Agile career paths for dynamic organisations

The 21st century career path is anything but a linear line to success.

Thinking back over the past several years of the global pandemic examples of businesses from global to local who have been able to shift operations to meet the unfamiliar environments are everywhere. In everyday life as we navigate Covid-19 the importance of adapting and being agile as keys for survival are demonstrated daily. But businesses do not adapt themselves; it’s employees who are accountable for business success and demonstrating agility. Those employees are the ones who can respond to change with the right actions and speed. An employee's ability to adapt and navigate changing environments; are an organisation's most important asset. That same pool of talent is at risk within organisations across the globe.

Many companies are currently facing or about to face issues in retaining talent. Many are seeing higher turnover rates and an increase in employees exiting to consider their career goals and how they wish to contribute to an organisation and live a life they have designed. We often hear from employees we coach is that one reason is the lack of internal career mobility; internal opportunities are not evolving at the same rate that talent needs are evolving. A career ladder (an upward and linear series of job positions, often within the same organisation, leading to promotion based on time in role and experience) has been the aim of many employees. But we can see evidence that, all that is changing. Modern career paths are far more fluid, with people moving across jobs, roles, and industries in search of better opportunities.

Career lattice and agile career paths

The concept of a career ladder no longer represents the best approach for talent or organisational needs. A career ladder approach is inflexible and assumes that all employees’ needs, goals are similar, and that achievement can happen in the same way for all through a progression upwards one role at a time.

We work with our clients to think 'career lattice'. A lattice is a structure made of interwoven pieces that cross over — up, down, around, across — one another. Often you see wooden lattice supporting the growth of plants. The lattice framework enables the plants to grow in multiple directions — up, down, left, right, across, under. The choice is up to the plant, while the lattice is simply the structure that supports the plant and enables it to flourish in the way it needs and wants to.

Translate this to supporting talent a lattice approach enables people to flourish and grow in multiple directions, and that is exactly what creating agile career paths offers.

Career lattices, or agile career paths, are flexible career plans that support talent development, upskilling and recognition in multiple directions. Such plans provide a proactive approach that gives employees a voice in their career growth and opportunities. Agile career paths acknowledge that ideas, skill development and recognition might flow in different directions, allowing information to flow where it is needed.

A framework that enables a more fluid type of mobility, such as agile career paths. brings value to the organisation through:

· Enabling employees to participate in talent development through career development where they can develop their own agile pathway.

· Increasing employee engagement.

· Improving productivity.

· Reducing turnover.

Embracing the concept of agile career paths helps employees recognize that they have options for mobility. It makes it clear to them that there are options apart from the old idea of just an up or down move on the corporate ladder. Which we have discovered is often a slow way to development as there are only so many positions upwards that are open, and organisations often go outside to secure new talent with fresh perspectives.

Agile career paths support the long-term growth potential for talent while not necessarily guaranteeing the employee long-term employment in the same job function throughout their career. Those days are gone. Instead, it is important to make it clear that employees have growth potential across the organisation. Employees should be enabled to comfortably assert their skills and value to the organisation and should understand the options they have available.

Agile career paths disrupt the outdated perceptions of what it takes to maintain a high-performing organisation. Talent within the organisation is encouraged to pursue new and challenging roles, projects and assignments that are a good fit for both the employee and the organisation irrespective of whether that involves an upward, lateral, or even downward move.

How does an organisation support agile career paths?

1. Start with skills

Understand the capabilities employees bring to their roles and map out where there are missing capabilities across the organisation. Once you overlay the two you can consider how to fill the capability gaps and only hire outside talent if no in-house capability exists.

Organisations can also start developing an employee value proposition to encourage employees to undertake a more flexible approach to their careers. Think fluid rather than traditional ladders. Challenge employees to think about a career that is flexible enough to allow the organisation to tap into an employee's full range of capabilities, areas of strengths and unique boundary crossing skills that they bring to the workplace.

Separate the concept of employee advancement from a titles and position changes perspective and allows workers to be ready to change course as the organisation needs it or the environment demands. (Covid-19 is an example of this).

2. Career conversations

In conversation with their manager, employees can map out an agile career path. The exercise provides opportunities for empowerment, responsibility, organisational learning, and career growth. The conversation and mapping can shift an employee's mindset from ‘I need to move up the career ladder’ to 'I need to navigate a changing environment and continue to develop skills'. In this take on career development, the employee is driving, and the manager is the navigator providing a level of coaching and advocacy to support the employees career goals. Together the manager and employee can create stretch assignments to promote growth opportunities and help the employee recognize the transferable skills they possess to support the desired career path.

3. Organisational culture

An agile career, much like an agile organisation, is constantly in motion.

A level of agility must be part of the organisational culture and how its approaches skill development.

Develop the capability in employees to embrace an agile career path unleash creativity, growth, and happiness — all of which promote engaged talent that an organisation can retain easily.

The career lattice thinking, and the development of agile career paths is taking hold as it provides benefits to individual employees and allows an organisation to be more responsive to a business environment that is ever changing.