what kind of systems and interventions the organizations have to support the attainment of these growth possibilities.
While organizations at the corporate level will be concerned about the career planning of their professionals even as a corporate strategy, it may finally be human resources departments' responsibility to execute this function.
It is considered an important function of HRM but it is true also that it is one of the most the most neglected and least developed functions in large number of organizations.
HR departments should chalk out well-structured system of career planning in their organizations.

Advantages of Career Planning

A well structured career plan in an organization helps it to retain those employees whom the company wants and to motivate them fully to use their potentials, talents and capabilities in the best possible ways.
A good career planning system sends out a message that the organization believes in providing fairness and equal opportunities to all its employees with transparency.
Since training and development of employees is an integral aspect of career planning, it prepares more competent professionals in the organization on an ongoing basis. This is advantageous to the organization as well as the employees.

Challenges in Introducing Effective Career Planning Structure

Competent human resource is scarce and all the organizations compete for it.
Hence attracting, satisfying, motivating and retaining the competent people is a huge challenge.
On top of it, in situations when the growth opportunities for the employees are less in the organization, meeting the expectations of all the talented and capable persons is an additional challenge.
Yet another challenge in career planning is how to provide support to the marginal or average performers and how to facilitate the separation of the poor performers from the organization in a dignified manner.

Elements of Well Structured Integrated Career Planning System

It is necessary for the organizations to design a well structure integrated career planning system for its employees which may preferably contain the following elements:

Competency model: Organizations can do well by designing and implementing competency matrix and competency mapping system for defining the required technical and behavioral competencies for each job position and then, evaluating the existing competencies of the job holders against these. The competency gaps can be addressed and rectified by various interventions like on and off the job training and education, coaching, mentoring, task force assignments, job rotation, job enrichment, transfers etc. For details on competency model, you may like to refer: (Competency Matrix) http://competency-matrix.blogspot.com/, (Competencies- Life Management) http://shyam-bhatawdekar.blogspot.com/ or (Life Management: Competencies) http://knol.google.com/k/shyam-bhatawdekar/competency-matrix/6txz9nck6g3/4#
Performance appraisal system: Well designed and well implemented performance appraisal system facilitates evaluation of an employee objectively on their existing jobs and for their potential for the jobs at higher hierarchical levels. The strengths and weaknesses of the employee allows the organization to plan to carve out an appropriate career plan and associated interventions. The decisions to promote an employee to a higher hierarchical level or motivating him at the current level by giving accelerated increments or other suitable rewards. For details on performance appraisal, refer: (Performance Management and Appraisal) http://performance-appraisal-management.blogspot.com/
Mentoring and career coaching: Counseling through formal or informal mentoring system in the organization and/or positioning of career coaches help the employees in getting insight into the career path they can steer through and for this what development tools should they use. For more on mentoring and coaching, refer: (Mentoring) http://mentor-mentorship.blogspot.com/, (Coaching) http://coaching-skill.blogspot.com/, (Counseling at Workplace)http://counseling-skill.blogspot.com/
Establishing corporate campus: In partnership with the local colleges and consultants, the organizations can make available for its employees career development programs and courses. Based on the career plan, the employees can choose to join these programs/courses or be deputed by the organization.
Job rotations, job enrichment and job transfers: These are well tried out systems to prepare the employees to take on the responsibilities of different jobs/assignments so as to groom them as per their career plans.
Training and development: In-company training and development system can provide necessary inputs to the employees on the the subject of career planning and also on various competencies and skills that will be necessary to be imparted to make the employees ready to take up the responsibilities that will come their way as they progress on their career paths in the organization. For details on training and development refer: (Training and Development) http://training-function.blogspot.com/

For More Guidance, Assistance, Training and Consultation

Contact: prodcons@prodcons.com

Training on "Career Planning" and related topics is imparted by Prodcons Group's Mr Shyam Bhatawdekar and/or Dr (Mrs) Kalpana Bhatawdekar, eminent management educationists and consultants and trainers- par excellence, with distinction of having trained over 150,000 people from around 250 organizations. Assistance on implementation of career planning system is provided by Prodcons Group's team.

Also refer: (Prodcons Group) http://prodcons-group.blogspot.com/, (Training Programs by Prodcons Group) http://training-development-function.blogspot.com/, (Productivity Consultants) http://productivity-consultants.blogspot.com/

Other Topics of Interest

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