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Charles is thrilled to learn he has landed a position as a repair technician with a high-powered IT firm using the mechanical skills he learned running his own A/C company. His job is to fix malfunctioning equipment on-site for customers, and he’s exceptional at it. Two years later, he is promoted to assistant manager of his department. Two years after that, he makes full manager, which he considers his career’s last stop.
But that was in 1980. Today’s work place doesn’t function that way.
Today, a talented employee may come on with five years of experience working for a competitor or he may, as Charles did, obtain a position based on qualifying skills learned in a completely different field. That employee may be placed in a similar (or higher) position to the one he held with his previous employer, or he may get offered a chance at a completely different role that utilizes his strengths and experiences and that offers him a new challenge . Today’s marketplace grants him that choice. Today’s marketplace also grants him the opportunity to take his career farther than Charles was allowed to go.
In today’s work environment, a highly motivated employee may follow a variety of career paths to arrive somewhere new and exciting, their ultimate destination. In today’s environment, Charles wouldn’t have to stay in his same department. In today’s world, he could have made a lateral shift to training new employees or even to designing entire networks for clients.
Today’s workers expect that latitude, and they often choose new employers based on their ability to offer such non-traditional benefits as flexible work schedules and lateral promotion paths. Today’s workers want a challenge, and they do not want to feel boxed in by their past experiences or other current positions. Data and IT programs that enable employees to visualize the options available to them based on their strengths, acquired competencies, and work experiences can help current and new employees stay motivated and engaged by showing them everything a career with your organization can offer. To learn more, view the following Career Pathing resources: