Driver of World Employment Federation.
getty
Great resignation. Big stop. Great revaluation. Stop quietly. Great rearrangement. Every day a new buzzword comes out to convey the same reality: people in all industries are rethinking what work means to them and how much space it should take up in their lives.
What we observe is a gigantic employment puzzle in which employees do not find their way back to the labor market. There are about 33 million people unemployed in all OECD countries. In Europe, vacancies are at their highest level in ten years; in the United States, more than 11 million job openings were posted in July 2022 against a pool of less than 6 million unemployed. This mismatch stems from the fact that today’s workers want more than fair financial compensation for their efforts.
Employees want to be invested
Recent research by Manpower Group found that 81% of employees expect employer-provided training programs to help them keep their skills up to date. LinkedIn’s 2022 Global Talent Trends Report says 63% choose work-life balance as their top priority when choosing a new job. The study by the Adecco Group and LHH found that while salary is the top reason people leave their jobs, it’s nowhere near the top three reasons they stay.
Employees want to feel personally valued, both in the short and long term, with the opportunity to grow. Aligning with their expectations is essential not only to attract employees, but also to retain them. One way organizations can demonstrate that they really understand what employees want is by providing career support. With the expertise of a coach, employees can gain clarity and understanding of their career path, the areas in which they may want to gain additional knowledge, and the steps required to achieve their goals.
What to ask yourself before offering career coaching
474,000,000. Enter “career coaching” into Google and this is how many suggested entries you will get. With this plethora of solutions, it can be difficult to figure out what will best support your employees in building a fulfilling, sustainable career path. To determine the right strategy, ask yourself these three questions:
1. Does career support fit into your personnel strategy?
Whatever you do to support your employees’ careers, it should be compatible with your broader workforce strategy. Employees today lack confidence that companies are really willing to invest in their careers. Launching an initiative that is separate from your strategy can lead to the perception that it is pure lip service, which will ultimately damage your company’s brand. So before committing to career support and skills programs, make sure they align with employees’ expectations of the company’s overall mission and vision.
2. What is your skills strategy?
Career orientation has been shown to be a strong factor for engagement in skills initiatives. Without the necessary support, practice has shown that only a limited number of people engage in sponsored retraining activities. It is therefore important to invest in targeted career guidance. For example, if innovation and learning are central to your corporate culture, you may want to build a large-scale career support framework alongside specific mobility pathways. This can be much more effective in getting engagement and helping employees to be successful.
3. Should I look for internal coaches or external expert support?
Embedding career guidance internally is often seen as more sustainable and affordable. Applying technology at scale and turning team leaders into coaches will certainly help build a mobility culture. However, enabling mindset shifts and discovering new opportunities requires mastering a specific set of skills, as well as a broader understanding of the job market. This can be a lot to ask of team leaders who already have many responsibilities. So, hiring a service provider might be the way to go.
Moreover, the main reason of the employees for not participating in available coaching is that the coaches come from within the company. This makes employees feel uncomfortable sharing their thoughts and goals openly. In addition to getting expert advice, engaging a career support service provider gives them permission to envision their ideal career without judgment. This helps build confidence in your intent to do the best for your employees, which can be a game-changer for the effectiveness of your programs.
Career paths are becoming less linear and transitions are more common than ever. This makes career support a fundamental feature for employee retention. Enabling rapid and sustainable work transitions is of paramount importance to everyone, including companies themselves.
businesskinda.com Business Council is the premier growth and networking organization for entrepreneurs and leaders. Am I eligible?
Janice has been with businesskinda for 5 years, writing copy for client websites, blog posts, EDMs and other mediums to engage readers and encourage action. By collaborating with clients, our SEO manager and the wider businesskinda team, Janice seeks to understand an audience before creating memorable, persuasive copy.