Diversify career management

Business performance and competitive standing increasingly depend on the ability of a company to attract, motivate and retain the best talent.

Yet, the traditional concept of the business career, in which people start at the bottom and gradually move up the hierarchy, no longer applies. In today’s flatter matrix structures, opportunities to rise through the ranks have become few and far between. Employee expectations have also changed. People now care more about what they can learn from their jobs and the intrinsic interest of their work than earning a particular job title. A growing proportion aspires to manage their career personally to find a suitable work-life balance. And employee expectations have not only changed, but are also become more disparate than in the past, due to the increasing diversity of profiles and career paths.

Companies must work to satisfy these expectations to obtain solid commitment from their current workforce and attract fresh talent. The authors we have analyzed here point out that companies must develop innovative career management policies to address this challenge effectively. More broadly, professional advancement and career development mindsets must evolve. Three courses of action appear to be particularly relevant in this regard:

- Promote diversified career paths by expanding the range of career options and personalizing the way careers are managed and work is organized.

- Think in terms of skills to acquire, rather than job titles, to create interesting career moves that may not necessarily be hierarchical.

- Empower people to manage their own career. Employees are in the best position to decide what is best suited for them.