A new survey of leaders and employees at many of North America’s largest employers, across a range of industries shows too many leaders think they are giving employees the tools to grow and thrive, but employees feel lost and stranded in their careers.
The results of the survey by Southfield-based Right Management, released by Right Management Great Lakes, shows leaders and employees are disconnected when it comes to defining career success.
Leaders tend to overestimate the importance of advancement, believing it to be employee’s primary concern. In reality, employees value long-term professional growth more highly.
As a result, leaders often focus their career support efforts on the wrong solutions. They often emphasize a traditional career path of advancing “up the ladder,” rather than a more customized combination of opportunities that align with individual employee skills and interests.
When asked how careers are perceived, 32 percent of leaders see it as “advancement” compared to just 16 percent of employees. Twelve percent of leaders define that as a “long-term commitment or goal” as a professional, compared to 33 percent of employees.
The survey also shows many employees do not recognize the efforts leaders are making to support their careers. While nearly half of leaders believe their organizations foster a culture of career support, only about a third of employees report that their managers have initiated effective, individualized career conversations.
Additionally, most employees feel that managers aren’t being evaluated on how well they support career development.
The disconnect between leaders and employees persists when looking at career planning, exposing that employees are navigating an unknown career landscape with little direction. While 69 percent of leaders believe their employees have a career plan, 27 percent of employees report actually having one.
Right Management believes the survey should be a wakeup call for employers.
“Clear career plans are crucial to boosting employee engagement and consequently, the success of companies,” says John Bourbeau Jr., president of Right Management Great Lakes. “Employees with well-defined career plans were more likely to seek training or internal job opportunities, which helps mitigate retention issues, which continue to be something that companies struggle to solve.”
In sharing the survey results with its clients, Right Management is encouraging employers to modify their approaches to career stages to improve employee retention with more tailored, individual-focused career guidance.
“To help employees who feel lost and stranded, companies need to broaden the definition of career growth,” says Bourbeau. “So many workers feel like they are lacking the tools needed to navigate their careers. That’s where employers need to fill gaps and equip their employees for successful careers that have meaning and align with the organization’s needs.”
The study included 401 leaders and 1,002 employees at 1,403 companies with more than 1,000 employees, 75 percent in the United States and 25 percent from Canada. Industries surveyed include IT, financial and business services, and manufacturing.
For more information, visit https://www.rightgreatlakes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Rescuing-Stranded-Careers-Report-2024.pdf.
