Career Management

Career Management

Career management is the combination of structured planning and the active management choice of one's own professional career. The outcome of successful career management should include personal fulfillment, work/life balance, goal achievement and financial security

Career stages

1. Entry to the organization when the individual can begin the process of self-directed career planning.

2.   Progress within particular areas of work where skills and potential are developed through experience, training, coaching, mentoring and performance manage- ment.

3. Mid-career when some people will still have good career prospects while others may have got as far as they are going to get, or at least feel that they have. It is nec- essary to ensure that these ‗plateaued‘ people do not lose interest at this stage by taking such steps as providing them with cross-functional moves, job rotation, special assignments, recognition and rewards for effective performance, etc.

Later career when individuals may have settled down at whatever level they have reached but are beginning to be concerned about the future. They need to be treated with respect as people who are still making a contribution and given oppor- tunities to take on new challenges wherever this is  possible. They may also need reassurance about their future with the organization and what is to happen to them when they leave.

5. End of career with the organization – the possibility of phasing disengagement by being given the chance to work part time for a period before they fi nally have to go should be considered at this stage.

Career development strategy

A career development strategy might include the following activities: a policy of promoting from within wherever possible; • career routes enabling talented people to move from bottom to top of the organization, • or laterally in the fi rm, as their development and job opportunities take them; personal development planning as a major part of the performance management • process, in order to develop each individual‘s knowledge and skills; systems and processes to achieve sharing and development of knowledge (especially • tacit) across the fi rm; multi-disciplinary project teams with a shifting membership in order to offer develop- • mental opportunities for as wide a range of employees as possible.

Career management activities

As described by Hirsh and Carter (2002), career management encompasses recruitment, per-sonal development plans, lateral moves, special assignments at home or abroad, development positions, career bridges, lateral moves and support for employees who want to develop.

Career management practices 1. Postings regarding internal job openings.

2. Formal education as part of career development.

3. Performance appraisal as a basis for career planning.

4. Career counselling by manager.

5. Lateral moves to create cross-functional experience.

6. Career counselling by HR department.

7. Retirement preparation programmes.

8. Succession planning.

9. Formal mentoring.

10.            Common career paths.

11.            Dual ladder career paths (parallel hierarchy for professional staff).

12.            Books and/or pamphlets on career issues.

13.            Written personal career planning (as done by the organization or personally).

14.            Assessment centres.

15.            Peer appraisal.

16.            Career workshops.

17.            Upward (subordinate) appraisal.

The process of career management

Career planning

Career planning involves the defi nition of career paths – the routes people can take to advance their careers within an organization. It uses all the information provided by the organization‘s assessments of requirements, the assessments of performance and potential and management succession plans, and translates it into the form of individual career development programmes and general arrangements for management development, career counselling and mentoring.