According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 50.5 million people quit their jobs in 2022. Moreover, according to labor economists, the vast majority of people who quit their jobs did so to take other opportunities. And if these numbers weren’t mind-boggling enough, some data shows that 40% of employees were thinking about leaving their jobs within the next three to six months in 2022.
If reading this information made you wonder about the employee retention and labor situation within your own company, perhaps it’s time you take measures to prevent employee turnover and reduce employee turnover rate.
And one of the ways you can stabilize employee retention is by investing in a career pathing.
In the following text, we’ll explain what career pathing is and how it can reduce employee turnover and improve company image overall.
What is career pathing?
Career pathing is a process that allows employees to chart their careers; to define in which directions they want their careers to develop. By doing so, workers can achieve individual professional goals and grow in their roles, moving up or across the company ladder. As people are given new development opportunities and responsibilities, they may be offered promotions or options to take on more challenging roles within the organization.
From a company’s standpoint, what makes career pathing so attractive is the fact that it can reduce employee turnover. And even prevent it. When organizations decide to invest in their employees’ professional development, workers are more likely to stay for a long time and be loyal to the company.
You can develop individual career paths for each employee using Kadar. Book a demo with our team to see a glimpse of the Kadar experience!
Why would you want to invest in reducing employee turnover?
Truth be told, some organizations are proud to say they have a high employee turnover rate. These companies shamelessly promote the message that they are constantly searching for new talents that are ready to work on their “innovative projects”.
In reality, a high employee turnover rate is detrimental to any company for various reasons.
Firstly, recruiting and hiring new talent is neither quick nor easy. Finding and hiring the right candidates takes a lot of time, money, and effort; it’s a time-consuming financial investment with no guarantee of a positive outcome.
Secondly, a company’s image can be at risk. High employee turnover most commonly suggests that staff is not satisfied with their positions, treatment, and general working conditions within a company (such as negative work/life balance, lack of feedback, lack of feedback, of progression, etc.). Ultimately, it shows that a company can’t retain top talent, damaging the company’s reputation.
And thirdly, when employees leave, they take all the knowledge and skills the next employee has to learn, meaning that the onboarding process can take a while.
Now that you know why a company must have low employee turnover, let’s explore how career pathing can prevent and reduce employee turnover.
- Career pathing instills trust and loyalty.
When employees see there is an option for professional growth and that their career trajectory comes with a plan and a clear idea, they won’t have the need to look for job/career opportunities elsewhere; they’ll trust your company’s management when it comes to taking care of their careers. So, it is essential to provide workers with the necessary training, skill development options, seminars, and new projects so they can reach their full potential.
A Gartner survey revealed that career pathing increased employees’ intent to stay by 33%.
2. Career pathing increases motivation and productivity.
Workers are more likely to stay with a company when they are allowed to show and develop their skills, and talent and be recognized and acknowledged for their hard work. Not only that, workers that are being acknowledged have a stronger sense of belonging to their teams, and think of themselves as crucial parts of the organization. And as work satisfaction increases, so do motivation and productivity.
3. Career pathing allows employees to follow their passion.
Generally speaking, career paths tend to be vertical, meaning that the employees most commonly climb the career ladder within a company. But, in some cases, career pathing means choosing alternative positions and roles that workers have grown passionate about, which require a similar set of skills but are vastly different from the roles they were assigned at the beginning.
4. Career pathing gives employees a voice.
When employees are satisfied with their positions, roles, and responsibilities they are more open to solving any issues they might have with the team, management, and company processes. They are not interested in quitting their job and looking for new positions, as they are motivated to find ways to improve the situation.
Simply put: career pathing and career progression give your staff a voice; when you ask them questions about their professional goals and are genuinely interested in their work within your company, they won’t look for other positions as soon as they hit a bump on the road; they will reach out to you in hopes of resolving any issues they might have.
5. Career pathing switches thinking from job outcomes to career growth.
In most traditional companies, employees can climb the company ladder after they achieve admirable results. Career pathing changes the old way of thinking and allows management to switch focus from employees’ performance to employees’ skills and responsibilities and their overall satisfaction with their positions.
6. Career pathing can define which development programs should exist within a company.
By defining career paths for each employee, management can decide which skills need to be further developed and prioritize them so employees meet their career goals. One of the ways workers can develop their skills is through programs and training.
When it comes to development programs, we suggest that you start by choosing the programs that will attract a large group of workers (i.e., the Marketing and Sales department and Research and Development department) and then focus on promoting training and seminars that are attractive to particular teams or departments.
If you have difficulty choosing just one or a couple of development programs, turn to Kadar. Kadar has a fully integrated library with dozens of courses for various teams and company departments, and you can customize the learning library according to your company’s needs. If you notice that an employee wishes to develop a skill, all you need to do is assign courses to that employee. You can even track a workers’ progress on each course.
7. Career pathing increases company morale.
When it comes to company morale, one thing is clear: low company morale equals high employee turnover and vice versa.
Low company morale = high employee turnover
If people are constantly on edge and uncertain about their careers, roles, and responsibilities, or if their responsibilities increase, but positions stay the same, chances are there will be decreased morale within the company. They won’t have a sense of direction and purpose within the organization, which will motivate them to look for stability elsewhere. Career pathing can change all that.
Conclusion
Career pathing is a process that only helps employees but also assists companies in building a healthy work culture, where employees feel seen and appreciated.
If you are unsure where to start with career pathing, allow Kadar to give you a hand. Kadar enables you to develop individual career pathways based on employees’ current skills, performance, and job level. Book a demo now to see just how well the app works!
