Many organisations are aware that career planning and succession planning are two crucial components in talent management, but what do they entail? For one, career planning refers to the setting and achieving of career goals for an individual as well as to facilitate planning of the organisation’s human capital to stay competitive in a dynamic business environment. We have observed this is the early days of the pandemic when companies had to quickly pivot to different business models and having a workforce with diverse skills made a difference. In contrast, succession planning identifies employees with the potential to take up key organisational roles, with the goal of ensuring business continuity for the organisation.
Both career planning and succession planning benefit organisations as well as individuals. Both require effort and commitment to mid to longer term objectives and both assume that individuals and employers work together to promote growth for organisations.
While employees take responsibility for their own career plan, organisations have a key role to play in the career planning process. Employers and human resource teams need to be aware of organisational policies and processes that can help employees drive a successful career development plan. By providing employees with the support they need, organisations can effectively build a strong workforce of highly motivated individuals.
The Importance of Career Planning
Career planning is the first step in an individual’s career journey. It sets the foundation for individuals to begin working towards their career goals, boosting work productivity. Furthermore, career planning paves the way for employees to upskill and gain knowledge, and helps promote their self-development. On the contrary, if organisations’ efforts in career development are lacking, employees may experience job dissatisfaction in the long run. Therefore, career planning is integral to employee management and should not be overlooked.
Getting Started with Career Planning
When it comes to career planning, individuals can conduct a self-assessment of their progress, and determine the options they have. They should first ascertain what their skills, values, interests, preferences and even family influences are. This will help them gain a better idea of what goals could realistically be achieved.
In approaching career development, organisations need to ask themselves two questions: Can they create a company culture that encourages individual development? If yes, what steps can they take to create a working environment that is conducive for this? This is where creating a strong development plan comes in.
The 6 Steps of a Career Development Plan
A Career Development Plan outlines six steps that organisations can take to support staff in their career planning.
Articulate Organisation’s HR Strategy & Workforce Plan to Support Organisation’s Strategies
Develop Competency Framework
Develop Career Structure & Pathways
Conduct Competency Assessments & Develop Organisation Level Development Plan
Conduct Career Conversations & Establish Individual Development Plan
Implement & Evaluate Action Plans
How Technology Can Help With Career Planning
Numerous work tasks have been made easier with technology. So how then can organisations leverage the power of technology to enhance the career planning process?
This is where the expertise of technology partners comes in. Technology partners not only offer suggestions for improvement, but they also see through the implementation process of these plans. They help to ensure the visibility and fairness of the career-planning process. Technology partners like JobKred facilitate job profile creation, assessment and planning, and link them to concrete training plans for employees. All in all, technology serves as a powerful tool that can boost the efficacy of the career planning process.
Conclusion
Career planning is crucial for individuals aspiring to do well in their career. It is also an important part of an organisation’s talent management process. By gaining a greater awareness of their skills and room for improvement, individuals will be able to work towards their career goals, which also align with the organisation’s overall growth plans. Furthermore, career planning also helps organisations improve productivity while reducing business costs, and at the same time ensuring the fair treatment of their staff.
Career Planning Support
Supporting employees in their career planning process can be complicated, which is why organisations need to be equipped with the right expertise to tackle it. This is where aAdvantage can help. With our experience in management consulting, we assist organisations in developing career pathways and competency frameworks for their employees. In addition, aAdvantage collaborates with technology partners such as JobKred to help optimise the career planning process in a way that benefits both individuals and organisations.
Get in touch with our certified and experienced culture consultants and facilitators today at enquiries@aadvantage-consulting.com.
Jacqueline Gwee, Director and Founder, aAdvantage Consulting Group Pte Ltd
Jacqueline is Director and Founder of aAdvantage Consulting. She has over 25 years of broad-based human resource, change management and business excellence consulting experience in both the public and private sectors. Prior to founding aAdvantage Consulting, Jacqueline was with the consulting practices of Big 4 consulting firms focussing on organisational development and change management. Jacqueline has advised companies on best practices in organisational development and how human capital strategies align to support business success. Jacqueline currently leads the Research & Insights, Human Capital & Culture Transformation Solutions within aAdvantage Consulting.
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