PHRM Chapter 3

Career Planning ,Employee Morale & Job Satisfaction

 A) CAREER PLANNING
MEANING-
Career Planning is an organisational system of career movement and
growth opportunities from the point of entry of an individual in
employment to the point of his or her retirement. Career planning is not an
event or an end in itself, but a process of development of human resources.
It is the process of setting individual career objectives and devising
developmental activities necessary to achieve them.

DEFINATION- .
1.A career may be defined as ‘a sequence of jobs that constitute what a
person does for a living’.
2. According to Schermerborn, Hunt, and Osborn, ‘Career planning is a
process of systematically matching career goals and individual capabilities
with opportunities for their fulfilment’.

 Career Planning objective

1. Attraction and retention of the right type of persons in the organisation.
2. Mapping of careers of employees in the organisation suitable to their
ability and skill, and their willingness to be trained and developed for
higher positions.
3. Better use of human resources, more satisfied and productive
employees, and more fulfilling careers.
4. Reducing employee turnover and absenteeism, and thus having a more
stable and satisfied workforce.
5. Increasing utilisation of managerial reserves available at all levels within
the organisation.
6. Improvement of morale and motivation of employees by matching their
individual abilities and needs to the demand and reward of the job
ensuring them adequate opportunities for promotion and growth in the
organisation.
7. Overall achievement of organisational development, higher productivity
and fulfilment of corporate objectives.
 8. Ensure that men and women of promise are given a sequence of
experiences that will equip them for whatever responsibility they have
the ability to reach.
9. Provide individuals with the guidance and encouragement they may
need if they are to fulfil their potentials and remain with the
organisation.

 Career Planning Stages

(a) Identifying Individual Needs and Aspirations:

Most individuals do not have a clear cut idea about their career aspirations,
anchors and goals. The HR 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, simulationexercises etc. The basic
purpose of this 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.

(b) Analysing 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.

(c) Matching Needs and Opportunities:

After employees have identified their needs and have realized the existence of
career opportunities the remaining problem is of alignment. This process
consists of two steps- first, identify the potential of employees and then
undertake career development programs 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 to 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.

(d) Action Plans and Periodic Reviews:

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 the organizational view point, 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.

(e) Use of Employee Interest Inventories:

Assessment centres and HR departments of many organizations are frequently
using employee interest inventories for managing their career paths. One such
interest inventory is known as the Strong Vocational Interest Bank (SVIB) which
was first developed by K. Strong Jr. Later this interest bank was modified by G.
Frederic Kuder and the new interest inventory was based on employee
interests with respect to the mechanical, clerical, scientific and persuasive
activities of employees in their organizations.
Another inventory frequently used for measuring employee interests as well as
skills is the Campbell Interest and Skill Survey (CISS). It can be used not only to
assist employees in exploring their career paths and career options but also to
help organizations develop their employees or to reassign them because of
major organizational changes. The following matrix can be used to depict
combinations of employee career interests and skills.

 Career Planning advantages

(a) For Individuals

 (i) Gives knowledge of various careers development and promotion to
employees.
(ii) Encourages employees to avail training and development facilities for
skill development.
(iii) Provides help in making career decision according to his lifestyles, traits,
preferences, family environment, scope for self-development and aptitude,
etc.
(iv)Helps in identification of employees for promotion from within the
organisation.
(v) Contributes in motivating, satisfying and providing jobs satisfaction
through promotion and development activities.
(vi)Increases sense of responsibility, commitment and attachment to the
job and organisation.
(vii) Employee will await his turn of promotion rather than changing to
another organisation. This will lower employee turnover.
(viii) Increase productivity and performance on job from employees.
(ix) It satisfies employee esteem needs and develop positive attitude
towards organisation.

(b) For Organisations:

A long-term focus of career planning and development would solve many

employees’ related problems and effectiveness of manpower and utilization
of different resources will be proper.
There are many advantages of career planning to the organisation as a
whole and these are explained below:
(i) Helps in attracting and retaining talented manpower in the organisation.
(ii) Satisfies the employee expectations and minimizes employee labour
problems.
(iii) Makes easier for management to get support and cooperation of
employees.
(iv) By attracting and retaining the people from different cultures, enhances
cultural diversity.
(v) The employees’ turnover reduced and help in retaining the employees
for long time.
(vi) To create healthy working environment in the organisation.
(vii) Improves performance, productivity, and profitability.
(viii) Provides a fairly reliable guide for manpower forecasting.
(ix) Career planning facilitates expansion and growth of the enterprise.
 (x) Finally, the goodwill of the company improves in the market.

B) EMPLOYEES MORAL
 What is morale?
Morale is a state of mind or willingness to work which in turn affects
individuals and organizational objectives. According to Flippo "morale is a
mental condition or attitudes of individuals and groups which determine their
willingness to co-operate. Good morale is evidenced by employee enthusiasm,
voluntary conformance with regulation and orders and a willingness, to
cooperate with others in the accomplishment of an organization's objectives.
Poor morale is evidenced by surliness, insubordination, a feeling of
discouragement and dislike of the job, company and associates. "
 DEFINATION PF MORALE:
William Spriegal has defined morale as the co-operative attitude or mental
health of a number of people who are related to each other on some basis.
According to Alexandar H. Leighton morale is the capacity of a group of people
to pull together persistently in pursuit of a common purpose.
 Causes of Low Morale:
Following are considered to be causes of low morale in a group:
1. Morale of the employees will be low if some people are allowed to get away
with insufficient work, if work is inadequately divided, if there is any hint of
partiality or if there are considerable differences of pay among those with
similar length of service and class of work.
2. If one employee is getting higher emoluments but doing less important work
compared to one who is doing more important and quality work but is
receiving less salary, the morale of the latter is definitely going” to be adversely
affected.
3. If the supervisor makes a big fuss over a little fault of the worker, the morale
is definitely being undermined. This is one of the most frequent cause of
lowering the morale of employees.
4. If a worker is not well, physically or mentally, it is always a cause of
discomfort, especially when it is due to maladjustments in the work.
5. Morale may be seriously affected if the lines of authority which have been
established are not adhered to. If the superior short circuits his immediate
subordinate and gives orders directly to his subordinate’s subordinate, it
violates a fundamental principle of management. When this thing happens
repeatedly it undermines the morale of the subordinate who is shifted to the
position of a figure head only.
6. When there is no chance of promotion and the employee feels that while
remaining in the same organization, there are no future prospects he loses a
sense of belongingness.
7. If the employee does not get any sense of achievement while working in the
organization, his morale tends to be low. This, usually, happens in the
situations where a person feels that the underlying aim of building morale and
team work is personal advancement of the superiors or maximum profits for
the organization, they will consider themselves fools for working harder than
they have to.

Signs of Low Morale:

Perceptive managers are constantly on the lookout for clues to any
deterioration in the morale of the employees. Signs of low morale are,
generally, not noticed till it is obviously how or when something has gone
amiss.
Among the more significant of the warning signals of how morale are:
(i) High rate of absenteeism
(ii) Tardiness
(iii) High labour turnover
(iv) Strikes and sabotage
(v) Lack of pride in work and
(iv) Wastage and spoilage.

Signs / symptoms of High Morale:

Following are some of the significant signs of high morale of a group:
1. A tendency for the group to hold together not merely as a result of external
pressures but rather through internal cohesiveness.
2. A lack of tendency of its members to divide into subgroups.
3. An ability of the group to adapt itself to changing circumstances and to
handle internal conflicts.
4. A feeling of belongingness and togetherness among the members of the
group.
5. A commonness of goals among the members of the group.
6. A passive attitude of the members with respect to the objectives of the
group and to its leaders.
7. A desire on the part of the members to retain the group and a regard for its
positive value.
8. Feeling of belongingness
9. Group cohesiveness.
10. Commitment to organizational goals.
11. Feeling organizational citizenship
12. Longer stay with organization.
13. Less need for employee supervision.
14. Better interpersonal & industrial relations.
15. More peaceful & harmonious atmosphere
16. Increased adaptability among the group members.
17. Less or no strike & sabotages.
18. Less or no wastage/spoilage.
19. High level of pride in work.
20. Increase in quantity & quality of performance.
 MORALE IN THE WORKPLACE-
 GOOD MORALE
EVIDENCED BY:
 Employee enthusiasm
 Voluntary conformance with regulations & orders.
 Willingness to co-operate

 POOR MORALE

EVIDENCED BY:
 Surliness
 Insubordination
 Feeling of discouragement
 Dislike of the job, company & associates.

Importance of Morale
Morale is a state of mind or willingness to work which in turn affects individual
and organizational objectives. The importance of morale are:
• Higher performance.
• Better quality of work.
• Low absenteeism.
• Good discipline.
• Fewer industrial accidents.
• Stability and growth of the organization.
Gives motivation

c) JOB SATISFACTION:
 What is Job Satisfaction?
Job satisfaction is defined as the extent to which an employee feels self-
motivated, content & satisfied with his/her job. Job satisfaction happens when
an employee feels he or she is having job stability, career growth and a
comfortable work life balance. This implies that the employee is having
satisfaction at job as the work meets the expectations of the individual.
 Factors Affecting Job Satisfaction:
The following mentioned are few best factors of job satisfaction. They are
1. The co-workers:
The people who you work can be either one of two kinds.
First, they might be nice friendly people who are sure about their own abilities
and are always willing to help you in time of need.
Working with such people is not only very easy but it also fun. Overtime such
people do not remain simply co-workers, but they become family.As opposed
to this, in some companies, there are co-workers who are so insecure that they
are willing to stab you in the back just to get ahead in the career front.
Working with such people will indeed take a toll on you and make you dread
coming to the office.

2. The boss and management style:

A major factor affecting your job satisfaction is the kind of boss which you have
to work under.
If your boss is someone who is approachable and listens to whatever grievance
you have, then working for him automatically becomes rather pleasurable.
However, if your boss is someone who is never willing to be there for you in
your time of distress then working under him can be a source of great
dissatisfaction.
In addition to this, the management style of your immediate senior is also an
important factor. If you are an independent worker then someone constantly
micromanaging you might get on your nerves.

3. The general working environment:

There are many companies which ensure that the work environment of their
company is proper as they strongly believe that if the environment is not
conducive to work, then employees will not be able to give their best at all
times.
Companies, where there is too much of workplace politics or negativity, are
never able to make it big, simply because they have so much internal conflict
which does not let them proceed.
Similarly, the workers must feel safe and secure within the four walls of the
office. Without this workplace safety, they will never have any kind of
happiness or job satisfaction, rather they will be working in fear.

4. The salary which you receive from the company:

Nowadays, we are all well aware of the fact of how powerful money is. If you
do not have money then surviving itself becomes a challenge.
A major factor affecting your job satisfaction is the salary which you receive
from the company which you are working under.
Those individuals who feel overworked, yet underpaid are never able to give
their all to the company, simply because they feel that their contributions to
the company are not adequately rewarded, monetarily.
Good companies value their employees a great deal and they will never let
their employees feel this way.
They will rather, go out of their way to ensure their workers are happy and
provide employee job satisfaction.

5. The facilities you are offered:

There are many companies which might not be paying their employees a huge
salary but they do make up for this, by giving adequate facilities and benefits in
order to keep them satisfied.
This is indeed one of the major factors that influence employee job
satisfaction. What people do not realize is that even small facilities here and
there do account for a lot.
It lets the employees know that the company does care for their wellbeing and
has their best interest at heart. This does eventually bring out the best in all
the workers and encourages them to work harder.

6. The workload:
Various individuals join a career path because they believe that they can see
themselves doing this for the rest of their lives.
They strongly believe that no matter how much responsibility is entrusted to
them it will not feel burdensome to them because this is truly where their
talent and joy lies.
However this having been stated, over time, if the workload is too much, not
only will the passion fade, but the job satisfaction of employees will also
decrease. The amount of load you have directly affects your job satisfaction.
So ensure that you take on a challenging amount of work without trying to
overreach in order to gain some praise.

7. The sense of belonging and being heard:

Big successful companies are those where all the employees work as a
comprehensive team.
Companies, where everyone works as separate entities, are never able to
become very successful simply because there is no sense of belonging or unity.
All the employees will only do the work which is assigned to them and not a bit
more. It is only when the employees feel like they are an important part of the
company that they will be having some job satisfaction.
In addition to this, they need to feel like they are being heard and their advice
is taken into consideration by the high authorities.

8. Whether or not recognition is given:

Whether we admit it or not, all of us like to be recognized and praised when
we have managed to outdo ourselves in a task which had been assigned to us.
Employees will be lacking in job satisfaction if they find that no matter what
they do, they are never adequately rewarded and nor are they given any kind
of positive reinforcement. Credit should be given where it is due; sometimes
even a pat on the back helps someone feel good about himself.
This recognition when given also plays a major role in making the employees
more confident which is also important.

9. Your own likes and dislikes:

At the end of the day, it all comes down to whether or not you are happy with
the career path you have chosen or not.
Sometimes no matter how good the salary is or how nice the job is, people are
just not satisfied simply because this is not where their ability and passion truly
lies.
When taking up a job you should be sure about where our interests lie.
Job satisfaction is indeed very important and you should not let your own likes
and dislikes take a back seat when you are narrowing down on the kind of job
you have.

 Measures to increase Job Satisfaction

1. Work on The Culture.

The culture of an organization is influenced by the behaviours of its leadership.

Employees empathize with each other and demand respectful treatment of all
employees.
Senior leaders should set an example for these behaviours by demonstrating
respect toward others while holding people accountable for doing the same.
Respect for others can be demonstrated through professional communication
and internal policies that are honouring to employees.
For example, if the organization is forced to make some difficult changes that
impact an employee’s job, those changes should be communicated in a
sensitive way to honor the employees who may be impacted by the change.

2. Establish Trust with Senior Management.

Senior management needs to establish trust with employees at all levels.

Employees need to be able to trust those who have been placed in a position
of authority.
Leaders can establish this trust by demonstrating credibility and integrity in
everything they do. This means doing what you say and saying what you do.
Communication is often a key factor in trust. Employees can handle bad news
when it is shared. What they don’t like is the perception that there are secrets.
Communicating clearly and often while striving to explain the why behind
decisions can help to minimize issues of trust.

3. Expand job benefits.

Explore the benefits that employees appreciate and value. Benchmark your
total benefits package to ensure your package is competitive.
Focus on health and medical, paid time off, defined contribution plans, defined
benefit pension plans, work-life balance, and family-friendly benefits.
Often the low cost or no cost benefits get the greatest impact on satisfaction.

4. Offer competitive compensation.

Look at all aspects of your compensation strategy. Evaluate employee pay

grades, health benefits, and retirement contributions to ensure your
compensation package is competitive.
Benchmark like jobs and work to keep salary ranges in line with similar jobs.
If the recent regulation cuts have helped your business, share the benefit with
employees by increasing their pay.

5. Foster job security.

Employees are just now feeling relief from the recent recession that caused
workers everywhere to feel job insecurity.
Employers can help ease this by communicating with employees about the
financial state of the organization, strategic goals and objectives, and overall
performance.
When employees know their employer is doing well, they feel more job
security.
It is also important to include employees in global problem solving to ensure
they feel like they are part of the process and solution to organizational growth
and success.
6. Strengthen employee relationships.

Job satisfaction is also connected to relationships that the employee has with
co-workers.
Use teams of employees to problem solve and use team-building exercises to
help develop and strengthen co-worker relationships.

7. Focus on employee engagement.

Invest the time and resources in creating an environment where employees

thrive and love to work.
Monitor employee engagement and strengthen areas that foster it.

8. Provide opportunities for career advancement.

Employees want to know that there are opportunities within the organization
to grow and advance their careers.
Develop employees through coaching and mentoring programs, leadership skill
development, and succession planning to help ensure that employees are
prepared when higher-level job openings become available.

9. Train on job skills.

Employees value the investment organizations make into ongoing job skill
training.
This results in employees being more engaged in their roles, improved internal
processes, and increased worker productivity.

10. Provide professional development opportunities.

Investing in the career development of an organization’s workforce results in

employees who feel valued and grow professionally.
This includes training that results in certifications or degrees that enhance
employee skills and professional knowledge.
11. Provide a clear career path.

Provide high performing employees with developmental plans that prepare

them for promotions and increased job responsibilities.
Use the performance management process to highlight gaps in skills and to
plan for specific skill development.

12. Strengthen relationships with immediate supervisors.

The relationship with the immediate supervisor has always been a strong
indicator of job satisfaction.
This means organizations need to invest time and resources into strengthening
these relationships.
One way to help with this is to provide adequate training and a transition plan
for employees who are promoted to a supervisor role.

13. Recognize employee job performance.

Employees want to know that management recognizes their contributions and

accomplishments. Positive feedback, that reinforces performance behaviours,
can impact improved job performance.
Make recognizing employees a part of day-to-day management practices.
Finally, most employees come to work with the intention of doing a good job.
However, it is the organization’s responsibility to communicate effectively, let
employees know what is expected of them, give them the tools they need to
do their job and reward them for a job well done.
These management tactics can take an organization a long way toward
fostering satisfied employees, improving employee engagement, and achieving
business objectives.

 Advantages or Benefits of Job Satisfaction:

The following are a few top advantages of job satisfaction at the workplace.
They are
1. The work you submit will be very good:
One of the major benefits of job satisfaction is that the work which you submit
will automatically be of superior quality.
This is simply because you love what you do and you are willing to do whatever
it takes in order to go from strength to strength.
Those who do not have any job satisfaction will never be willing to go that
extra mile in order to impress the bosses rather they will be content, simply
doing the bare minimum amount of work.
You providing good work is not merely beneficial for the company, but it also
gains you a lot of recognition.

2. You will be eager to work:

Another major benefit of job satisfaction is that you will be eager to take on
new responsibility and your attitude towards your work will be rather positive
as well.
Your eagerness will help you learn a number of new and interesting things, but
in addition to this, it will also help you to take the company to new heights.
Not many people can say that they look forward to coming to work every day.
If you are one of the few people who have a great amount of job satisfaction,
then you ought to consider yourself lucky.

3. You will automatically rise from strength to strength:

A person who has job satisfaction will love his job and will consequently
perform all his duties to the best of his abilities.
Companies do take note of those employees who are performing all tasks with
diligence and it is these hard-working employees who are able to bag
promotions and rise from strength to strength.
Those who have no job satisfaction and are dissatisfied with their jobs will
never be given promotions as they have no positivity or driving force within
them.

4.Reduced Turnover

Happy employees stay put. High turnover can be a nightmare for employers
due to the time and money investment involved in re-hiring and re-training
qualified talent. You can't expect zero turnovers, but you can certainly mitigate
the risk by making employee satisfaction a top priority.

5.Higher Productivity

According to Villanova University, studies show that "employees who report

high job satisfaction tend to achieve higher productivity."

It makes sense that satisfied employees would feel more invested in a

company's success and therefore work harder to help achieve it.

6.Brand Ambassadors

When people are happy about something, they talk about it. For instance, if
you get terrific customer service at any establishment, the odds are that you'll
tell people about it and recommend going there. Happy employees will do the
same for you, promoting your brand and making you an employer of choice.

7.Better Customer Service

Satisfied employees are happier people in general, which means they're more
apt to give cheerful customer service. They readily represent your company
with pride, leading to gratified consumers.

 Disadvantages or Limitations of Job Satisfaction:

The following are a few top disadvantages of job satisfaction at the workplace.
They are
1. You never want to leave your comfort zone:
Though having job satisfaction is vital in order to help you have a happy
professional life, one of the chief limitations of job satisfaction is that you are
so content with what you do, that you will eventually refuse to leave your
comfort zone.
You will begin to accept only those tasks which you have been doing since you
joined the company and you will not be willing to try your hand at something
new.
As opposed to this, people who have low job satisfaction constantly want to try
their hand at something new; in the event of trying to find something they like
doing.

2. You refuse to challenge yourself:

People who have immense job satisfaction will never be willing to challenge
themselves with a daunting task.
This is because they are afraid that if they challenge themselves then the job
will not remain as satisfying as it was.
This having been stated, job satisfaction does not mean that you only take on
tasks which are easy for you and which you are used to doing, on the contrary,
job satisfaction means that you do your job irrespective of the challenges
which are thrown your way, as you know these challenges will only help you
better yourself.