Practice knowledge base
Career Planning Sessions
Career planning sessions help employees identify potential next roles within the company and connect their development with concrete career steps.
Documentation sections
What it is
This is a regular conversation between an employee and their manager or HR about career goals, strengths, gaps, and potential roles within the company. This practice mitigates the risk of a person not seeing a future with the organization and beginning to seek growth externally. It works best where there are clear roles, projects, or internal transitions, rather than just a vague promise of 'growing someday'.
When it helps
- Employees say they don't understand how they can grow within the company.
- Strong specialists leave because they see their next career step only in the external market.
- Managers discuss tasks and evaluations but rarely connect an individual's development with future roles.
- Internal vacancies exist, but employees learn about them late or do not consider themselves suitable candidates.
- Training plans exist but are not linked to specific career options.
How to start
- 1 Select a group of employees for whom the risk of attrition or career path uncertainty is currently most pronounced.
- 2 Prepare a list of available roles, project opportunities, and typical requirements for internal transitions within the company.
- 3 Conduct a dedicated meeting with the employee to discuss their interests, strengths, and potential future roles.
- 4 Document 1-2 immediate development steps: a task, project, mentor, or skill that moves them closer to the chosen option.
- 5 After a few weeks, review whether the employee's understanding of growth opportunities has changed and what obstacles remain.
Expected effect
Employees gain a clearer understanding of growth opportunities within the company, while managers gain earlier insight into career expectations and potential attrition risks. This helps align training, projects, and internal transitions with specific future roles, rather than managing development as an abstract list of courses.
Common pitfalls
- Promising a promotion or a new role without a concrete decision or available position.
- Conducting the meeting as a performance review rather than a discussion about future prospects and growth options.
- Offering general advice to 'develop' without documenting the immediate next step, owner, and expected outcome.
- Ignoring business constraints: not every desired role may materialize quickly or within the current team.
- Leaving the manager unsupported if HR, training, or access to internal vacancies are required for a transition.
Further reading
- Book: Beverly Kaye, Julie Winkle Giulioni, Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go
- Book: Edgar H. Schein, Career Anchors
- Report: LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report, sections on internal mobility and retention
FAQ
Who should own this practice?
Typically, the manager leads the meeting as they oversee tasks and work opportunities. HR assists with internal transition policies, role data, and support where a development plan or training is required.
Can we start without a pre-defined career ladder?
Yes, provided the discussion is not presented as a formal career track. Begin with tangible options: projects, lateral roles, mentorship, temporary assignments. It is crucial to honestly differentiate available steps from uncertain ideas.
How can we determine if the session was beneficial?
After the meeting, the employee should be able to articulate several potential growth directions, the immediate next step, and what needs to be explored or mastered. The manager understands the individual's expectations and identifies where a follow-up conversation is needed.
What if an employee desires a role that currently does not exist?
Do not promise the creation of a role. Discuss which skills and projects align with that direction, what alternatives exist within the company, and when it would be appropriate to revisit the conversation with updated information.