Career Management

Career Management Best Practices

Some of the programmes recommended are given below:

• Challenging initial Tasks.

• Information Dissemination.

• Assessment centres.

• Career counselling.

• Mid-career correction seminars/workshops.

• Training and Development.

• Job Rotation.

• Deputation/Long Leave.

(a)        Challenging Initial Tasks: Career success has shown significant relationship with challenging job assignment in the initial periods. In other words, an employee who faced challenging tasks during the initial period of engagement and has become successful has better chances of career success during the later periods. This shows importance of initial placement and socialisation.

(b)        Information Dissemination: Free flow of information regarding career prospects in an organization is very important. Management must publish documents containing information such as eligibility conditions for promotion, appointment  to key posts, special training or experience required in a particular field/area as a prerequisite for promotion of a given post, etc. Such information serves the following purposes:

How Development Occurs in Organizations

• It prevents spread of rumour and half –truths spreading through word-of mouth regarding promotion and career prospects.

• It stimulates /motivates employees to acquire special skill knowledge or experience well in time.

• Improve knowledge and skill of employees of organisation and make available right talents at the right time.

(c) Assessment centres: Assessment centre provides an opportunity to assess the knowledge, skill and ability of employees. Since managers and supervisors are acting as assessors, this centre provides an opportunity for assessors to observe the behaviour carefully and draw inferences. The feedbacks to assessee also help him to improve his ability. It also gives better insight in performance appraisals to managers. More than anything else, it gives better opportunity to observe and learn the process of development.

(d)Career counselling: Career counselling assists the assesses to know his performance against the standard expected by organisation. Some of these objectives are given below:

1. Assess employee’s hopes, aspirations and expectation.

2. Assess employee’s performance, achievements and shortcomings.

3. Assist employee to know organisational expectations and take a “realistic picture” of his expectations vs. opportunities available.

4. Assist training and development needs of employee’s and steps required thereof.

5. Assist employee to overcome anxiety and fear.

(e)Career guidance sessions/seminars/workshops: Such seminars must be organised by management which give an opportunity for managers and supervisors to interact with each other, air their respective views of their expectations and perceive problems standing against their aspirations and objectives.  This provides a very useful common platform of interaction between management and employees which generate free and frank discussion. Many things can come out from such seminars which are not otherwise possible to elicit, in one-to-one official transactions. Such workshops can bring together persons of similar background and length of service for introspection and self-analysis in regard to future prospects within the organisation or outside. This seminar can also identify training and development needs of some of the participants of a given category or area of specialisation, without which career stagnation is predicted. Based on diagnostic analysis in such conferences following are recommended for removing obstacles to career paths of employee:

• Identify potential mismatches between employees and jobs.

• Identify Training and Development programme to overcome mismatches.

• Recommend changes in organisations career development programmes and practices.

• Recommend the need for individual employees to change their career aspiration being unrealistic.

Such seminars are very useful for employees in the following occasions:

• Time of entry of employees in the organisation during the socialisation /induction period.

• Mid –career correction of employees.

• Late career assurance of employees.

(f) Training and Development: Training and development is an important means of updating skill, knowledge and competence of employees. This helps organisation to improve its knowledge base, to become successful in market by attaining and sustaining competitive advantage. This step also helps the individual employees to meet their aspirations of career prospects.

(g) Job Rotation: Job changes can prevent obsolescence and simulate career growth. There are two types of job rotation viz, vertical or horizontal. Vertical movement involve job enrichment and more authority through leave vacancy or temporary promotion or assistantship. Horizontal rotation exposes variety of job which involves job enlargement and more experience in allied fields or specialisation. It increased confidence and knowledge of persons which in turn increases one’s promotion chances.

(h) Deputation/Long Leave: Employees who have put up less than average performance carryout self-assessment and introspection. There are two options for them. These are:

• Improve their performance to assure individual career objective.

• Look for career opportunities elsewhere, which better their prospects in life.

• Undergo further training programme.

• Look for an opportunity to relax and recuperate their energies and rejuvenate their spirits.

Deputation on longer duration on seminar –cum-workshop is one such method. Another method is to go on long leave for relaxation. A change of place and relaxation, at a different location other than the normal workplace, aid such exercise.