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A Foundation for Career Conversations—Career Development Portals
July 06, 2009
By Caela Farren and Tom Karl
One of the most effective ways to facilitate career development conversations is through information provided in career development portals. Employees are in a quandary as to "what counts" for career success in an unstable world. Managers are so busy coping with change, they need all the help they can get to guide and keep their best resources. A career development portal can help both employees and managers concentrate on what's most important to talk about regarding the strategic business goals and changing individual career aspirations.
Both can come to this online resource for helpful tips on having powerful career conversations. With the right guidance from human resources professionals and C-Suite leaders, career portals bring fresh information that is user-friendly, 24/7, with the look and feel of the organization—its words, branding, and key issues front and center.
The most effective career portals house a myriad of information based on timely, relevant organization needs. These can include:
• Messages from the president on why "career development" is important at a particular time.
• Key professions required to support the mission.
• Trends in the industry that impact careers.
• Self-assessment tools for employees to help them discover their values, interests, and skills.
• Coaching tools for managers on how best to facilitate conversations about careers.
• Job families that are growing or shrinking.
• Career paths and competency information.
The information on the sites varies according to the specific then-current needs of the organization, such as retention, downsizing, growth opportunities, employee engagement, redeployment, and industry needs. Rich with this information, a career portal helps stimulate the conversation necessary for employees, managers and organizations to increase their self-awareness, skills, and career accountability.
Employees want career information—check-out your recent employee engagement survey or exit interview data, and see what your employees say. Employees want anytime access to career information and resources. They want interactive self-discovery tools to assess their progress and align themselves with opportunities.
They want to know how to keep their jobs safe; the best way to stay employed. What can they do to protect their jobs and families? They want to have a conversation about the best way to look for jobs and career development. They want to know how management assesses their performance and on what competencies…How can they be better prepared for fulfilling careers? Employees want to know about the resources that allow them to develop so they can add more value and be viable candidates for their career aspirations in the future. They want links to broader and increased networking opportunities, access and visibility with key leadership, management, and stakeholders. Career portals provide information and links to all of these resources.
• Managers need and want career conversations—they want to know how to host effective career conversations. Many managers need to build their skills, but don't know how. They want career resources and tools for support. They want to have conversations about methodology and a process for career coaching, a road-map for success when guiding their direct reports. Online portals offer career-coaching tips and offer managers answers to tough questions. Managers need a place to send employees to learn more about themselves, the organization, and their aspirations in order to promote effective career discussion. Career portals present these resources on-demand to all employees.
• Organizations need and want career development conversations to help gain competitive advantage. Portals offer organizations a variety of avenues for opening up conversations with employees and managers. The information gleaned from portals provides an avenue to increase skill development and knowledge in core technical and functional areas. Portals improve the confidence and skill of managers/leaders to host effective career and development discussions and distribute career information to the broader workforce quickly, across space and time, at any time, in a cost-effective way.
Carefully designed and well-used career portals have been shown to improve employee engagement and drive productivity, career development, and retention. Driven and integrated from larger talent management strategies, career portals provide a career development framework through a wide range of self-assessment and management tools. They optimize the ability of organizations to communicate key messages, roles, responsibilities, and benefits, and maximize the range of options managers can employ to effectively recognize and mentor talents and interests of staff members.
Caela Farren, Ph.D., is president, and Tom Karl is vice president, of career development specialist MasteryWorks, Inc., which builds integrated career systems intended to align talent with business needs; help leaders and managers engage, develop, and retain their people; and empower employees to take charge of their careers.
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