Game plan
The younger generation is expecting more from employers - and their own careers - but they also want to know they’re working for firms with a real conscience and not one merely ticking boxes.
According to a survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average person can expect to change jobs 12 times in a lifetime. With the expected average duration of working life in the European Union at 35.7 years in 2020, a dozen job changes is not all that surprising.
Regardless of the duration of our working lives, the act of changing jobs is no longer unexpected but rather is par for the course. The number of times a person changes career as opposed to job is more difficult to pin down but whether it is moving jobs or changing careers, it cannot happen without some preparation and consideration.
It’s important to remind ourselves that your career and its management is your responsibility and no one else’s. Warren Buffet notably said, “Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago”.
Career planning requires time for personal reflection, identifying skillset gaps and goal setting. The past almost 18 months or so have caused us all to pause and reflect on all aspects of our lives. The disruption of this pandemic has brought into sharp focus the things of greatest importance to us, both personally and professionally. Salary and additional life benefits were and always will be career factors but now, more than ever, employees want more.
An obvious consideration that has become a key part of career planning in recent times is remote or hybrid working. Various forms of this were already on the horizon but the current situation has propelled the concept forward in a way none of us could have imagined. Remote working and flexibility are no longer just ‘nice-to-have’ but seen as something that could make that much sought after work-life balance achievable. It’s clear that in search of that all-important balance, our personal and professional lives cross paths more than ever before
Flexibility is not simply about where we work but more importantly, how we work and how that work is valued. Priorities for businesses will continue to change as we navigate our way out of the pandemic and what is flexibility looks like will vary from business to business.
Company culture has been challenged and must adapt to accommodate these new ways of working. Employees want progressive organisations with a culture of understanding and trust, a sense of belonging, strong relationships and excellent leadership. A strong emphasis on the prioritisation of mental health and wellbeing is also fundamental. All of these factors are essential for attracting and retaining talent, improving morale and motivating the workforce.
Whatever form of work businesses adopt, clear and regular communication is key for helping employees to feel settled. People expect to be kept informed about all relevant matters in the organisation. McKinsey’s recent report on the future of remote working recognises that even high-level communication about working arrangements can boost employee well-being and productivity.
“We so often move from one work project to the next not taking time to take stock of lessons learned or accomplishments achieved. Taking some time to reflect on career plans should be a regular activity which can lead to opportunities to carve out better roles, increase job satisfaction and provide the motivation to take the next big step.”
Another relatively recent development is that when making career plans, people are looking for organisations that align with their own values and have a clear and meaningful purpose. There is no space for tokenism - organisations must talk the talk and walk the walk.
Environmental, social and governance considerations are on the rise and both employees and clients are paying attention to how organisations perform in this space. The development and implementation of programmes in areas such as diversity and inclusion, sustainable business and pro bono work all go to demonstrate a commitment by employers to making a societal difference. To look briefly at diversity and inclusion, the messaging in McKinsey’s most recent report titled “Diversity wins: How inclusion matters” is robust.
The business case for diversity continues to strengthen and companies that prioritise diversity and inclusion make better decisions, promote openness and enable equality of opportunity through fairness and transparency. Transparency is exceedingly important in order to make career plans, particularly for those looking to navigate up the ladder in an organisation. Knowing a path is available (even if not always linear) makes goal-setting and planning achievable.
In recognising that we will go through many changes in our careers, it is important to acknowledge that we are unlikely to do the same type of job all of our working lives. Identifying skillset gaps is therefore an important part of career planning.
With the adoption of technology in the workplace and rise of automation, our work will continue to shift in the years to come and open up opportunities for growth. Technology already forms an integral part of our working lives.
A commitment to continuous learning from employers and the option to upskill is, and will continue to be, a key ask from employees. In a recent survey by Cpl, over 80% of respondents wanted to upskill. Over half of those people were interested in upskilling in their current area of work and approximately 20% were looking at upskilling in areas outside their own profession.
There are many factors to think about in developing a career plan which can at times seem daunting. However, building a successful career requires working with purpose, figuring out what you want and what is important to you and keep that under constant review.
We so often move from one work project to the next not taking time to take stock of lessons learned or accomplishments achieved. Taking some time to reflect on career plans should be a regular activity which can lead to opportunities to carve out better roles, increase job satisfaction and provide the motivation to take the next big step.