There’s been a lot of noise about workers, particularly young people, having no loyalty to their employers and zero desire to remain with an organization long term.


But Evert Akkerman, founder and partner of XNL HR & Communications in Newmarket, Ont., has a simple message to employers: Don’t believe the hype.

“Most people, including young people, join an organization with the intent of staying long term,” he said.

A well-defined and clearly articulated career path can ensure that talent — especially the stars you want to retain — is engaged and happy and far less likely to start shopping their resumé around to other firms, said Akkerman.

“It is highly motivating for staff to know there are internal opportunities, rather than automatically looking outside for a job with higher responsibilities,” he said.

Building a career path

Kiljon Shukullari, Toronto-based HR advisory manager at Peninsula Canada, said the size of the organization is the biggest factor in how career paths should be structured.

“If we’re talking about a very tall organizational structure, where there are multiple levels and a very hierarchical kind of company, you would take an approach where there is clear progression and advancement,” he said.

It’s relatively easy to build that ladder to show how to climb from the bottom to the top in those types of organizations. But most companies in Canada are small- to mid-sized, which means they’re more likely to have flat structures that can be difficult to navigate with a standard career path mentality, said Shukullari.

In that situation, a path that shows and allows for horizontal and lateral moves would be more practical.

“It all depends on what kind of positions you have, and the types of resources you have as a business,” he said. “Can you provide a lot of personal development?”

With smaller companies, it’s less about getting from “A to B” and more about the skills that need to be developed to equip that employee for a new role, he said.

Custom plans OK

In an ideal world, Shukullari would create a centralized system for tracking career progression within a company.

“It’s best to have a centralized system in place, whether digital or some kind of matrix, to provide consistency,” he said, adding that it should detail the roles available and the progression paths for each.

But career paths by nature can’t all be “off-the-shelf” — they have to be individualized in collaboration with supervisors or managers to address specific needs and aspirations, he said.

Solid job descriptions are a key piece to the puzzle as well, because without them it’s difficult to identify any skills gaps, said Shukullari.

“Once you’ve identified all the different types of jobs, and what they entail from a skills and tasks standpoint, then you can start building the career path for anyone and start to aim them towards those roles,” he said.

Impatient workers

Akkerman said one of the biggest challenges for organizations is a lack of patience among workers who want to be promoted yesterday. The first step in that scenario is an honest conversation.

“Meet with them and say, ‘You’re doing very well in this role and we don’t want to lose you. But we currently don’t have an opportunity,’” he said.

If you plan on creating a new role in the next year or so, then you can tell the worker about those plans — and that you’d be happy if they were a candidate for that role, he said. Then both sides can work on a plan to mentor the worker so they’re ready when the job comes open.

Employers should also not be shy about promoting a junior worker who shows promise, he said. One of his clients, in the medical field, had a team of 10 receptionists. Shortly after they hired a new receptionist, the position of team supervisor came up — and the new hire applied.

“She had only been with the company for six months, and we had three other candidates that had multiple years of experience,” said Akkerman. “But we were all convinced this new employee was the best candidate.”

The company decided to bypass seniority and promote the new hire, he said.

“It ruffled a few feathers, but it was absolutely the right decision,” he said. “If you bring in someone who is highly talented, you want to give them that opportunity, even if that means bypassing others — and it is purely based on objective criteria.”

Aggressive workers

If a worker storms into a manager’s office, demanding a promotion, Akkerman said it’s easy to turn the tables on that person.

“They have to make a business case. You have the ambition to be promoted and take on more responsibilities, but let’s look at your performance reviews,” he said. “Let’s look at your strengths. Is this really the right move for you?”

Promoting the wrong person can often be worse than losing them, said Akkerman, because it can exacerbate issues in the workplace if they don’t have the skills needed to be a leader.

Demanding a promotion can often be a red flag, he said. Instead, he likes to see a more nuanced approach.

“I like people to show they have the skills, that they love their job, and really appreciate the culture,” he said. “If people say, ‘I’d like to stay. Are there career opportunities or can you recommend certain training programs I can take to become better at my job and position myself for future promotions.’ That’s the approach I like — not simply walking into an office and making demands.”


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