Who all has ever quit a job, even if it was during your teen years? Do you remember the reasons for leaving that job? These reasons typically range from low pay, not enough work, poor management, better opportunity, and many more. I have asked several people over the past 5 years their thoughts on the largest reason for employees choosing to quit and do you know what the number one response was? Finding a job with higher wages.
My observations over the past decade did not agree with this myth that people leave due to pay. My thought was due to the lack of career development and/or opportunities. The Work Institute’s research into employee retention has shown just that. What is career development exactly? Many people do not know what this term envelops, even if they left a position for this reason without knowing it. According to CLEVERISM.com, “career development can be described simply as the ongoing or continuous process of managing one’s life, learning, and work (as a whole, not just work within an organization) in order to advance forward, toward the desired future.” One aspect you would come to learn about me as we spend time together, especially in a professional setting, is that I put a strong emphasis on the employee. I tend to put the most pressure on an organization to effectively and positively train and treat their employees. While I believe it is vital for organizations to place high importance on an individual’s career development by offering job-specific training, effective evaluation, advancement, etc to ensure better morale and retention, career development. But if you ask me, career development is ultimately the responsibility of the individual. Review the definition above, it is about the process of a person’s life from childhood to death, a process to achieve the goals and dreams an individual lays out for himself or herself.
Human nature (ever more evident in today’s culture) normally thinks “what’s in it for me?” and that is really at the heart of this reason to leave an employer. So I want to take a moment to speak to you, the individual. I have never met an individual that went through life without plans, goals, or dreams. You have to own your career development path. This started when you were a child. When you brought on by an organization, who hired who? They hire you. Why? Because they saw your skills and/or personality as something that would help achieve their organizational goals and dreams. Does this say anything about hiring you because they thought their skills and culture would help you achieve your goals and dreams? NO! An organization that excels will offer great plans for your career development with ongoing training and evaluation, but the company does not exist for you. They only do this to boost retention and a developed, content employee is (usually) the best and effective employee. By agreeing to work for them, you are essentially existing for them and their goals. The perfect relationship is when both sides’ needs are being met by each other organically.
How can you, the individual own your career development path and plan?
1. Self-development: There are countless books that assist and grow you. Start reading!
2. Attend or purchase professional development courses: Whether we are offering something or someone else. These are lifelong investments. Check with your employer to see if you could get reimbursed (a lot of companies offer this). Check with your accountant to see if it could be written off. Negotiate the price.
3. Write down your plans and goals: If you have never done this or do not know where to start, contact us. We would love to work with you to see you excel in your PPO lives (Personal, professional, and organization). We can even provide follow-up services.
4. Meet with your supervisor and/or HRM to see what career development options are available to you.
It is never to late to take charge of your career development…start today!