Results from the "How strong is your brand?" national survey by Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School in partnership with Vacature and Références

Developing a successful career is largely in your own hands. Although a career is very important to employees, staff rarely take action to develop their careers. They often look expectantly at employers when it comes to career management, however, this is rarely a good plan, as organisations also appear to be falling short in terms of career guidance. These are the conclusions from a large scale national survey undertaken by the Centre for Excellence in Career Management at the Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School in partnership with Vacature and Références. The online questionnaire was distributed during the course of December 2009 via Vacature’s website and was completed by 3924 respondents.

Career self-management at the forefront

In the last few years the slogan “the individual taking control of their career” has become either explicitly or implicitly part of HRM policy in virtually all organisations and initiatives aimed at career management. Career management has, in practice, been largely transformed into career self-management, which has often led to numerous opportunities for driven employees, particularly when self-management has been allowed to take place within a context of organisation growth, internationalisation and a motivational jobs climate. For many workers, particularly Generation Y, it has, at the same time, been a good reason to manage their own careers across organisational borders. Consider, for instance, the limited loyalty displayed by the youngest generation on the jobs market and the difficulties experienced by businesses in recent years in attracting and retaining talent. Career self-management is, in other words, an undeniable element to developing a successful career both within the context of growth as well as in terms of stagnation and retrenchment.

A BULLET POINT SUMMARY OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CONCLUSIONS

Current career

Approximately three quarters of employees (73%) believe they are viewed as a valuable member of staff by their company. Despite this sense of worth only 36% of employees believe this results in a concrete offer of new opportunities within the organisation.

Responsibility for careers

Both employees and job seekers believe in the first instance that they, rather than an organisation, are responsible for their own careers. However, it is noticeable that job seekers are more aware of the impact of contextual factors to the success of a career. For instance, 70% of employees indicate that they are personally responsible for the success or failure of their careers, compared to only 58% of job seekers.

Traditional or new types of careers?

There is still a large preference for traditional careers. Approximately half of employees (55%) want to work in an organisation where they are able to develop their entire future career. However, we also see a strong intention towards job mobility. 25% of employees want to change organisations in the course of their careers and 40% view their current job as primarily being a step towards a better job in another organisation. There is therefore a shift towards less traditional career pathways which is characterised by various changes in organisations.

Actions to develop careers

A successful career is very important to employees. For more than half (52%) of them it is so important that they would consider leaving the organisation if no beneficial career paths are on offer. Therefore, a well-developed career guidance policy may be a means for businesses to attract and retain staff. It is, however, noticeable that fewer than half of employees discuss his/her ambitions with a senior colleague (38%) or with a more experienced staff member in the organisation (42%). Furthermore, employees do not actively seek out career advice, as only 35% of them regularly ask for feedback from management about his/her opportunities for advancement in the organisation. Although a successful career is important for today’s worker, there is only a limited number of employees who make his/her ambitions known to the organisation.

Are employees therefore not actively engaged in their careers? The answer is: they are. More than half (61%) plan to think about which next steps he/she wants to take during their careers. There is, therefore, an important task set aside for managerial staff. They can form the bridge between the employees and higher levels of the organisation and in this process are able to ensure that employee’s career ambitions become known within the organisation.

Career management from an organisational perspective: More could be done

37% of employees receive training that helps to progress within their organisations. However, the proportion of staff receiving career advice is noticeably low (25%). The same also applies for the proportion of employees who have a personal development plan (18%). Furthermore, only 15% of employees have a mentor who helps them in developing their careers. Although employees believe that a successful career is important, it appears that career management is not a priority for organisations. This is a clear signal that more could be done to develop career guidance policies.

Staff reviews

A significant majority (78% of employees; 76% of job seekers and students) believe regular reviews with management are important to acquiring a clearer insight into their own career opportunities. Managerial staff therefore need to enter into a dialogue with employees about potential career paths within the organisation. It is remarkable that only 45% believe that there is a clear link between evaluation and outcomes and potential career pathways.

(Source: Results of the Project ‘Employee Branding’, undertaken in a personal capacity by Ine Willemse, Sara De Hauw & Ans De Vos, January-March 2010)