Career Development – Meaning

Career development is essential for implementation of career plan. While career plan
sets career path for an employee, career development ensures that the employee is well
developed before he moves up the next higher ladder in the hierarchy.
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 differs from employee development through training and
development in terms of time perspective. While career development has long-term
orientation covering the entire work-life of an individual, employee development has
immediate and intermediate-term orientation.
Therefore, some of the programmes may be common for those but their orientation may
be different in terms of time perspective. For successful and effective career
development, employee training and development should be compatible with an
individual’s career development in the organization.

Career Development – Need

i. Making Available Needed Talent: Career development 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
development 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
development 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 development
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 development
they are likely to respond in kind by projecting positive images about their
organizations. Career development does help organization in impressing image and
goodwill.
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.

Importance of Career Development:

Both external and internal factors influence the need for career development.
Among these factors, Slavenski and Buckner (1988) list the following:
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 and decreasing advancement opportunities
8. Organizational philosophies and practices
Employers are motivated to establish career development programs because such
programs are seen as an effective response to various HR problems, because top
managers prefer to promote existing employees and to ensure a good fit between the
work and the worker, and because employees have expressed interest in career
development as a benefit.

Career Development – Initiatives taken up by Organizations: Workbooks,

Workshops and Counselling
Now a day, many organizations take initiatives to help the employees in managing their
careers.
1. Career Planning Workbooks:
Workbooks are prepared by organizations to guide their employees individually through
systematic self-assessment of values, interests, abilities, goals and personal development
plans.
2. Career Planning Workshops:
a. Career workshops offer experiences similar to those provided by workbooks.
b. Workshops have the added advantage of providing a chance to compare and discuss
attitudes, concerns and plans with others.
c. While some workshops focus on current job performance and development plans,
others deal with life career plans and value.
d. Career workshops help people assume responsibility for their own career.
e. The workshops help the employees learn how to make career decisions, set career
goals, and create career options.
f. Career workshops build confidence and self-esteem in employees.
3. Career Counseling:
It is the process of discussing with employees their current job activities/performance,
their personal and career interest and goals, their personal skills and appropriate career
development activities. Career counseling is usually voluntary. Career counseling may
be provided by HR managers, line managers, specialized staff counselors or consultants
outside the organization.
Enhancing Career:
Every employee should consider managing his/her career like an entrepreneur
managing a small business. Employees must think of themselves as self-employed even
if they work in a large organization. A successful career requires maintaining flexibility
and keeping skills and knowledge up-to-date.
i. Knowing Oneself:
Every employee must analyse his/her strengths and weaknesses. They must list out what
talents they can bring to an organization. Personal career planning begins by being
honest with oneself.
ii. Managing One’s Reputation:
Without over-doing one must let others, within organization and outside the
organization, know about one’s achievements. Accomplishments must be made visible.
iii. Building and Maintaining Network:
Contacts- Joining national and local professional associations, attending conferences
and networking at social gatherings improve contacts.
iv. Keeping Current:
One must develop specific skills and abilities which are in high demand.
v. Balancing Special Competencies and General Competencies:
That is, being a specialist and also a generalist to have versatility to manage on ever-
changing work environment.
vi. Documenting Achievements:
All achievements must be recorded with proof.
vii. Keeping One’s Options Open:
One must also have contingency plans. Employees who are particular about career
development must understand the cliché “Hope for the best but be prepared for the
worst”.