The other side of the HR table: Explaining Careers to the 20-something year old professional

In my very first month as the HR Manager for a function, an employee in his late 20s asked me, “Souvik, what do you think I should do next? How do I build my career in Sales & Marketing?” With only 1 year of experience in my organization and being new to the FMCG industry, I wondered if I knew the answers to the same questions for myself before I could assist my colleague. I asked myself, “Why do people need structured careers? What do businesses gain by designing career paths for their employees? What role does the Human Resources function play in this process?"

In this article, I will reflect upon my learnings over the past half-decade about the other side of the Human Resources table and attempt to explain to young professionals how their HR teams design careers.

My father was a mechanical engineer. He spent the first 25 years of his career in production and manufacturing across factories. Later, in his 50s, he moved to sales in a leadership role. Not once during his professional journey did he interact with his Human Resources partner to understand his career path. He enjoyed life as it came to him and was contended with how he was told what his next role in his career would be. He wasn’t the only one who felt this way. His organization had hundreds of similar employees who followed similar instructions and were content with the opportunities that came their way. Employees continually developed new skills with each new role they were offered, and the company consistently delivered value to its customers and shareholders. Annual attrition remained in the lower single digits. My father realized much later, in his 50s, that every job assigned to him was meticulously thought through and was derived from a much larger framework which was used for over two decades by his company to design the careers of hundreds of people based on the business's long-term goals.

Every strong business has clear goals defined for the near term and the long term. To accomplish these goals, every company must optimize its assets—People and Money—in the best possible way. Businesses make their Money work through long-term strategic bets and investments. But how do these same firms ensure that their People contribute effectively to achieving the business’s long-term goals? The answer lies in assigning responsibility to their Human Resources functions to channelize potential and skills, at scale, and align them with the business’s interests. Imagine every employee as a droplet of water, and the business as a river. The business gains momentum only when all the droplets of water come together and flow in unison. To flow in unison, the water droplets need a well-designed stream with strong and resilient banks. This stream represents the Career Development philosophy that a company defines for itself, and the Careers Framework represents the banks.

For instance, an FMCG company aiming to be omnichannel in the next 5 years will build careers that provide its people with experiences across multiple sales and marketing channels. A bank seeking to increase its penetration in rural markets will design careers that deepen its employees’ understanding of the target consumer across villages. Meanwhile, a consulting firm specializing in social impact will create careers that involve engaging with key opinion leaders in government bodies and sustainability top-teams within private firms.

Now, let’s explore how Career Frameworks are designed and why it’s crucial for you to understand your organization’s Careers philosophy. Careers have two dimensions: Horizontal Progression and Vertical Progression. Societies with higher Power Distance Index (as defined by Dr. Geert Hofstede) prioritize Vertical Progression more than those with lower PDI scores. Companies consider this cultural dimension when designing their Career Frameworks. Other cultural dimensions, such as Individualism vs. Collectivism, Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI), and Long-term vs. Short-term Orientation, also play a role. Businesses then align these cultural factors with their long-term goals to design the brochure of experiences for their employees. For example, in cultures with high PDI scores, strong individualism, high UAI, and a short-term orientation, businesses may build pseudo-hierarchies in their Careers framework to provide frequent dopamine kicks and a sense of accomplishment through frequent promotions. However, this approach may hinder the development of General Managers as Horizontal Progression is less valued by the society. In contrast, cultures with lower PDI, greater collectivism, lower UAI, and a long-term orientation lead to Career frameworks that offer rich, diverse, cross-functional experiences. These setups also provide more opportunities for international and General Management careers.

Some setups encourage people to find their own purpose by choosing their own experiences, while others have a prescriptive approach toward building careers. Businesses typically make these decisions based on their internal capabilities and the capabilities they intend to develop in the future (making it imperative for Human Resource teams to know the internal Human Capital levers for generating stakeholder value). For instance, a business operating in a streamlined industry with low competitive intensity will adopt a prescriptive approach to career development. In contrast, a business in a cut-throat industry will encourage employees to build their own experiences. This is because in competitive industries, the expectations from People change rapidly with shifts in consumer preferences, making it challenging for businesses to predict the skills they’ll need in the next 3-5 years. Similar to diversifying an investment portfolio to mitigate financial risks, businesses in competitive industries diversify the experiences of their People to safeguard long-term growth plans.

In conclusion, when planning your next career conversation with your Human Resources team, analyze the cultural dimensions of your society, your business’s long-term goals, and the industry’s nature. Your conversation will be more meaningful, and the outcomes will bear you fruits that you will cherish in the years to come.