Benefits of Supporting Your Employees’ Career Aspirations

Benefits of Supporting Your Employees’ Career Aspirations

Supporting employees’ career aspirations can significantly boost engagement and retention. High-performing employees who consistently meet deadlines, ask for more responsibility, and seek feedback are often driven by clear career goals. However, many employees with similar ambitions may feel unsure about how to progress or uncomfortable vocalizing their goals. Proactively fostering these aspirations helps organizations increase employee engagement and retention by aligning personal and organizational growth.

Studies show that employees who feel their development aligns with their goals are far more likely to stay, with engaged employees being 87% less likely to leave their roles. Building clear career paths empowers employees to see a future within the organization, resulting in higher satisfaction, loyalty, and productivity.

Career Paths Lead to Skill Development

To meet employees’ career aspirations, HR teams can create personalized career paths, offering upskilling and reskilling opportunities. A Gallup study found that 91% of employees seek personalized training, which both fulfills their goals and aligns with company objectives.

• Upskilling involves building new skills to help employees move vertically within the organization, preparing them for promotions and more responsibilities.
• Reskilling supports employees in learning skills needed to transition into different roles within or outside their department, promoting a culture of internal mobility.

By aligning skill development with career paths, companies close skill gaps while motivating employees to achieve their personal and professional goals.

According to a McKinsey Global Survey, almost nine in ten executives and managers say their company either face skill gaps already or expect gaps to develop over the next five years. When upskilling and reskilling is conducted based on career paths, not only can company-wide skill gaps be closed, but it can also be done in a way that helps employees accomplish their individual goals. This increases motivation and engagement as you are empowering your employees to take control of their careers and skill growth journeys.

Upskilling and Reskilling Leads to Increased Engagement

According to research, only about 30% of employees are classified as engaged at work. This can negatively affect productivity and hurt your internal culture. When employees are working towards a specific goal, growing their skills in a calculated way and have more agency in their future, they feel more engaged at work. Studies from Gallup indicate that seeing changes in employee engagement is best attributed to changes in how organizations develop their employees. Engagement, performance, and training are all aligned with each other. If you are working towards upskilling and reskilling your employees, but don’t understand their goals, you will most likely begin to see burn out and disengagement. On the other hand, if you ask employees where they want to be and help develop the skills they need to get there, you will see an increase in motivation and engagement. Companies with higher levels of employee engagement see a 21% increase in productivity and a corresponding 22% increase in profitability.

Increased Engagement Leads to Increased Retention

Employees who have personalized career and development opportunities are more engaged. As we mentioned earlier, engaged employees are 87% less likely to leave their current employer. If employees are provided with internal visibility into your organization, they are more likely to stay within the company to accomplish their career aspirations as opposed to job hopping. It is a way to save large amounts of money in recruiting and onboarding, while simultaneously creating a culture where your employees feel heard and in control of their own future. Employees that feel supported, in turn, support the innovation, growth, and revenue that your organization is working towards.

The ability to empower employees to work towards their career aspirations is one of the best ways to communicate to your employees that you are as invested in them as they are to you.

Employees’ Career Aspirations

Investing in employees’ career aspirations shows them they are valued, fostering a committed, motivated, and future-ready workforce. Learn how we can help you increase your company’s retention. Request a demo today!