Is career development a HOT ?? topic in your organization?

Is career development and retention a hot topic in your organization? It seems to be with almost every L&D professional and organization I speak with these days. Maybe it's my own bias because that's the work I focus on these days, but it really does feel like it's coming up everywhere.

In May I attended the irresistible conference hosted by Josh Bersin and heard from many CHROs and heads of talent and this topic of retention and career growth kept coming up again and again. Why?

Well we've all heard about the so called "great resignation" and almost every client I speak with is reporting that their organization is seeing higher attrition than normal (even those with traditionally very low attrition are seeing an uptick). Can you relate?

At the same time, engagement surveys are showing the #1 thing employees want is more development. Does yours show the same? They also want to know their their work matters.

I've often asked L&D professionals about the connections and if they are doing exit interviews to see why people are leaving or even "stay" interviews to find out what people are concerned about or why they are staying. And that's absolutely what people are hearing. Employees want to know they can grow in their careers and they want to know how. Whether that's through promotions, learning and development, different project roles, or talent mobility.

So it's becoming obvious that employees want growth opportunities and if they don't feel like they are getting them, they are starting to look elsewhere. The frustrating thing is that most companies actually have plenty of opportunities for growth. The employees just don't know about it.

That's why it's so important that you help employees take ownership of their careers. Too many are waiting for someone to tell them what to do and it's not happening.

I'm hearing from many organizations that are taking this philosophy on and doing what they can to shift mindsets and inspire employees to own their careers so that they are more likely to take advantage of the tools and resources available.

It all starts with the Three Pillars of Successful Career Growth

If you want some inspiration and ideas for how to think about this, check out the latest episode i published on the?Talent Development Hot Seat podcast , in which I share the two things that drive career fulfillment and the?three pillars for successful growth . These pillars include organizations providng the tools and pathways for employees to grow in their careers, managers coaching their people, and employees owning their careers. Check out the podcast for more info.

And if you want to talk about shifting mindsets and inspiring your employees to own their careers so that they are more likely to proactively seek conversations with their managers and take advantage of tools and resources available, reach out to me and let's talk to see if I can help your organization (or you can book a call here ). I always love connecting with L&D professionals and would love to see if there is a fit to work together.

Note: I am leaving tomorrow (July 2) for a?2-week vacation?with my family (woohoo!) so I'll be booking calls in later July.

I hope you are having a great summer!

PS: I know Q3 is going to get extra busy for a lot of people and my calendar is already filling up with keynotes and client work, so now would be a good time to book a call in to see if we can work together this quarter.?