Process of career planning

Elements of Career Planning

Career planning is the key process in career management. It uses all the information provided by the organization’s assessments of requirements, the assessments of performance and potential and the management succession plans, and translates it in the form of individual career development programs and general arrangements for management development, career counseling, mentoring and management training.

Career planning ‑ the competency band approach

It is possible to define career progression in terms of the competencies required by individuals to carry out work at progressive levels of responsibility or contribution. These levels can be described as competency bands.

Competencies would be defined as the attributes and behavioral characteristics needed to perform effectively at each discrete level in a job or career family. The number of levels would vary according to the range of competencies required in a particular job family. For each band, the experience and training needed to achieve the competency level would be defined.

These definitions would provide a career map incorporating ‘aiming points’ for individuals, who would be made aware of the competency levels they must reach in order to achieve progress in their careers. This would help them to plan their own development, although support and guidance should be provided by their managers, and HR specialists . The provision of additional experience and training could be arranged as appropriate, but it would be important to clarify what individual employees need to do for themselves if they want to progress within the organization.

The advantage of this approach is that people are provided with aiming points and an understanding of what they need to do to reach them. One of the major causes of frustration and job dissatisfaction is the absence of this information.

A competency band career development approach can be linked to

Aiming points

1. Competence band 1 definition
Basic training and experience

2. Competence band 2 definition
Continuation of medium training and experience
3.Competence band 3 definition
Continuation of advanced training and experience

Career planning is for core people as well as high‑flyers

The philosophy upon which career plans are based refers not only to advancing careers to meet organizational and individual requirements, but also the need to maximize the potential of the people in the organization in terms of productivity and satisfaction under conditions of change, when development does not necessarily mean promotion.

career planning is for individuals as well as the organization

Career planning procedures are always based on what the organization needs. But they have to recognize that organizational needs will not be satisfied if individual needs are neglected. Career planning has to be concerned with the management of diversity.

Career plans must therefore recognize that:

* members of the organization should receive recognition as individuals with unique needs, wants, and abilities;
* individuals are more motivated by an organization that responds to their aspirations and needs;
* individuals can grow, change and seek new directions if they are given the right opportunities, encouragement and guidance.