How managers can create empowered employees by investing in their career development planning.

For any company to grow, its employees must feel empowered on an individual level. Those who use their strengths every day are six times as likely to be engaged on the job. Those who feel their voice is heard are around 4.6 times more likely to feel empowered to perform their best. 

But how to enable this? Studies show that 89% of HR leaders agree that ongoing peer feedback and check-ins are key for successful outcomes. Therefore, managers must put serious effort into their team’s career development planning. 

What Is Career Development Planning? 

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was the world’s most successful employee. That’s why everyone must train themselves and develop their careers continuously. A career development plan helps you do just that. It’s a detailed document that contains an employee’s short-term and long-term goals, along with planned formal and informal simulations and training to achieve them. Managers play a crucial role in the career development of their teams. 

To initiate the career development process, as a manager, you can 

• Tell your team members that you want to meet them to discuss career goals.
• Ensure your meeting’s intentions are clear and set a positive vibe to the atmosphere before you do anything. 
• Ask your teams to think in advance about each growth and development option and see their career unfolding in the company. 
• Offer questions upfront and guide the meeting. 
• Offer printed handouts help, as do email follow-ups that can get people thinking.  

A good career development plan keeps employees from getting stuck in a rut. It helps them take responsibility for their weaknesses, define their career path better, and empower them to take charge of their advancement. 

Tips for Managers in Career Development Planning for Their Teams

In today’s era of Great Resignation, it is crucial to acknowledge the importance of keeping the employees engaged. To do so, managers must invest in their career development. It will not only make the employees better at their job but also help in the retention efforts.

Create goals following employee interest

Before you plan development for any employees, understand what their goals are and how to align them with your organizational objectives. That would help you in managing your hybrid workforce as it would help them stay connected with their team and company culture. Ease this task by linking each achievement to the fulfillment of their organizational objectives. 

Find skill gaps and provide solutions to address them

Career development isn’t complete without obtaining new skills or brushing up on the existing ones. A career development plan aims at enhancing the skill base of your team and gives them opportunities to learn and develop. It’s easy to assess the skills of your in-office employees as you meet them every day and you can monitor how they work. When it comes to remote employees, that becomes difficult as you don’t work in the same proximity, and you communicate with them less. 

Another way to handle challenges is by building rapport with your remote employees and conducting regular one-on-ones. That helps you touch base with your remote team regularly and aids you in getting to know them better. Furthermore, you’ll be able to conduct skill assessments to analyze gaps and understand whether your employees have the skills needed to perform their tasks successfully. 

Set the right expectations and objectives

If you can set appropriate expectations with your employees, you’ll easily help them define their goals and objectives. That would inculcate a sense of discipline amongst them and aid them in achieving their goals. Some employees may not have a complete picture of organizational growth plans or specific policies, but if you specify your expectations, it will be easier to complete all the tasks in a structured manner.

Set clear expectations when it comes to communication styles and processes, reporting methods, office hierarchy, and time. It’s important to ensure everyone is on the same page, even if they’re on separate schedules and time zones. Doing all this will help you assist your remote employees in their growth. It will help create a more concentrated effort. Setting the right targets will also boost the overall learning and development process.

For any career development plan to succeed, it is important for managers to ensure that 

• The career development plans are aligned with the interests and goals of the employees. The plans must be extremely personalized to address the specific needs  
• The plans are supported with sufficient resources such as coaching, mentoring, training programs, external education, and more
• The plans are regularly reviewed and adjusted based on the changing needs and changing career goals  
• There is a regular assessment of the progress and tweaks are made appropriately 

These tips should serve as a guideline to spearhead your career development planning process. Take this as an opportunity to improve not only your employees’ skills but yours too. That’s the best way forward in the journey to creating empowered employees.