Career Management

Career Management
The Basics of Career Management
• Career
– The occupational positions a person has had over
many years.
• Career management
– The process for enabling employees to better
understand and develop their career skills and
interests, and to use these skills and interests more
effectively.
What Is Career Management?
• Career management is the process through

which employees:
– Become aware of their own interests, values, strengths,
and weaknesses.
– Obtain information about job opportunities.
– Identify career goals.
– Establish action plans to achieve career goals.
The Basics of Career Management
• Career development
– The lifelong series of activities that contribute to a
person’s career exploration, establishment,
success, and fulfillment.
• Career planning
– The deliberate process through which someone
becomes aware of personal skills, interests,
knowledge, motivations, and other characteristics;
and establishes action plans to attain specific
goals.
Career Management and Employee
Commitment
• The “New Psychological Contract”

– Old contract: “Do your best and be loyal to us,
and we’ll take care of your career.”
– New contract: “Do your best for us and be loyal to
us for as long as you’re here, and we’ll provide
you with the developmental opportunities you’ll
need to move on and have a successful career.”
Why Is Career Management Important?
• From the company’s perspective, the failure to

motivate employees to plan their careers can
result in:
– A shortage of employees to fill open positions
– Lower employee commitment
– Inappropriate use of money allocated for training and
development programs
Why Is Career Management Important?
(continued)
• From the employees’ perspective, lack of career

management can result in:
– Frustration
– Feelings of not being valued by the company
– Being unable to find suitable employment.
Employees’ Role in Career Management
– Assess interests, skills, and values.

– Take the initiative to ask for feedback from managers and peers
regarding their skill strengths and weaknesses.
– Accept responsibility for own career
– Establish goals and career plans.
– Utilize development opportunities.
– Talk with manager about career.
– Seek out career information and resources
– Follow through on realistic career plans
Managers’ Role in Career Management
•Provide timely performance feedback.

•Provide developmental assignments and
support.
•Participate in career development
discussions.
• Support employee development plans.
HR Manager’s Role in Career Management
• Provide information or advice about training and

development opportunities.
• Provide specialized services such as testing to

determine employees’ values, interests, and
skills.
• Offer counseling on career-related problems.

Company’s Role in Career Management
– Communicate mission, policies, and procedures.
– Provide training and development opportunities.
– Provide career information.
– Offer a variety of career options.

Evaluating Career Management Systems
• Career management systems need to be

evaluated to ensure that they are meeting the
needs of employees and the business.
• Two types of outcomes can be used to
evaluate:
– Reactions of the customers (employees and
managers) who use the career management
system
– Results of the career management system
Employment Transitions
• Promotion
• Transfer
• Retirement
• Voluntary Turnover
• Involuntary Turnover
– Employment-At-Will
– Discipline Systems
– Termination for Cause
– Retrenchment & Layoffs
Managing Promotions
• Refer to advancements to positions of increased
responsibility.
• Benefits
– For employees: more pay, responsibility and job
satisfaction
– For employers: provide opportunity to reward
exceptional performance, and to fill open positions with
tested and loyal employees.
Making promotion decisions
– Decision 1: Is Seniority or Competence the Rule?

– Decision 2: How Should We Measure Competence?
• Performance appraisal
• Assessment center
– Decision 3: Is the Process Formal or Informal?
– Decision 4: Vertical, Horizontal, or Other?
Managing Transfers
• Employers’ reasons for transferring employees
– To vacate a position where an employee is no longer

needed.
– To fill a position where an employee is needed.
– To find a better fit for an employee within the firm.
Managing Transfers
• Employees’ reasons for desiring transfers
– Personal enrichment and growth

– More interesting jobs
– Greater convenience (better hours, location)

Retirement
• Retirement
– The point at which one gives up one’s work, usually
between the ages of 60 and 65.
• Preretirement practices
– Explanation of Social Security benefits
– Leisure time counseling
– Financial and investment counseling
– Psychological counseling
– Counseling for second careers
– Health counseling
– Counseling for second careers inside the company
Voluntary Turnover
Source of figure: Fisher, Schoenfeldt, & Shaw (2003), Figure 16.3

• Progression to withdrawal: Dissatisfaction leads
to withdrawal & negative job behaviors
Voluntary Turnover
• Quitting may also be due to sudden changes
– Internal job-related, e.g., not getting a promotion

– External job-related, e.g., getting better job offer
– External off-job, e.g., spouse getting transferred

Voluntary Turnover

• Turnover costs: costs of replacements & lost
productivity
• Retention costs: Higher pay, better benefits, more
programs to increase satisfaction
Voluntary Turnover

• Retention Management
– Exit interviews
– Organizational surveys
Retention Management
• Identify the issue
– Exit interview
– Organizational Survey
• Compensation
• Selection
• Professional growth
• Meaningful Work and Ownership of goals
• Promote work-life balance
• Use High Performance Work System (HPWS)
Employment-At-Will
• Employment relationship exists at the will of the tw
parties (employee & employer)
– Either party may terminate the employment relationship
any time for any reason (unless a restriction applies)
• Employee can quit at any time for any reason (unless a restrictio
applies)
• Employer can fire the employee at any time for any reason (unle
a restriction applies)
Employment-At-Will
• Restrictions on employment-at-will
– Civil rights legislation
• Disparate treatment: Can’t use protected characteristics
(race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age if 40 or older, or
disability) as the basis of who to terminate or layoff
– Union contracts: contract language may specify reasons
and procedures to be followed in termination and
layoff cases
Discipline Systems
• Progressive Discipline System
– Develop an array of sanctions from less serious
to more serious
Example:
• Oral warning
• Written reprimand
• 3 day suspension without pay
• Termination
Termination for Cause
• Some offenses are so bad they typically
justify immediate termination
Examples:
– Falsify résumé or employment application
– Falsify work records
– Divulge trade secrets
– Steal company property
– Possession of a weapon
– Possession of alcohol or illegal drugs
– Assault of supervisor or fellow employees
Termination for Cause
• Termination does 2 things:
– Punishes the problem employee
– Sends a message to other employees about
what will not be tolerated
• Managing terminations
– Document, document, document
– Conduct termination interview in private
(except for witness or video tape)
Discharge
• Employees can be discharged for
– Mental incapacity
– Physical incapacity
– Continuous ill-health
Retrenchments & Layoffs
• Other terms: downsizing, restructuring,
right-sizing, reductions-in-force (RIF)
• The term retrenchment is usually used to
refer to permanently discharging an
employee because he or she will not be
needed for the foreseeable future.
• In case of layoff employee is temporarily
put off work with the likelihood of being
recalled once business picks up.

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Career Management

The Basics of Career Management

• Career management is the process through

• The “New Psychological Contract”

• From the company’s perspective, the failure to

• From the employees’ perspective, lack of career

– Assess interests, skills, and values.

•Provide timely performance feedback.

• Provide information or advice about training and

• Provide specialized services such as testing to

• Offer counseling on career-related problems.

– Communicate mission, policies, and procedures.

– Provide training and development opportunities.

– Provide career information.

– Offer a variety of career options.

• Career management systems need to be

– Decision 1: Is Seniority or Competence the Rule?

– To vacate a position where an employee is no longer

• Employees’ reasons for desiring transfers

– Personal enrichment and growth

– Greater convenience (better hours, location)

Source of figure: Fisher, Schoenfeldt, & Shaw (2003), Figure 16.3

– Internal job-related, e.g., not getting a promotion

– External off-job, e.g., spouse getting transferred

Source of figure: Fisher, Schoenfeldt, & Shaw (2003), Figure 16.4

Source of figure: Fisher, Schoenfeldt, & Shaw (2003), Figure 16.5

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