HRPD

Unit – V
Career & Career Planning :
A Career can be defined as a sequence of attitude and behaviour associated with the series of jobs
and related activities which a person does over his lifetime.

Yet in another way, it may be defined as a succession of related jobs, arranged in hierarchical order,
through which a person moves in an organization. As the literal definition of career focuses on an
individually perceived sequence, to be more precise, career may be either individual-centred or
organizational-centred. Therefore, career is often defined separately as external career and internal
career.
External career refers to the objective categories used by society and organizations to describe the
progression of steps through a given occupation, while internal career refers to the set of steps or
stages which make up the individual’s own concept of career progression within an occupation. For
such two different approaches, in organizational context, career can be identified as an integrated
pace of vertical lateral movement in an occupation of an individual over his employment span.

Career Planning :

Career planning is a process of systematically matching career goals and individual capabilities with
opportunities for their fulfillment.

Career planning generally involves getting to know who you are, what you want, and how to get
there. Keep in mind that career planning is a continuous process that allows you to move from one
stage to another stage as your life changes. You may even find yourself going back to look at who
you are again after exploring how to get there. Learning to negotiate the career planning process
now is essential, considering most people will change careers several times in a lifetime.

If a career plan is to be effective, it must begin with an objective. When asked about career
objectives, most managers will probably answer by saying that they want to be successful. What is
success? Definition of success depends on personal aspirations, values, self-image, age, background
and other different factors. Success is a personally defined concept. In order to plan a career, one
needs to have an idea of what constitutes career success.

Career management is a process by which individuals can guide, direct and influence the course of
their careers.
General Periods in Careers
In the course of our career we move from one stage to another setting and implementing appropriate
goals at each stage. Our goals differ from getting established on job at early career stage to career
reappraisal, moving away from technical areas & becoming more of a generalist. Movement form
one career stage to another will require individuals to update himself for the appropriate goals.

A sensible early step in career planning is to diagnose.

• What types of positions and career experiences do one needs to achieve my goals

• What personal traits and behaviors require change in order to improve professional effectiveness

CAREER PLANNING IN AN ORGANIZATION

Career planning is the process by which one selects career goals and the path to these goals. The
major focus of career planning is on assisting the employees achieve a better match between personal
goals and the opportunities that are realistically available in the organization. Career programmers
should not concentrate only on career growth opportunities. Practically speaking, there may not be
enough high level positions to make upward mobility a reality for a large number of employees.
Hence, career-planning efforts need to pin-point and highlight those areas that offer psychological
success instead of vertical growth.

Career planning is not an event or end in itself, but a continuous process of developing human
resources for achieving optimum results. It must, however, be noted that individual and
organizational careers are not separate and distinct. A person who is not able to translate his career
plan into action within the organization may probably quit the job, if he has a choice. Organizations,
therefore, should help employees in career planning so that both can satisfy each other’s needs.
Need for Career Planning :

Every employee has a desire to grow and scale new heights in his workplace continuously. If there
are enough opportunities, he can pursue his career goals and exploit his potential fully. He feels
highly motivated when the organization shows him a clear path as to how he can meet his personal
ambitions while trying to realize corporate goals.

Unfortunately, as pointed out by John Leach, organizations do not pay adequate attention to this
aspect in actual practice for a variety of reasons. The demands of employees are not matched with
organizational needs; no effort is made to show how the employees can grow within certain limits,
what happens to an employee five years down the line if he does well, whether the organization is
trying to offer mere jobs or long-lasting careers, etc. When recognition does not come in time for
meritorious performance and a certain amount of confusion prevails in the minds of employees
whether they are ‘in’ with a chance to grow or not, they look for greener pastures outside. Key
executives leave in frustration and the organization suffers badly when turnover figures rise. Any
recruitment effort made in panic to fill the vacancies is not going to be effective. So, the absence of a
career plan is going to make a big difference to both the employees and the organization. Employees
do not get right breaks at a right time; their morale will be low and they are always on their toes
trying to find escape routes.

Organizations are not going to benefit from high employee turnover. New employees mean
additional selection and training costs. Bridging the gaps through short-term replacements is not
going to pay in terms of productivity. Organizations, therefore, try to put their career plans in place
and educate employees about the opportunities that exist internally for talented people. Without such
a progressive outlook, organizations cannot prosper.

Objectives :

Career planning seeks to meet the following objectives:

i. Attract and retain talent by offering careers, not jobs.

ii. Use human resources effectively and achieve greater productivity.

iii. Reduce employee turnover.

iv. Improve employee morale and motivation.

v. Meet the immediate and future human resource needs of the organization on a timely basis

The career planning process involves the following steps:

Career Planning Process :
i. Identifying individual needs and aspirations:
Most individuals do not have a clear cut idea about their career aspirations, anchors and goals. The
human resource professionals must, therefore, help an employee by providing as much information
as possible showing what kind of work would suit the employee most, taking his skills, experience,
and aptitude into account. Such assistance is extended through workshops/seminars while the
employees are subjected to psychological testing, simulation exercises, etc. The basic purpose of
such an exercise is to help an employee form a clear view about what he should do to build his career
within the company. Workshops and seminars increase employee interest by showing the value of
career planning. They help employees set career goals, identify career paths and uncover specific
career development activities (discussed later). These individual efforts may be supplemented by
printed or taped information. To assist employees in a better way, organizations construct a data
bank consisting of information on the career histories, skill evaluations and career preferences of its
employees (known as skill or talent inventory).

ii. Analyzing career opportunities:

Once career needs and aspirations of employees are known, the organization has to provide career
paths for each position. Career paths show career progression possibilities clearly. They indicate the
various positions that one could hold over a period of time, if one is able to perform well. Career
paths change over time, of course, in tune with employee’s needs and organizational requirements.
While outlining career paths, the claims of experienced persons lacking professional degrees and that
of young recruits with excellent degrees but without experience need to be balanced properly.
iii. Aligning needs and opportunities:
After employees have identified their needs and have realized the existence of career opportunities
the remaining problem is one of alignment. This process consists of two steps: first, identify the
potential of employees and then undertake career development

programmers (discussed later on elaborately) with a view to align employee needs and organizational
opportunities. Through performance appraisal, the potential of employees can be assessed to some
extent. Such an appraisal would help reveal employees who need further training, employees who
can take up added responsibilities, etc. After identifying the potential of employees certain
developmental techniques such as special assignments, planned position rotation, supervisory
coaching, job enrichment, understudy programs can be undertaken to update employee knowledge
and skills.

iv. Action plans and periodic review:

The matching process would uncover gaps. These need to be bridged through individual career
development efforts and organization supported efforts from time to time. After initiating these steps,
it is necessary to review the whole thing every now and then. This will help the employee know in
which direction he is moving, what changes are likely to take place, what kind of skills are needed to
face new and emerging organizational challenges. From an organizational standpoint also, it is
necessary to find out how employees are doing, what are their goals and aspirations, whether the
career paths are in tune with individual needs and serve the overall corporate objectives, etc.

Waterloo University Model

The SODI Career Planning Model

Given the complexity of career development and the fluidity of the world of work, we need to be
able to navigate our career paths with purpose and clarity.

Law and Watts (1977) devised a simple model of career education which has stood the test of time.
This model has been changed slightly to become a career planning, rather than a career education
model and named the SODI model where the last element is ‘implementation’ rather than ‘transition
learning’, and ‘decision learning’ becomes ‘decision making and planning’.
The model encapsulates four concepts which are:

Self-awareness – individual having knowledge about and understanding of their own personal
development. Self-awareness in a careers context involves an understanding of kind of personal
resources (both actual and potential) they bring to world.
Opportunity awareness – an understanding of the general structures of the world of work, including
career possibilities and alternative pathways.
Decision making and planning – an understanding of how to make career decisions, and being
aware of pressures, influences, styles, consequences and goal setting.
Implementing plans – having the appropriate skill level in a range of areas to be able to translate job
and career planning into reality
Career planning is the process of discovering educational, training and professional opportunities
that suit your interests, passions and goals. Before searching for jobs, you should set achievable long-
term goals that identify what you want to be doing along your career path at five, 10, 15, 20 years
and so on. Then, you can set short-term goals between each stage to ensure you have clear,
actionable steps you can take to reach your long-term goals. Career planning allows you to outline
your goals and re-evaluate them as you progress.

Steps of the career-planning process

Depending on your path, you may complete each step just once, or you may revisit the process to
change direction and discover new career options. Here are the chronological stages of the career-
planning process:

1. Self-exploration and assessment

2. Career research
3. Exploration and experimentation
4. Decision-making and career selection
5. Final planning and action
6. Job search and acceptance

1. Self-exploration and assessment

You first need to understand your needs, strengths, personality, skills, talents and interests to make
informed academic and career decisions. You can determine these items on your own by making a
series of lists or through a variety of tests, including:

 Value evaluations, which include factors such as the salary level you desire, whether you
prefer frequent interactions with other people or solitude in the workplace, how much you
 want your work to contribute to society as a whole and how important prestige is to your work
and the rest of your life.

 Interest evaluations, which gather data about your likes and dislikes regarding a wide array
of activities, people and objects. Many interest profilers, including the Strong-Campbell
Interest Inventory, match your interests with six types: realistic, investigative, artistic, social,
enterprising and conventional. Then, these types are matched with the occupations that fit
them best.

 Personality evaluations, which often use online surveys like the Myers-Briggs Type
Indicator. This test categorizes people into 16 personality types based on the following
characteristics: Introversion or Extroversion, Sensing or Intuition, Thinking or Feeling, or
Judging or Perceiving. People with some personality types do better in certain occupations
than others. For example, an introvert might not enjoy working with other people all day.

 Aptitude evaluations, which test your abilities and strengths. They can let you know if you
need more education or training and can also help you decide if you want to spend the time,
money and effort needed to start a brand-new career.

You can also consider meeting with a career counselor. A career counselor specializes in helping
professionals understand elements that can influence career decisions and identify possibilities they
may not have considered. A career counselor might use skill identification exercises, interest
inventories, communication and learning styles, and other methods to help you understand yourself
better.

2. Career research

After you determine your qualities and aptitudes, you can decide which types of careers you are
interested in with research. Start with a list of roles and industries provided by your assessments or
compile a list of characteristics in the work environment, responsibilities and advancement
opportunities you want in your career. Using those characteristics, determine more roles and
industries you may want to consider.

Start further research by gathering basic information about each of the careers on your list. Look at
the general description of each profession, along with general labor market information, such as
median salary, common benefits, educational and training requirements and the likelihood of being
hired after meeting all the requirements.

Continue narrowing down your list of possible careers by learning what working in different fields is
really like. Consider using your professional network to find people already in those roles and
industries, or reach out to current professionals on career-focused social media platforms. You can
also read company reviews for specific roles to find out as much as you can about the advantages and
disadvantages of the field. Reading first-person perspectives could be invaluable when it is time to
make a choice.

3. Career exploration and experimentation

After you have narrowed down your list of possible careers, find ways to experience each career in
person. Here are some ways you can get a first-hand look at what a role entails:

 Informational interviews: Consider asking a professional in your desired field to sit down
with you to answer questions. You can discover the education, training, entry-level roles and
other aspects they followed along their career path. An informational interview can also help
you build your professional network within your intended industry, which may help your job
search process in the future.

 Job shadowing: This activity involves spending a day, a week or another short period
observing a professional on the job. You may accompany them to meetings or watch them
demonstrate how they complete their typical daily work. You can also ask them questions
throughout your time with them to better understand their career path.

 Volunteering: Some organizations may allow you to volunteer for tasks that your ideal role
would handle to gain more hands-on experience. This can also help you determine whether
you can enjoy working in that role, industry or type of workplace.

 Internships: Consider an internship for more direct field experience. These opportunities are
likely to give tasks more relevant to your intended role.

 Part-time work: Part-time versions of many jobs may be available with fewer entry-level
requirements. You can find them in specific companies that you might consider working for
and in assistant-type roles that directly interact with your intended role.

 Find a mentor in the industry: Watching an experienced mentor and listening to them talk
about the realities of a career can be very informative. You can consider applying their career
path choices to your own planning to identify steps that may also work for you.

 Courses: If you pursue any form of higher education, consider choosing courses related to
possible career choices. These classes can provide you foundational information and training
through projects and essays, which can help you understand some of the basics of a career.
4. Decision-making and career selection

Weigh the advantages and disadvantages of all of your options. You will need to consider many
factors, including the possible balances between pay and enjoyment, the pros and cons of relocation,
and the work-life balance.

Go over all of your previous research as well as any related experiences very carefully, and organize
them by preference from highest to lowest. This strategy helps you rank certain factors and roles
over others to identify your top choice. Consider also identifying alternative yet similar options
should your desires change as you progress or your job search does not lead to that role.

5. Final planning and action

Gather all the information you have learned and determine an action plan. This plan should include
background information, such as your employment history, education, level of training, volunteer
and other unpaid experience. It should also include your professional licenses or certifications, the
results of the self-evaluations mentioned in the first section, and career counselor advice you have
received.

Create detailed lists of short- and long-term goals you will need to achieve before you reach your
final career goal. These lists should include all of the occupational, educational and training goals
required to pursue your chosen career path. You should also consider the barriers to reaching those
goals and how you plan to overcome them. These barriers could be financial, educational, vocational
or personal, such as the cost of college, family obligations, or the need for tools and supplies for your
chosen career.

Consider writing out each step for your intended career path, including the steps you’ve already
taken to see the progress you’ve already made. You can also do this for your alternative options to
ensure you are prepared to follow them should your ideal option not work out.

6. Job search and acceptance

Use your career plan to begin your job search. Identify specific roles and companies you’re
interested in applying to, and compare those preferences and requirements to your career plan. See if
there are steps you still need to take or if you’re qualified to apply.

You can also use your goal-setting strategy and career plan to write an effective cover letter that
demonstrates your passion for the role, field and employer. You can use your career plan to identify
the steps you’ve taken on your path thus far and highlight your goal-setting skills and dedication.
You can also apply these items during the interview process to prove your interest and qualification
to prospective employers.
 Career Development

Career development is the process of choosing a career, improving your skills, and advancing
along a career path. It's a lifelong process of learning and decision-making that brings you closer to
your ideal job, skillset, and lifestyle.

Career development refers to a set of programmes designed to match an individual’s needs, abilities,
and career goals with current and future opportunities in the organization. Since career development
focuses on future opportunities, it has essentially a long-term orientation.

Career Development – Objective and Importance

The main objective of career development is to ensure that people with appropriate qualifications and
experiences are available when needed. Career development is an integral aspect of career
management with major emphasis being on the enhancement of employees’ career which
commensurate with the requirements of the organisation.
The focus of career development is on the following:
(i) Obtaining relevant information about individual employees’ interests and preferences;
(ii) Matching individuals’ career interests and aptitudes to job requirements;
(iii) Providing career path information to employees to enable them to make their career plans;
(iv) Providing financial inducements and facilities to employees for acquisition of new skills and
capabilities;
(v) Developing a suitable T&D programme both within the organisation and outside to help
employees improve their career.
Factors Influencing Career Development:
Both external and internal factors influence the need for career development.
Slavenski and Buckner (1988) listed the following important factors that influence the need for
career Development :
1. The need to identify and forecast human resource needs
2. Social and demographic trends
3. The changing nature of work
4. Changing types of jobs
5. Multicultural work force
6. Worker productivity
7. Technological Changes
8. Organisational Philosophy & Practices
Career Development – Two Main Methods:
Individual and Organisational Career Development :
Career development consists of the personal actions one undertakes to achieve a career plan. The
actions for career development maybe initiated by the individual himself or by the organisation.
These are discussed below:
1. Individual Career Development:
Career progress and development is largely the outcome of actions on the part of an individual.
Some of the important steps that could help an individual cross the hurdles on the way ‘up’
may include:
a. Performance:
Career progress rests largely on performance. If the performance is sub-standard, even modest career
goals can’t be achieved.
b. Exposure:
Career development comes through exposure, which implies becoming known by those who decide
promotions, transfers and other career opportunities. You must undertake actions that would attract
the attention of those who matter most in an organisation.
c. Networking:
Networking implies professional and personal contacts that would help in striking good deals outside
(e.g., lucrative job offers, business deals, etc.). For years men have used private clubs, professional
associations, old-boy networks, etc., to gain exposure and achieve their career ambitions.
d. Leveraging:
Resigning to further one’s career with another employer is known as leveraging. When the
opportunity is irresistible, the only option left is to resign from the current position and take up the
new job (opportunity in terms of better pay, new title, a new learning experience, etc.). However,
jumping too jobs frequently (job-hopping) may not be a good career strategy in the long run.
e. Loyalty to Career:
Professionals and recent college graduates generally jump jobs frequently when they start their
career. They do not think that career-long dedication to the same organisation may not help them fur-
ther their career ambitions.
To overcome this problem, companies such as Infosys, NIIT, WIPRO (all information technology
companies where the turnover ratios are generally high) have come out with lucrative, innovative
compensation packages in addition to employee stock option plans for those who remain with the
company for a specified period.
f. Mentors and Sponsors:
A mentor is, generally speaking, an older person in a managerial role offering informal career advice
to a junior employee. Mentors take junior employees as their protégés and offer advice and guidance
on how to survive and get ahead in the organisation. They act as role models. A sponsor, on the other
hand, is someone in the organisation who can create career development opportunities.
g. Key Subordinates:
Qualified and knowledgeable subordinates, often extend invaluable help that enables their bosses to
come up in life. When the bosses cross the bridge, they take the key subordinates also along with
them. In his own self-interest, the subordinate must try to find that winning horse on which he can
bet.
h. Expand Ability:
Employees who are career conscious must prepare themselves for future opportunities that may
come their way internally or externally by taking a series of proactive steps (e.g., attending a training
programme, acquiring a degree, updating skills in an area, etc.).
2. Organisational Career Development:
The assistance from managers and HR department is equally important in achieving individual career
goals and meeting organisational needs.
A variety of tools and activities are employed for this purpose:
a. Self-Assessment Tools:
Here the employees go through a process in which they think through their life roles, interests, skills
and work attitudes and preferences. They identify career goals, develop suitable action plans and
point out obstacles that come in the way. Two self-assessment tools are quite commonly used in
organisations.
The first one is called the career-planning workshop. After individuals complete their self-
assessments, they share their findings with others in career workshops. These workshops throw light
on how to prepare and follow through individual career strategies.
The second tool, called a career workbook, consists of a form of career guide in the question-answer
format outlining steps for realising career goals. Individuals use this company specific, tailor-made
guide to learn about their career chances. This guide, generally throws light on organisation’s
structure, career paths, qualifications for jobs and career ladders.
b. Individual Counseling:
Employee counseling is a process whereby employees are guided in overcoming performance
problems. It is usually done through face-to-face meetings between the employee and the counselor
or coach. Here, discussions of employees’ interests, goals, current job activities and performance and
career objectives take place.
Counseling is generally offered by the HR department. Sometimes outside experts are also be called
in. If supervisors act as coaches they should be given clearly defined roles and training. This is,
however, a costly and time consuming process.
c. Information Services:
Employment opportunities at various levels are made known to employees through information
services of various kinds. Records of employees’ skills, knowledge, experience and performance
indicate the possible candidates for filling up such vacancies.

Succession Planning

Succession planning is a strategy for passing on leadership roles—often the ownership of a

company—to an employee or group of employees. Also known as "replacement planning," it
ensures that businesses continue to run smoothly after a company's most important people move on
to new opportunities, retire, or pass away.

Succession planning is an ongoing process that identifies necessary competencies, then works to
assess, develop, and retain a talent pool of employees, in order to ensure a continuity of leadership
for all critical positions. Succession planning is a specific strategy, which spells out the particular
steps to be followed to achieve the mission, goals, and initiatives identified in workforce planning. It
is a plan that managers can follow, implement, and customize to meet the needs of their organisation,
division, and/or department.

Succession planning establishes a process to recruit employees, develop their skills, and prepare
them for advancement, all while retaining them to ensure a return on the organization's training
investment. Succession planning involves understanding the organization's long-term goals and
objectives, identifying employee development needs, and determining trends.

Succession planning is a process for identifying and developing new leaders who can replace old
leaders when they leave, retire or die. Succession planning increases the availability of experienced
and capable employees that are prepared to assume these roles as they become available. Taken
narrowly, "replacement planning" for key roles is the heart of succession planning.

 In dictatorships, succession planning aims for continuity of leadership, preventing a chaotic

power struggle by preventing a power vacuum.[1]
 In monarchies, succession is usually settled by the order of succession.[1]
 In business, succession planning entails developing internal people with the potential to fill key
business leadership positions in the company.

Effective succession or talent-pool management concerns itself with building a series of feeder
groups up and down the entire leadership pipeline or progression.[2] In contrast, replacement
planning is focused narrowly on identifying specific back-up candidates for given senior
management positions. Thought should be given to the retention of key employees, and the
consequences that the departure of key employees may have on the business.[3]
Fundamental to the succession-management process is an underlying philosophy that argues that top
talent in the corporation must be managed for the greater good of the enterprise. Merck and other
companies argue that a "talent mindset" must be part of the leadership culture for these practices to
be effective.

Process and practices

Companies devise elaborate models to characterize their succession and development practices. Most
reflect a cyclical series of activities that include these fundamentals:

 Identify key roles for succession or replacement planning

 Define the competencies and motivational profile required to undertake those roles
 Assess people against these criteria - with a future orientation
 Identify pools of talent that could potentially fill and perform highly in key roles
 Develop employees to be ready for advancement into key roles - primarily through the right set
of experiences.

The continued existence of an organization over time require a succession of persons to fill key
position. The purpose of succession planning is to identify and develop people to replace current
incumbents in key position for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons are given below:

 Superannuation: Employee retiring because of reaching a certain age

 Resignation : Employee leaving the current job to join a new job
 Promotion : Employee moving vertically in the hierarchy of the organisation
 Diversification : Employee being re-deployed to new activities
 Creation of New Position : Employee getting placed in a newly created position

Distinction between "Career Planning and "Succession Planning” :

No doubt, career planning as well as succession planning constitute very important input to
manpower planning. Sometimes, many people consider that the terms "Career' Planning" and
"Succession Planning" are synonymous. But it is not so. Distinction between them is made clear in
the following box.
 Career Planning Succession Planning
1. Career planning is the process or 1. Succession planning is the
activities offered by an organisation to important process which involves
the individuals or its employees to identification of individuals or
identify their strength, weaknesses, employees as the possible successors
specific goals and the jobs they would to the key or very senior positions in
like to occupy. Through career an organization which such position
planning, the employees, individuals, become vacant. Thus, in short,
identify and implement steps to attain succession planning focuses on the
their career goals. identification of vacancies and
locating probable successor.
2. In career planning, an organisation is 2. In succession planning, the focus of
concerned with strategic questions of attention is the persons who can
career development. occupy the vacant post.
3. Career Planning is a must for all 3. Succession planning is essential for
managerial cadres and posts. all those who operate in key
functional areas and also for key
managerial cadres that are likely to
become vacant.
4. Career Planning's basis is long term 4. Succession Planning is usually for
till the retirement of the employment 2 to 5 or 2 to 7 years period for an
contract. individual but it is a continuous
exercise for an organisation.
5. The important objective of career 5. The important objective of
planning is to explore the opportunities succession planning is to identify the
to enable the individual employees to most suitable, potentially qualified,
grow and to develop and also to efficient, skilled and experienced
encourage or motivate them for self- employees or individuals to occupy or
development. succeed to key positions when they
become vacant.