Career Pathing 101: Elements & Implementation

People want to continuously develop in their careers. They’d like regular upskilling and training. They need to know that they have opportunities to progress in your company. If you don’t implement career pathing strategies, you could lose them.

A 2019 LinkedIn report found that 94% of employees would stay with a company longer if it invested in their careers. How would you handle losing your top talent tomorrow? The right career pathing strategies can help you retain your top talent. This will also ensure that your company has the skills and resources it needs to remain competitive and relevant in today’s market.

Career Pathing Defined

A career path is a professional long-term plan for an employee to reach a new role. The plan sets specific goals and identifies the skills and experience required to achieve them. Within an organization, managers should oversee the laying out of career paths for each employee.

Rather than focusing only on career advancements, career pathing considers all development opportunities. It will include promotions, lateral moves, job rotations, and skills training. It’s important to remember that achieving career goals doesn’t mean following one straight line.

Elements of Career Pathing

Career pathing is fundamentally individual to each employee. However, HR and management should consider it on a company-wide level, too. While employees need career paths for their personal development, employers need them to create a more productive, engaged, and skilled workforce.

Every career path requires several elements:

• Clear direction – the desired outcome both short and long-term
• Skills and experience – the skills and experience required to achieve certain career goals
• Training and development – the necessary training and development tools
• Tracking – a way to monitor and evaluate performance to ensure employees are on track
• Feedback – a mentoring and feedback system that aids career development

Implementing Career Pathing in Your Organization

Career pathing isn’t a one-stop-shop, it’s an ongoing process. Throughout their careers, employees can use them as a benchmark to understand their growth.

Let’s break down how to implement career pathing in your organization into seven steps.

1. Identify career paths

Start by identifying the career paths available within your organization. Ask your employees what they want from their careers. You may find that many don’t have any idea and require guidance. You should also determine what progression your company needs.

2. Assess existing employee skills and interests

Thoroughly assess the existing skills of your employees and document this information. Consider skills and competencies, as well as personal interests and goals. Use software to help you record this data for ease of analysis as the career pathing progresses.

3. Identify skills gaps

Consider the skills and experience required for each career path and identify what skills gaps you currently have. Be mindful of emerging skills and technology in your industry that will be relevant to these roles in the future.

4. Create development plans

Create individual development plans for all your employees. Include the required skills and experience and a breakdown of how to gain them. Though it takes a lot of time and effort, individualized plans for each employee will yield the best results.

5. Provide training and upskilling

Though employees are responsible for some of their professional development, you must provide training opportunities. Offer training in different forms, being considerate of individual preferences. This includes online courses, group exercises, quick skill-building, and practical training. 

6. Evaluate performance

As mentioned, career pathing is a continuous process that requires ongoing evaluation. Monitor your employees’ progress as they advance in their career paths. Ensure that they’re on track to achieve their goals, and make adjustments when they hit roadblocks.

7. Offer feedback and mentoring

Your employees will require feedback with this performance evaluation. Ensure that they know what they’re doing right or wrong so you can empower them to grow. Assign a mentor or coach who can offer regular guidance and inspire their development journey.

Examples of Career Pathing

The following are a few examples of career pathing across different industries. Remember that not all roles will have the same end goal, and it’s possible for employees to move laterally across their own team or even other departments.

• Engineering: Junior Engineer > Senior Engineer > Project Manager > Senior Project Manager > Engineering Consultant

• Education: Teacher Assistant > Teacher > Curriculum Coordinator > Assistance Principal > Principal

• Marketing: Marketing Coordinator > Marketing Manager > Director of Marketing > VP of Marketing > Chief Marketing Officer

• Salesperson: Sales Representative > Assistance Manager > Manager > Regional Manager

• Technology: IT Help Desk > Help Desk Manager > Network or Systems Administrator > Network or Systems Engineer > Security and Compliance Director > Chief Technical Officer

Creating a Continuous Learning Culture

Career pathing should exist at all levels of your organization. Ensure your employees know how they fit into the bigger picture. Show them they’re valued and serve an important purpose. Then, give them the tools to make career advancements that they can be proud of. As you do so, you’re ensuring that you have the skills and experience to remain competitive in your industry.

Career pathing should be a part of your company culture. Continuous learning is the key to engaged employees and a successful organization.