Career Planning – Introduction and Meaning

According to Edwin Flippo, “A career is sequence of separate but related work activities
that provide continuity, order and meaning to a person’s life.” It is not merely a series of
work-related experiences, but consists of a series of properly sequenced role experiences
leading to an increasing level of responsibility, status, power and rewards. It represents an
organised path taken by an individual across time and space.

In the case of an employee, career planning provides an answer to his question as to where
he will be in the organisation after five years or ten years or what the prospects of advancing
or growth are in the organisation. Career planning is not an event or an end in itself, but a
process of development of human resources. In short, it is an essential aspect of effective
management of people at work.

A career path is the sequential pattern of jobs that forms a career. Career goals are the future
positions one strives to reach as part of a career. Career planning is the process by which
one selects career goals and the path to these goals.

The career planning involves the process of conversion of personal career plan into action in
order to achieve career goals. There are three key heroes who share responsibility for an
employee’s career planning- the employee, the organisation, and the manager.

The basic and fundamental responsibility of career planning lies with the employees only
few vital support can be provided by managers and organisation. Generally there are six
major mistakes which would come in the way of employee during career planning
programmes as identified by E. D. Betaf.

Career planning – Need for Employees’ Career planning in an Organisation

The need for effective employees’ career planning are for following reasons:

i. Making Available Needed Talent:

Career planning is a natural extension of strategic and employee training. Identifying staff
requirements over the intermediate and long-term is necessary when a firm sets long-term
goals and objectives. Career planning will help organizations in putting the right people in
the right job.

ii. Attracting and Retaining Talents::

There is always a scarcity for talented people and there is competition to secure their
services. Talented people always prefer to work in organizations which care for their future
concern and exhibit greater loyalty and commitment to organizations where there is career
advancement. As career planning is an important aspect of work life as well as personal life,
people prefer to join firms which offer challenges, responsibility and opportunities for
advancement.

iii. Reduced Employee Frustration:

Along with educational level and knowledge, the aspirational level of occupations is also
increasing. When these levels are not met due to economic stagnation frustration sets in.
When organizations downsize to cut costs, employee career paths, career tracks and career
ladders tend to collapse resulting in aggravation of frustration. Career counseling comes a
long way in reducing frustration.

iv. Enhancing Cultural Diversity:

Fast changing scenarios in globalization reflects a varied combination of workforce

representing different types of races, nationalities, religious faiths, ages and values in the
workplaces. Effective career planning programmes provide access to all levels of
employees.

v. Improving Organizational Goodwill:

It is quite natural that if employees think their organizations care about their long-term well-
being through career planning they are likely to respond in kind by projecting positive
images about their organizations. Career planning does help organization in impressing
image and goodwill.

The steps in career planning are:

(1) Identifying career needs.

(2) Developing career opportunities.

(3) Integration of employees needs with career opportunities.

(4) Regular monitoring.

1. Identifying Career Needs:

Some large organizations have assessment centres or conduct career planning workshops
wherein a group of employees are brought together to undergo psychological testing,
simulation exercises, and depth interviews. This process helps the employee to make a
decision regarding career goals and the steps to be taken to put efforts to attain these goals.
The HR manager also plays an important role of providing information and assistance in
making decisions about the career needs of the employee.

2. Developing Career Opportunities:

Career opportunities are identified through job analysis. The manager should identify career
path for employees in the organization. He/she should discuss with the employees what jobs
are available in the organizational hierarchy and at the same time find where the employee
would want to go up in the organization in future. The employees should be provided
information regarding job postings that are available in the organization and, for future
reference, what requirements they will have to fulfill to achieve the promotion which they
aspire.

3. Integration of Employee Needs with Career Opportunities:

It is necessary to align the needs and aspirations of the employees with career opportunities
in order to ensure right people will be available to meet the organizational manpower
requirements. Therefore, emphasis is placed on the training, on- and off-the-job, counselling
and coaching by supervisor, and planned rotation in positions of varying functions and in
different locations. The process is pursued further with the help of periodic performance
appraisals. Training and counselling will be a wasteful exercise if the employee does not
make progress along his/her career path.

The two important techniques in this stage of career planning are:

(a) Management by objectives

(b) Career counselling.

Under ‘management by objectives’, the employee sets his/her development goals and also
an action plan to achieve those goals. Steps are taken by the line managers to integrate
personal goals with the organizational goals.

In the case of counselling, the manager discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the
employee. This helps the employee to identify areas of development so that he/she can meet
future challenges of his/her job.

Step # 4. Regular Monitoring:

It is necessary to regularly monitor the progress of the employee towards his/her career
planning plans and see that the support is being provided to develop those career plans. If
there is a discrepancy, steps should be taken to reassign work as necessary to ensure that
career planning plans are met. In situations where career opportunities are not available due
to influence of technology and economic factors, the organization should redesign jobs or
make career shifts.

Career planning System – Tools and Activities, Design and Benefits

A career planning system includes a variety of components for use in the organizations. In
order to increase the efficiency of the system, the HR mangers must have complete
knowledge about these tools since they play a role of consultant when employees and
supervisors use this system. Plus, they are responsible for designing and developing an
effective career planning system for their organization.

Some activities or components are known as individual career planning tools while some are
used for organizational career management. To achieve greater efficiency, most
organizations use a right combination of both types of activities.

Let us understand these tools and activities to learn in-depth about career planning
system:

1. Self-Assessment Tools: This is the first technique that is widely used by organizations in
their efforts to career management of their employees. This is a career exploration tool
where individuals complete self- assessment exercises and fill information about their skills,
interests, competencies, work attitudes and preferences, long and short term goals and
obstacles and opportunities. The whole exercise helps them understand their own desires
and aspirations and likes and dislikes.

2. Career Planning Workshops: Once employees are through their self- assessment, they
share their findings with other individuals and their supervisors in career-planning
workshops. It allows them to receive feedback from others and check the reality of their
plans and aspirations. They may change their plans if they find them unrealistic and move in
new direction.

3. Individual Counselling: It is one of the most common activities that are undertaken by
almost all people developing organizations. Generally, individual counseling is provided by
career planning specialists, HR specialists or life skills development trainers. Some
organizations hire them from outside while some have their own fully fledged departments
where they recruit and hire trainers for full time. It helps employees in understanding their
own goals, making a change in them if required and working on improving their skills and
competencies.

4. Organizational Assessment Programs: Organizational assessment programs include

tools and methods for evaluating employees’ potential for growth within the organization.
Johnson &, Johnson is one company that uses these programs to assess the careers of their
employees and evaluate their potential in order to facilitate the staffing and development of
special teams known as “tiger teams”.

These special teams are formed to speed up the development of new products. The most
popular programs under this category include assessment centers, psychological testing, 360
degree appraisal, promotability forecasts and succession planning.

5. Developmental Programs: Developmental programs are used by an organization to

develop their employees for future positions. They can be internal as well as external and
can be performed under the supervision of human resource staff or trainers and specialists
from outside. These programs include assessment centers, job rotation programs, tuition
refund plans, internal training programs, external training seminars and formal mentoring
programs.

In addition to these programs, there are several other components of a career planning
system such as career programs for special target groups, fast- track or high potential
employees, supervisors, senior-level employees, women, technical employees, minorities
and employees with disabilities, etc.

Benefits of a Career planning System to Organization:

1. Once organization has a fair idea about employee’s strengths and weaknesses, attitude
and behaviour, values and future aspirations and skills and competencies, they are able to
make better use of employee skills and put them at the right place.

2. The organization can disseminate all important details and information at all
organizational levels in order to ensure effective communication at all levels. It fosters and
lays emphasis on better communication within the organization as a whole.

3. It also helps organization retain valued employees by providing them what they want.
Since the organization is able to collect all necessary information about a specific
individual, it can make efforts to retain them.

4. It establishes a reputation of the organization in the market. More and more working
professionals see it as a people developer and get attracted towards it.

Benefits of a Career planning System to Employees:

1. The major benefit of career planning system to employees is that they get helpful
assistance and guidance with their career decisions. They get to know about their own
aspirations, objectives and desires and understand how to shape their career.

2. By using this system, they can set more realistic goals and objectives that are feasible to
be accomplished over the span of one’s life.

3. It fosters better communication between the employee and the manager as well as at all
levels of the organization.

4. The best part is that they can get feedback on their performance. This  helps them improve
their working style and compels them to upgrade their skills.

5. The process leads to job enrichment and enhanced job satisfaction.

Benefits of a Career planning System to Managers/Supervisors:

1. A career planning system helps managers and supervisors in improving and upgrading
their skills in order to manage their own career. Even they get to where they are heading to
and what their aspirations are.

2. It fosters better communication between managers and employees.

3. It helps them in retaining valued employees as they get to know about their skills and
competencies and future aspirations as well.

4. It helps in discussing productive performance appraisal of employees and planning their

promotions as well as their career graph.

5. It leads to greater understanding of the organization as a whole and cultivate a supportive

and conducive culture in the organization.

6. It helps managers in understanding the hidden aspects of employees and guides them to
allocate employees the right job that matches to their skills and competencies.

Career planning – Problems and Role of HR Manager in Managing these Problems

Despite planning the career, employees face certain career problems which are as
follows:

1. Dual Career Families:

With the increase in career orientation among women, number of female employees is on
the increase. With this the dual career families have also been on the increase. Consequently
one of the family members might face the problem of transfer. This has become a
complicated problem to organisations. Consequently other employees may be at a
disadvantage.

2. Changing Family Needs:

Interaction of career issues with the issues of life stages of the employee and his family,
changing needs of employee throughout his life cycle complicate the career issues.

3. Low Ceiling Careers:

Some careers do not have scope for much advancement. Employees cannot get promotions
despite their career plans and development in such jobs.

4. Declining Career Opportunities:

Career opportunities for certain categories might reach the declining stage due to the
influence of the technological or economic factors. Solution for such a problem is career
shift. For example, career opportunities for ‘Statisticians’ declined due to computerisation.
The existing statisticians could overcome this problem by acquiring skills in computer
operations.

To handle the above problems, the management can take the following steps:

(a) Improving human resource planning and forecasting systems,

(b) Improving dissemination of career option information,

(c) Initiating career counselling,

(d) Developing effective internal and external assessment centres,

(e) Supporting educational and training programs, and

(f) Introducing more flexible reward and promotional systems.

Role of HR to Manage Career planning Problems:

In order to handle and manage the above stated problems the HR function of any
organization has to play an instrumental role.

This could be achieved by the following strategies, namely:

i. Improving Manpower planning and forecasting systems

ii. Improving dissemination of career option information

iii. Initiating career counselling programs on regular basis

iv. Developing effective internal and external Assessment Centres

v. Supporting educational and training programs on regular basis (e.g.- Learning and
Development Cells in organizations like Dell)

vi. Introducing more flexible reward and promotional systems