Human Resource Management

Unit 6

Unit 6

Employee Career Planning and Growth

Structure:
6.1
Introduction
Objectives
6.2
Concept of Employee Growth
6.3
Managing Career Planning
6.4
Elements of a Career Planning Programme
6.5
Succession Planning
6.6
Other Career Programmes
6.7
Summary
6.8
Glossary
6.9
Terminal Questions
6.10 Answers
6.11 Case Study

6.1 Introduction
In the previous unit, we discussed the meaning and methods of training,
concept of management development and management development
methods. We also learnt the evaluation of training and development, and the
differences between training and development. Now let us look into an
employers career planning and growth.
An individuals career describes the different positions held by him
throughout his work life. An evaluation of a career would show the extent to
which one has accomplished the specific career goal. Career can be defined
as a sequence of positions. Organisations have to help employees plan their
careers and manage them. The employees have to be given a chance to
identify their competencies and aptitudes, and then provided with the right
opportunities. Organisations that help their employees plan their career,
enjoy and benefit from a motivated and loyal workforce.
A career can be viewed from two perspectives, objective and subjective, as
objective perspective of career deals with the past position held by an
individual. In this unit, we will discuss the concept of employee growth and
managing career planning. We will also study the elements of career
planning programme, succession planning and other career programmes.
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Objectives:
After studying this unit, you should be able to:
analyse the concept of employee growth
describe the dimensions of career planning
review promotions and internal job postings
describe succession planning
evaluate other programmes for special employee growth

6.2 Concept of Employee Growth

Increasingly, organisations have become more active in implementing
employee growth programmes. Companies are designing employee growth
programmes to increase employee productivity, control attrition, prevent job
burnout and obsolescence, and improve the quality of employees work
lives. HR departments of almost all large companies and most medium
sized companies have taken a greater interest in employee development
programmes. HR professionals have never before faced so many
challenges in meeting the needs of individual employees and organisations
in designing career systems. It is the employees responsibility to manage
his or her own career, while it is the employers responsibility to provide
employees with the tools and opportunities to enhance their skills. The end
objective however remains, for the organisations to have a career-resilient
workforce, one that has self reliant workers who are capable of reinventing
themselves to keep up with the fast pace of organisational changes and fulfil
their career aspirations, without feeling the need to move to another
company in search of better career opportunities.
What this essentially means can be summarised under the following key
initiatives that are commonly practiced in organisations today:
Career planning and development
Promotions and internal job postings
Succession planning
Other talent management activities focused on employee growth
While these activities are normally part of the core HR functions, often
organisations (depending on the size of the organisations) might have a
dedicated individual supported by a small team leading all of these activities
and reporting to the Head of HR or even the CEO/MD.
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Self Assessment Questions

1. Companies are designing __________________________ to increase
employee productivity, prevent job burnout and obsolescence, and
improve the quality of employees work lives.
2. To cope in todays turbulent times, it has become increasingly
important for both _______________ and ______________ to better
redress employee career needs.
3. The end result for a ____________ workforce is one that has selfreliant workers who are capable of uninventing themselves to keep us
with the fast pace of organisational changes.

6.3 Managing Career Planning

In the previous section, we discussed the concept of career planning. Let us
now study how to manage career planning.
Career can be defined as a sequence of positions, roles or jobs held by one
person over a relatively long time span and over his/her life-time.
Managing career planning may include the following aspects:
Career path: It is the sequential pattern of jobs that form a career.
Career goals: They are the future positions that an individual strives to
reach as part of a career.
Career planning: It refers to the process by which an individual selects
career goals and the path to these goals. The process whereby each
employee personally plans careers goals is known as individual
career.Planning and the process whereby the organisation plans career
goals for its employees is known as organisational career planning.
Following are the benefits of career planning to an organisation:
Ensures availability of resources for the future: Career development in
an organisation should be in alignment with the HRP. HRP determines the
changing requirements of an organisation and career development helps in
meeting the resource requirements.
Enhances organisational ability to attract and retain talent: In a
competitive market environment, talented employees have career
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opportunities. Therefore, an organisation that shows concern for the

employees future by providing them the best opportunities can attract and
retain talented people.
Ensures growth opportunities for all: A comprehensive planning exercise
by the organisation ensures growth opportunities for all the employees.
Handles employee frustration: Todays workforce is more knowledgeable
and has greater expectations. They desire more responsibility and greater
challenges. A good career development programme can help in handling
the expectations of the employees.
Career management: is the process of designing and implementing goals,
plans and strategies that enable HR professionals and managers to satisfy
workforce needs and allow individuals to achieve their career objectives.
Career development programmes help in the achievement of career
objectives.
Career anchors: It is attitudinal characteristics that guide people throughout
their careers.
Autonomy/Independence: Desire to have freedom and not to be bossed
over.
Security/Stability:Individuals who want to be free from any anxiety of
uncertainty or insecurity prefer to remain in the same kind of job and with
the same employer.
Technical/Functional competence:-Those with a technical/functional
competence exhibit a strong inclination to develop something which they
can call their own, e.g., engineers, scientists, technologists etc.
General management: Have good planning, organising, managing and
controlling skills. They have a broader view of things and play a facilitating
role.
Entrepreneurial creativity: Individuals with creativity as an anchor are
more often successful as artists, free lancers, entrepreneurs.
Service: Service as a career anchor drives individuals to take up jobs in not
for profit service organisations.
Pure challenge: People who just love to solve difficult problems.
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Life-style: For some people, nothing is more important than enjoying life.
They have a disinclination to sacrifice life-style solely for career
advancement.
Self Assessment Questions
4. _________ can be defined as a sequence of positions, roles or jobs
held by one person over a relatively long time span and over his/her life
time.
5. ___________refers to the process by which an individual selects
career goals and the path to these goals.
6. _________ is an attitudinal characteristic that guides people throughout
their careers.

6.4 Elements of a Career Planning Programme

In the previous section, we discussed how to manage career planning. Let
us now study the elements of a career planning programme.
There are four distinct elements of career planning programme:

Individual assessment and need analysis

Organisational assessment and opportunity analysis

Need opportunity alignment

Career counselling
Individual assessment and need analysis
Many people begin their careers without any formal assessment of their
abilities, interests, career needs and goals.This phenomenon of people
entering their jobs, occupations and careers with little attention to career
planning and then feeling disengaged is known as career drift.
Organisational assessment and opportunity analysis
For an employees goals and aspirations to be fulfilled, a basic requirement
is that the goals must be realistic and achievable. They have to be realistic
not only in terms of the employees own capabilities, but also in terms of the
organisations possibilities.
Need opportunity alignment
The organisation plays an important role in helping the employee make this
alignment. The organisation also has to make its own alignments to match
the aspirations with the organisational opportunities.
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Career counselling
This is the final stage of career planning. The supervisor as well as the HR
department, has to counsel the employee regarding the available
opportunities, the employees aspirations and of course, his competencies.
Activity 1:
Speak to a friend or a relative working in a large company and find
answers to the following questions:
How is career planning handled by the company?
What career planning policies does this company have?

6.5 Succession Planning

In the previous section, we discussed the elements of a career planning
programme. Let us now study succession planning.
Traditionally succession planning was restricted to senior-level management
positions and this was either an informal or formal process.
Over the years succession planning has established itself as a key HR
activity in most organisations with formal processes that ensure it is
reviewed regularly and scientifically. In smaller organisations it is yet an
informal process where the individual manager identifies and grooms his or
her own successor.
Succession planning involves an examination of strategic (long-range) plans
and HR forecasts for all identified key positions in an organisation. It
includes positions that are critical for the business and for its continuity, and
not just the senior level positions. It includes a review of the data on all
potential candidates who might be able to move to these positions either
right-away or in the near future. The objective is to identify employees with
potential and managerial depth as well as promoting from within the
company. This exercise is carried out by the senior management team of
the unit/subsidiary and facilitated by the HR team. Usually, committees of
top managers work together to identify high potential candidates within their
team and then outline developmental activities for them. They may also
include a formal assessment of the performance and potential of
candidates, and written individual development plans for candidates.
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A succession planning exercise concludes with an organisation chart of all

key positions with listing of possible potential candidates and the readiness
rating for each potential candidate. For example, a position that can
immediately be filled is rated higher than a position which does not have a
ready-now candidate. Other components include performance appraisal of
these employees, and individual development plans and management
development programmes. Additionally, the factors rated as most important
in selecting specific internal/external potential candidates for grooming
includes:
past job performance,
past positions or prior employment,
perceived credibility,
area of expertise and
career paths and values and attitudes.
Following are the benefits of having a formal Succession Planning System:
Provides a clear framework to strategic business planning as the key
positions for the businesss success are what are being planned for.

Aligns strategic goals and human resources to enable the right people
in the right place at the right time to achieve desired business results.

Develops qualified pools of candidates ready to fill critical or key

positions.

Provides stability in leadership and other critical positions to sustain a

high-performing service.

Identifies workforce renewal needs as a means of targeting necessary

employee training and development.

Helps individuals realise their career plans and aspirations within the
organisation.

Improves employees ability to respond to changing environmental

demands.

Provides opportunity for timely corporate knowledge transfer.

Regardless of what type of succession planning programme is used

(formal or informal), most successful programmes obtain the support of
top management.

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Self Assessment Questions

7. Succession planning is usually restricted to senior-level management
positions and can be _________________or ____________.
8. Formal succession planning involves an examination of strategic (longrange) plans and HR forecasts and a review of the data on all
___________________ employeers.
9. Succession planning reduces ___________________ of managerial
development movements.

6.6 Other Career Programmes

In the previous section, we discussed about succession planning. Let us
now study few other career programmes.While the general notion is that
most career development programmes are often instituted to meet the
unique needs of particular employees, the benefits for the organisation are
immense. This is one reason why organisations continue to invest time and
resources on it despite the fact that it does not offer immediate measurable
benefits. Although many different groups and issues may be targeted for
career development, some of the more common programmes are those that
focus on work-family issues, outplacement, entrenched employees, latecareer employee, disadvantages employees, fast track employees and
managers.
Work-family programmes Focus on supporting employee manages their
personal as well as work related challenges in a balanced manner.
Increasing use of flexible work schedules, work from home options, opening
of more on-site or company-sponsored child-care centres, and greater use
of paid leave for fathers and adoptive parents are some common practices
in this area. There are also more focused programmes that focus on
managing gender diversity at the workplace and set goals for advancing
women into senior management positions. And truly amazing is the
increasing pattern of companies holding managers accountable for meeting
these goals. There are specific workshops and training programmes
mandated for managers to help them initiating and implementing them.
Relocation assistance and hiring practices These practices redress the
challenges associated with employee relocation on account of a career
move. The support provided by firms in assisting spouse of employees with
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opportunities within the company, linking them with job placement

consultants as well as sponsoring the cost of re-training or picking up a new
skill. The amount and nature of support could vary from company to
company. Some firms have altered their policy to allow for hiring both
spouses while they may not be allowed to work in the same
department/team.
Worklife balance seminars and flexible HR practices Through these
practices, organisations design programmes to help employees manage
their work-family conflicts and coping strategies. Especially prevalent in the
business process outsoursing organisations where the work-life balance is a
concern. This practice is now part of most organisations where the
increasing work pressure is driving companies to help employees cope with
personal pressure. Various stress management workshops and stretchexercise schedules are practiced to help employees cope with stress.
Lifestyle management workshops too are becoming popular in larger
organisations. Organisations are also changing their practices for
recruitment, travel, transfer, promotions, scheduling hours and benefits to
meet the needs of the larger number of dual career couples.
Flexible work schedules Are being increasingly instituted at the
workplace. These include flexitime, job sharing, part time work, working from
home, compressed workweeks, temporary workweeks, etc. Such
programmes enable employees to address their work and family concerns
and reduce their potential stress or conflicts between their various life roles.
Telecommuting has become very popular. This provides for organisational
as well as employee related advantages. Some difficulties with
telecommuting are communication problems with other employees, limited
access to necessary supplies and equipment and family interruption.
Outplacement programme During retrenchment and downsizing is a
professionally managed process in most organisations. The objective here
is to assist the affected employees in making the transition to new
employment. It could involve re-skilling for new, more relevant skills per
market demand, so finding a new job is easier. Companies might tie up with
training institutes and provide the skills training. Else the company might
prefer to reimburse the cost of re-skilling directly to the impacted employee
for a course of his/her choice. Outplacement services would also involve
working with placement agencies and recruitment firms to provide
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interviewing opportunities for the employees. Outplacement programmes

stress the importance of self confidence and individual career planning
beneficial for middle or late-career employees who are being laid off.
Special programmes for women, minorities and employees with
disabilities With organisations increasingly tapping into this critical talent
pool, more employees in these special categories are entering the
workforce. This calls for special focus on the importance of assisting these
employees with their career needs.
Fast track employees Are now being increasingly identified as stars with
high potential for bright future in the organisation. The identification and
development of these employees requires organisations to exert efforts to
build and monitor special programmes that cater to this special audience.
These employees are identified in a formal process and are placed on a fast
track programme. The objective here is to enable them to move to senior
positions quickly. As is with all other such initiatives, this initiative helps in
retaining this critical talent. Among other activities that target this group they
are offered quicker job changes and more challenging job assignments.

6.7 Summary
Let us recapitulate the important concepts discussed in this unit:
Employee growth is an evolving HR activity in todays corporate. While
immediate returns are not measurable the payoffs from these
investments have proven long-term benefits.

Career development programmes must be integrated with and

supported by the existing HR programmes if they are to be successful.

Career development initiatives need to be well communicated and

supported by the business leaders and HR to ensure its benefits both for
the organisation as well as the employee.

There are four distinct elements of career planning:

a) individual assessment and need analysis
b) organisational assessment
c) need-opportunity alignment
d) career counseling.

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Succession planning involves an examination of strategic (long-range)

plans and HR forecasts for all identified key positions in an organisation.

There are many benefits of having a formal Succession Planning

System. It provides a clear framework to strategic business planning,
aligns strategic goals and human resources, helps in the development of
pools of qualified candidates, provides stability in leadership, identifies
workforce renewal needs, helps individuals realise their career plans,
improves employees ability to respond to changing environmental
demands, and the opportunity for timely corporate knowledge transfers.

Some other career planning initiatives that are being practised in the
industry these daysare work-family programmes, relocation assistance
and hiring practices, work-life balance seminars and flexible HR
practices,flexible work-schedules, outplacement programmes, special
programmes for women, minorities and employees with disabilities.

Career development programmes must positively impact organisational

and individual effectiveness over the short and long term.

6.8 Glossary

Career counselling: A process by which a counsellor, or another

qualified professional or experienced person, provides information and
advice to employees to facilitate their career planning and development.

Downsizing: It refers to indicate employee reassignment, layoffs and

restructuring in order to make a business more competitive, efficient,
and/or cost-effective.

Outplacement: The provision of assistance to laid-off employees in

finding new employment, either as a benefit provided by the employer
directly, or through a specialist service

Retrenchment: Employee termination because of changing business,

financial, technological or organisational circumstances.

Work life balance: A range of practices designed to improve the

balance between the demands of an employees work and personal life.

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6.9 Terminal Questions

1. What is career planning?
2. Discuss the elements of a career planning programme.
3. What is succession planning? What are the benefits of having a formal
Succession Planning System in an organisation?
4. What are some other career planning initiatives that are being practised
in the industry these days?

6.10 Answers
Self Assessment Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Employee growth programmes

Organisations and employees
Career resilient
Career
Career planning
Career anchors
Informal or formal
Potential candidates
Randomness

Terminal Questions
1. Career planning is the process by which individuals select career goals
and the parth to these goals. Refer section 6.3 for more details.
2. There are four distinct elements of career planning: a) individual
assessment and need analysis b) organisational assessment c) needopportunity alignment d) career counseling. Refer section 6.4 for more
details.
3. Succession planning involves an examination of strategic (long-range)
plans and HR forecasts for all identified key positions in an
organisation. There are many benefits of having a formal Succession
Planning System that provides a clear framework to strategic business
planning: Aligning strategic goals and human resources, development
of qualified pools of candidates, providing stability in leadership,
identifying workforce renewal needs, helping individuals realise their
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career plans, improving employees ability to respond to changing

environmental demands, and the opportunity for timely corporate
knowledge transfer. Refer section 6.5 for more details.
4. Some other career planning initiatives that are being practised in the
industry these daysare work-family programmes, relocation assistance
and hiring practices, work-life balance seminar and flexible HR
practices,flexible work-schedules, outplacement programme, special
programme for women minorities and employees with disabilities. Refer
Section 6.6 for more details.

6.11 Case Study

CWA and AT&T Walking the Talk: (2800 Century Parkway, Atlanta,
Georgia)
The 2800 Century Parkway AT&T building in Atlanta is a hotbed of Alliance
activity. Why? Because The Alliance, CWA Local 3250 and local AT&T
Management have found value in working together. They have banded
together to create opportunities in which employees can gain skills and
increase their employment security while improving the efficiency of AT&T in
providing service to its customers. In just the first 7 months of the 2005
Programme Year, 2800 has already exceeded its annual goals.
The picture was not always so rosy at this location. In late 2001 the Alliance
Local Committee (ALC) and Company/Union support for it had virtually
disappeared. Layoffs in both the occupational and management ranks
displaced most key supporters and ALC members. A local CWA election
that fall saw most of the Union Leadership at Local 3250 turn over. Without
strong onsite leadership 2800 did not come close to reaching its annual
goals for the first time that year.
The Alliance Associate Director, Jay Ott, saw an opportunity to create a
better, stronger relationship between The Alliance, CWA and AT&T
Management. He began by working with the new CWA Vice President for
2800, Roy Hegenbart (who is now the Local President for 3250) to identify
the right occupational employee to promote The Alliance on-site - someone
who understood the joint labour/management concept, who knew the people
in the building, and was respected by both Management and CWA. That
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person was Chandra Patton, and in May of 2002, Roy convinced the
company to assign Chandra as Alliance site coordinator full-time.
Chandra and Jay took a different approach to creating a new
Labour/Management team for 2800. They spent the rest of 2002 meeting,
communicating, and building relationships with the local AT&T management
and CWA leadership. Their focus was on the Administrative Supervisors, as
they were the ones who could get the support needed for classroom space,
particularly space for an upgraded computer lab, and for company time
when the building was affected by a surplus declaration. A Leadership Team
was formed to support these efforts. It consisted of Chandra Patton (Alliance
Site Coordinator), James Bates, Debbie Shelton, John Bozart and Alicia
Brock (AT&T Administrative Supervisors), Roy Hegenbart (Local 3250 V.P.),
and Jay Ott (Alliance Associate Director). In order for Jay to fully participate
in this team, Christine Deas from The Insight Group was brought in to
facilitate the meetings. The goals of the Leadership Team were:
Develop a stronger, more viable relationship between AT&T Management,
CWA and The Alliance at 2800 Century Parkway.
Work with the Alliance Local Committee to develop training opportunities for
the surplus, represented workforce on company-time.
Identify and offer training that will enhance employee skills and marketability
within as well as outside of AT&T.
Reestablish a viable after-hours training schedule that employees would
support.
Encourage more Business Unit Initiatives on company-time.
Encourage all employees to take advantage of opportunities to grow and
develop their skills, talents and interests.
The everyday work of implementing the programme still needed to be
addressed. The Leadership Team appointed ALC members who had the
skills and initiative to make the day-to-day operational decisions (e.g., what
classes, when, where, marketing, registration, follow-up, etc.). By June of
2003, the work of the Leadership Team and the ALC resulted in a huge
increase in Alliance activity. 2800 had surpassed its annual goals in only 9
months! Its success did not go unnoticed. Chandra Patton, Debbie Shelton
and Jay Ott presented the 2800 story to The Alliance Board of Trustees at
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their July meeting in New Jersey. This story of cooperation and achievement
was outlined in a unique way. The team developed a series of CD-ROMs to
explain who they were and how they achieved so much success in a short
period of time. It was obviously well received.
However, wait! This is only half the story. What happened next is what
makes 2800 stand out from most other Alliance locations in the country. The
Leadership Team had always kept the people to whom they reported
informed of the success of The Alliance, and the AD made special efforts to
reach out to those upper level managers and union officers in order to find
common interests and goals. The Board of Trustees presentation was used
as a springboard to pitch the District/Division level managers and CWA
leadership on even more opportunities that potentially could be in the best
interest of the Company, the Union and the represented employees.
Because of those presentations, Sharon Cochrane District Manager Date
Group, Bernie Ragland Division Manager and Terry Parr District
Manager Voice Group supported many Business Unit Training Initiatives on
company-time. Some of the more notable activities were Customer
Relations Skill Certification, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), CCNA
Certification, CCP@, and Net+ Certification. These programmes, along with
the more traditional Alliance programmes, helped the 2800 location exceed
their annual goals for the third time in as many years.
Another indication of the strength of the Alliance commitment is the support
that AT&T provides to CWA represented employees from Avaya and
Lucent. The only Alliance lab with the equipment to provide high level IT
training is at 2800. The Alliance committee works closely with management
(including GRE and Security) to make this lab accessible to all Alliance
participants in the area.
The opportunities available at 2800 Century Parkway are a direct result of
Labour and Management seeing value in creating a more skilled workforce
through The Alliance. Together, they really do walk the talk.
(Source: http://www.employeegrowth.com/success_stories_6-05.htm)

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References:

Fisher, S, and Shaw.(2010). Human Resources Management. New

Delhi: Cengage Publication.

Aswathappa, K. (2010). Human Resource Management. New Delhi:

Tata McGraw Hills.

Wayne, C. F. (1998). Managing Human Resource. Irwin/McGraw Hills.

Durai, P. (2010). Human Resource Management. New Delhi: Pearson

Publication.

E-Reference:
http://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/human_resources/care
er_development/content/succession_planning/benefits.html - Retrieved
on December 30 2011

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