Career Planning

Meaning of term Career

It denotes all the jobs that are held during one s working life.  It consists of a series of properly sequenced role experiences leading to an increasing level of responsibility, status, power and rewards.  It represents an organized path taken by an individual across time and space.


Career Related Terms

Career Goals: The future positions one strives to reach as part of a career.  Career Path: The sequential pattern of jobs that form a career.  Career Progression: Making progress in one s career through promotions.  Career Counselling: Guiding and advising people on their possible career paths and what they must do to achieve promotions.


Career Related Terms

Mentoring: The process wherein an executive or senior employee serves as a guide, friend, philosopher and supportive confidence to the new entrant.  Career Anchor: The basic drives that give the urge to take up a certain type of career. E.g. Technical competency, creativity, managerial competency,


Career Anchor (Drives)

Technical Competence continuous learning and updating one s expertise in a technical or specialized area such as quality control, advertising, public relations etc.  Managerial Competence opportunities for higher responsibility, decisionmaking, control and influences over others.


Career Anchor (Drives)

Security and stability of career.  Autonomy and independence of action.  Creativity, innovation and risk-taking.


Concept of Career Planning

Career Planning the systematic process by which one selects career goals and the path to these goals.  From the organization s viewpoint it means helping the employees to plan their career in terms of their capacities within the context of organization s needs.


Concept of Career Planning

It involves designing an organizational system of career movement and growth opportunities for employees from the employment stage to the retirement stage.  It is managerial technique for mapping out the entire career of young employees.


Career Plan for MBA Graduate

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Management trainee Asst. Manager Deputy Manager Manager Deputy General Manager General Manager

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Features of Career Planning

It is a process of developing human resources rather than an event.  It is a continuous process due to an ever changing environment.  It is not an end in itself but a means of managing people to obtain results.


Features of Career Planning

It is the responsibility of an organization to provide guidance and counseling to its employees in planning their careers and in developing and utilizing their knowledge and skills.  The basic aim is integration of individual and organizational needs.


Objectives of Career Planning

To attract and retain the right type of persons in the organization.  To map out careers of various categories of employees suitable to their ability and willingness  To ensure better use of human resources through more satisfied and productive employees.


Objectives of Career Planning

To have a stable workforce by reducing turnover and absenteeism.  To increase the utilization of managerial reserves within an organization.  To improve motivation and morale of employees.


Relation between Career Planning and Manpower Planning



Manpower Planning provides an inventory of skills and potentials available within an organization. But Career Planning determines who (on the basis of Performance and Potential) could be groomed for higher level assignments, where, when and how (i.e. after what kind of training).

Relation between Career Planning and Manpower Planning



Manpower Planning provides information about the human resources available within the organization for expansion, growth and technological innovations. But Career Planning only tells as to who could succeed in case of retirement, death, resignation, etc. of existing personnel.

Manpower Planning provides following information for Career Planning

    

Inventory of Human Resources Manpower needs in terms of number, type, skills, levels and time Changes in functions and activities, two, five or ten years hence.. Nature and extent of behavioral changes required to meet manpower needs. Availability of human resources within and outside the organization, training opportunities, training resources and training time.

Steps in Career Planning

Preparation of Personnel Inventory status, duties, qualifications, age, aptitude, ability and acceptability (surplus or shortage)  Identifying Career Needs (HR Manager may assist)  Identifying career Opportunities  Matching of Employee s Aspirations with Career Opportunities


Steps in Career Planning

     

Formulating and Implementing Strategies Changes in the career systems by creating new career paths Changing employee needs and aspirations to help scale down unrealistic goals and/or creating new aspirations Seeking new basis of integration through problem solving, negotiations and compromise Training and development to meet individual and organizational needs Reviewing career Plans

Advantages of Career Planning

Knowledge of various career opportunities  Helps to select the career which is suitable to his life style, preference, family environment and self development  Helps to identify talented employees  Internal promotion, up gradation and transfers boost up motivation and morale  Lowers employee turnover  Enhances job satisfaction  Improves employees performance


Limitation of Career Planning

Not suitable for small organizations  Not suitable for unskilled and semi-skilled jobs  Long term planning not feasible  Political intervention  Some careers do not have much scope for advancement  Technological and economic factors may lead to declining stage to some career


Requirements of Effective career Planning

Top management support  Growth and expansion  Clear goals  Proper selection  Proper age balance  Management of Career Stress  Fair promotion policy  Adequate publicity  Motivated and hardworking staff


Succession Planning

Succession Planning
A Succession Plan is to fill key positions over time.  It is essential for the survival and success of an organization.  The purpose of Succession Planning is to identify and develop people to replace current incumbents in key positions in cases of resignation, retirement, growth etc.  Succession can be from within or from outside the organization.


It is the process of ensuring a suitable supply of successors for current and future senior or key jobs It includes complicated activities like


Determining the projected need for managers and professionals by company level functions and skills Auditing current executive talent to project the likely future supply from internal sources Planning individual career paths based on objective estimates of future needs and assessment of potential Career counseling in the context of the future needs of the firm as well as those of the individuals

Relation between Career Planning and Succession Planning Career Planning and Succession Planning appear to be similar but not synonymous.  Career Planning covers all levels of employees whereas Succession Planning is generally required for higher level of executives.  Succession Plan involves identification of vacancies that are likely to occur in the higher levels and locating the probable successors.


Relation between Career Planning and Succession Planning Succession Planning facilitates continuity of the organization.  Career Planning may consist of charts showing the career paths of different categories of employees showing how they can advance up in the organization.  Succession Plan consists of a runner up chart or succession chart for a particular position such as General Manager.


Career Development

Career Development
Essential for implementing Career Plans  Undertaken by individual employees and the organization to meet career aspirations and job requirements  Every employee must accept his responsibility for development  Career Planning and Organizational Career Planning will prove really useful if they are properly integrated


Organizational Career Planning Integrate short-term and long-term human resource needs Develop a career plan for each individual

Individual Career Planning Assess personal interests and abilities Collect data about organizational Opportunities Set career goals Develop a strategy to achieve career goals

Integrate organizational needs and individual career plans Designing individual career paths, create developmental Strategies and provide career counseling

Career Development Implement career plans Publicize job vacancies Appraise employee performance Employee development through on-and -off the job experiences Evaluate career progression

Elements of career Development

Career Need Assessment  Developing and Publishing career Development Opportunities  Need-Opportunity Alignment a) Management by Objectives b) Career Counseling  Monitoring Career Moves


Problems in Career Development Dual Career Families  Changing Family Needs  Low Ceiling Careers  Declining Career Opportunities


Steps to Handle Problems

Improve Manpower planning and forecasting systems  Improving dissemination of career option information  Initiated career counseling  Developing effective internal and external Assessment Centres  Supporting educational and training programs  Introducing more flexible reward and promotional systems


Career Development Initiatives

Career planning workshops  Career counselling  Monitoring  Personal development  Career workbooks


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Career Counseling

Career Counseling
Career Planning involves counseling individuals on their possible career paths and what they must do to achieve promotions.  The need for such counseling arises when employees want to plan their own careers and develop or train themselves for career progression in the organization


Objectives of Career Counseling



   

To help individual concerned to develop himself by giving him some idea of the direction in which he ought to be heading To help individuals to study and understand the world in which they live To provide guidelines to help him understand more clearly and develop his thinking and outlook To provide guidance about opportunities for greater personal satisfaction, pleasure and happiness To understand the forces and dynamics operating in a system

Career Stress


Many employees experience stress at work which may be damaging to the individual and to the organization.

Symptoms of Career Stress

Apathy  Withdrawal  Dissatisfaction  Absenteeism  Increased accident proneness  Hypertension  Heart disease


Causes of Career Stress

Blockage of career  Lack of control on himself as he feels that he is on the way out  Impending retirement  Out-paced by younger employees


Management Help
Stress Management Program  Clarification of uncertainty  Increasing the level of participation  Job switch  Gainful occupation after retirement


TO REVIEW

..

CAREER
A Career is all the jobs that are held during one s working life  A Career path is the sequential pattern of jobs that form a career  Career goals are the future position one strives as a part of a career  Career Planning is the process by which one selects career goals and the path to these goals


Career Development


Career Development is those personal improvements one undertakes to achieve a personal career plan Career management is the process of designing and implementing goals plans and strategies to enable the organisation to satisfy employee needs while allowing individuals to achieve their career goals

Accelerated promotions with development targets against future needs of the business  Performance related training and development to prepare individuals for future roles as well as current responsibilities  Planned strategic recruitment to fill short term needs and to provide people to meet future needs


Career Defined
The sequence of positions held by a person during his or her lifetime.  The Way It Was

 Career

Development

 Provided

for information, assessment, and training  Helped attract and retain highly talented people
 Now
 Individualsnot

the organizationare responsible for designing, guiding, and developing their own careers.

Boundaryless Career
A

career in which individuals, not organizations, define career progression and organizational loyalty