Careers Are No Longer Ladders To Climb

So how can businesses avoid getting left behind by their best talent, and support modern career development? By:

1. leveling the (hybrid) playing field, and
2. embracing employee-led learning

For many years, career mobility has often been more about who you know than what you know. Corporations have operated within established, hierarchical structures that encourage silos, and as a result, growth and opportunities often come only to those who are selected for them by someone higher up the chain.

COVID-19, and the global pivot to a more distributed workforce, has only increased the chances that an organization might miss out on developing key talent simply because of where they sit and who they interact with on a daily basis.

Companies should invest in new technologies and processes that give all employees visibility into emerging opportunities within the company, and the agency to pursue them.

The dangers of companies sticking with an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ approach it that they might just lose their best people without even realizing their full potential. Employees must be engaged, no matter where they are.

As of 2021, 80% of CEOs rank the need to teach their workforce new skills as their biggest business challenge; at the same time, research shows that opportunities for learning and development are one of the top driving forces behind an employee’s happiness and engagement at work. And yet, so often the way companies actually approach learning and development for their employees is inconsistent, one-size-fits-all, and comes from the top-down as part of an “upskilling initiative.”

Just as career paths are becoming less linear, so, too, are the ways employees learn and develop new skills. Today, career development is complex, occurring across multiple mediums inside and outside of the workplace. It’s driven as much by employee passions and interests as it is by the parameters of their job description. Companies need to meet their employees where they are with dynamic, democratized, and data-driven growth opportunities, or they will not only risk their bottom line, but they will handicap their best talent as well.

In a world where disruption is the new norm, companies need to take thoughtful risks and move with urgency. That requires them to think differently about talent management. The real question becomes: How can we deploy the talents and skills of hundreds or thousands of people at scale and with speed?

Companies essentially (should) want their employees to truly own their careers, applying their skills to different areas of the business and developing new skills that align to their passions. It’s really about connecting them to their possibilities. That’s a win for everyone—employees grow, business needs are met internally and of course, customers benefit from working with teams whose diverse experiences unlock more innovative solutions to their most pressing challenges.

Career progression is no longer a straight line. In fact, employee’s career pathways are just as winding, unique and changeable as their lives will inevitably be. The companies that recognize that, and adapt to it, will be best positioned to thrive beyond this pandemic, and whatever comes next.