Careerwise - How to prepare for the 2nd half of 2022? (Part 3)

By Dr. Timothy Hsi

In the third part of the series, I will now focus on what employers need to consider as they navigate the 2nd half of 2022.

In a poll completed by Monster recently, it was found that 86% of employees felt that their careers had stalled during the pandemic and 49% of these employees expected their employer to play a part in partnering with them to provide opportunities for career growth and development.?

Arising from the pandemic, competition for talent is no longer just focused on domestic markets but employers need to be aware that the competition is now for worldwide talent. In other words, if you want to attract the best candidates to your company, then there is a need to provide a favourable employee value proposition that prizes mental health support, recognition of psychological well-being and success. Gone are the days when employees are happy to just do the job they are supposed to do. The reality of the 21st Century workplace is that employees (millennials, Gen X, etc) are seeking both extrinsic as well as intrinsic rewards, especially in areas such as development and advancement opportunities, quality of their manager, management and work that is interesting (Rigoni & Adkins, 2016).?

In order to respond satisfactorily to these expectations, employers have to constantly finetune their retention strategies that balance extrinsic rewards, such as compensation versus intrinsic rewards, such as having a quality manager as well as extensive advancement opportunities.?

These combinations must be customized to the employee for maximum effectiveness, regardless of generation.

A Powerful and Relevant Strategy

One talent retention strategy that companies could consider adopting is that of equipping middle or direct line managers of teams with skills to engage their team members in career conversations. When done well, such conversations will release the team members to continually grow their careers in your organisation.?

These career conversations are NOT the yearly performance appraisal discussions that team members engage with their supervisors. Career conversations are separate discussions around the employee’s strengths, potential areas for development skills and knowledge-wise, and their career interests in the context of their current job roles as well as their future career aspirations. For more information regarding career conversations, read this article.?

For readers who are curious to learn how to engage in career conversations, please reach out to CDAS for more information on the various workshops and courses that addresses this. Email us at the following email address: [email protected]?

P.S If you missed the earlier parts of the series: Part 1| Part 2

Reference

Rigoni, B., & Adkins, A. (2016). What millennials want from a new job. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2016/05/what-millennials -want-from-a-new-job

CDAS?is an association based in Singapore that aims to Promote and Professionalize Career Development and Management in Singapore.