So, you want to prioritize career development. But where can you start?
Seeking out or starting a new job, changing career paths, or even adjusting to a new role can be quite the daunting task. And, in recent years, it’s common to find individuals in limbo when it comes to their careers.
47 million people voluntarily left their jobs last year, in what’s coined as “The Great Resignation” US. Bureau of Labor Statistics. According to Gallup 51% of U.S. employees are actively looking for a new job or are open to taking on a new role, should the opportunity arise.
With constant change on the horizon, and statistics like these fresh in mind, the need for individuals and organizations to prioritize career development has risen to the forefront. It’s why ImageThink has compiled all the tools and exercises you need to clearly map the exciting future paths of your employees and organization. So, stay with us here as we help you map your journey.
Career Development and Organizational Success
Prioritizing career development is a proven method to satisfy both organizational and employee needs. Developing career paths enables employees to understand their growth options within the organization including promotions and lateral transfers. Gathering insights to determine what skills and strengths they need or already possess is a great way develop a roadmap for development and contribute to the success of the company.
The following are key benefits of career development:
1. Attracting Better Talent
Clear career growth opportunities are the golden-ticket for top industry talents and are a key factor in job hunting for candidates looking to excel in their career and support the success of an organization long term.
2. Higher Productivity
Maintaining productivity relies on an employee’s keen understanding of what their role entails, and what’s expected of them, but also knowing what their role can become. Not only can this improve an individual’s career, but it can also help drive the company forward.
3. Better Workplace Satisfaction
Career development signifies to employees that they are valuable, and that the organization has no dead-ends. Whether it’s expanding roles or providing educational and networking opportunities, prioritizing the development of employees will keep them from jumping ship if their role starts to stagnate.
4. Growth Opportunities
Both an organization and employees benefit when leaders consistently assess each individual’s potential and help them see what their path and prospects can be. When leaders invest in training and development, they can expect a performance boost from the new skills that employees can apply to overarching organizational goals. Employees who believe that you’re investing because you care about their careers also tend to have increased engagement and commitment; their heightened sense of connection and loyalty often motivates them to achieve more and contribute in new ways.
5. Organizational Relations
A growth-oriented environment allows an organization to flourish with positivity, dedication, determination, and acceleration. Investing in the future of employees through career development promotes healthy relation-building and communication and can lead to better functioning of the organization at every level.
Visualizing Your Future
Now that you know all about the linkage between career development and organizational success, you’re probably anxious to get started. ImageThink’s toolbox of strategic illustrations and exercises is widely loved and used by organizations, teams, and individual leaders to chart the path forward.
Take the initiative today and start with a few visual exercises you can do at your desk, or in your next career development session.
1. Chart Your Goals
Use a mind map template to identify and illustrate your goals for the next year. Where do you want to be professionally 12 months from now? Break it down into categories: Loving, Doing, Being, Working, and Learning. An example of a goal may sound something like, “Twelve months from now, I want to be learning Mandarin Chinese.”
Identifying your goals can help kick-start your initiative to develop within your role and team.
2. Identify Your Value
Do you consider yourself an open-minded, creative person? Or, are you more adventurous and optimistic? What we value is important to us because it guides our aspirations and dictates our attitudes towards life. This exercise is all about value identification and permanenting those values to serve as a visual reminder.
Of the following values, circle the top five which resonate with you the most. If you don’t see one there, write it in yourself. Next, take each of your circled values and turn it into an epic, everlasting tattoo. Now you have a visual representation of your values. Pin it up in your workspace and use it as a tool in your professional development journey.
3. Map Your Network
Opportunities to grow or develop are all round you – hidden in the form of existing connections. Learning from, and leveraging the unique individuals that are in your life is an excellent tool for making a lateral transition or reaching for a desired promotion.
To start, identify the contacts in various aspects of your life. Your network can include anyone from family members, to close friends, and work colleagues. But we encourage you to look beyond those at the top of mind. Think of the relationships you’ve built from hobbies, daily activities, or old connections to be rekindled. By the completion of this exercise, you’ll be amazed at just how big your network is, and the possibilities it can provide.
Create Actionable Roadmaps for Employee Success
With journey-mapping and strategic illustrations, ImageThink helps clients develop and capture sound visual strategic plans for growth and development. Whether it’s communicating mission statements, creating an end-to-end employee journey, or clarifying departmental and organizational charts, a strategic visual created from employee insights can act as an invaluable tool for goal setting, identifying next steps, and seeing the bigger picture.
Whether you are just starting out or thinking big, having an expert visual strategist create journey maps or lead a career planning workshop is a great way to revolutionize your learning and development strategy.
If you’re looking to visualize the future and achieve success in your organization, implement a new learning and development plan, or host a career development workshop for your team and organization, ImageThink is here to help. Give us a call today to strengthen and visualize your career development strategy.
