Hey talent leaders: here's why enabling career transformation should be your top priority

I was in a recent new hire orientation session welcoming a group of employees on their day one with Linkedin. The energy was high. Everyone expressed their enthusiasm about Linkedin’s culture and business vision. When it came to Q&A, questions fired up such as “do you sponsor MBA programs” and “what are the coaching and mentoring opportunities available?"

I was pleasantly surprised. Not only did these new employees think about learning and development as soon as they onboarded, but they were also already planning their future growth.

We are entering an uncertain economic environment and workers know the value of skills in order to weather the uncertainties and stay ahead of competition. They are drawn to companies that prioritize investment in employee’s continuous learning and have a culture that celebrates career transformation.

Equally importantly, companies who encourage and reward employees to learn and grow keep them engaged and aligned with the changing needs of the business. Our research shows that skills  could change by anywhere from 39% to 44% over the next three years. By 2025, the top skills for a job will likely involve three new skills.  

Now, how do you do it? 

Encourage career paths that twist and turn

We have witnessed a massive shift in the last couple of years how people approach work and career. We were reminded humbly the importance of health and family. As a result, many are searching for more meaningful work instead of blindly following a narrowly defined ‘one road to Rome’. Linear career paths might still work great for some people or some industry, but they’re not for everyone. Some people don’t want to climb the proverbial career ladder; they want the flexibility to pursue different paths – and it’s not always upward. Having a chance to test new skills and new areas is central to figuring out one’s passion and strengths.

This September, my team invited Linkedin employees to share their personal experiences that embody ‘squiggly career paths’. The outcomes were mind-blowing. Thousands of beautifully written stories by employees filled the platform with inspiration, courage and support for each other. What we didn’t expect was discovering ‘hidden’ talent of colleagues we thought we knew. Once we looked beyond their current jobs and roles, we saw so much more they could offer through their past experiences and hobbies. We built new bonds and communities through common interest.

There is a huge upside for businesses too. Having a workforce that can quickly adapt to the changing environments is a strategic advantage. Courses related to developing emotional intelligence, adaptability, and cultivating a growth mindset are consistently among the most popular courses on LinkedIn Learning. If you’re finding it hard to hire people with the skills you need, embrace it as a signal to work on building those skills internally and instill a skills-first mindset.

Everyone wins when you focus on career transformation 

Career transformation may sound big and daunting, but it doesn’t have to involve a major overhaul. Small steps can make a difference.

I recently spent two days with other L&D leaders across industries, and Shutterstock Global Talent Development Head Deborah Wilson, SPHR said something that stuck with me. She shared that even using the term "career development" more frequently in coaching conversations, coupled with intentional career planning sessions, contributed to a rise in employee sentiment around growth and development. That’s a simple step forward anyone can take.

At the end of the day, everyone wants to feel in control of their own destiny and have the flexibility to adjust course as they learn new things. Career mapping and learning opportunities shouldn’t be overly rigid. A few things to consider:

• Give people room to explore and personalize their learning to potential new areas of interest. 
• Encourage managers to find ways to make learning and skill building part of the day-to-day experience (and  model that behavior) – whether it’s integrating learning into team meetings or having honest conversations with employees about their career goals. 
• Offer growth opportunities through internal mobility programs, such as job rotations or stretch projects. Our data confirms that an employee who has made an internal move has a 75% chance of staying at their company after two years; that drops to 56% for employees who haven’t moved internally. When companies do this, they retain their employees nearly twice as long as their peers.

Talent leaders, this is the time we start challenging previous assumptions around ‘career’ or  long-held traditions, such as the need to commute into an office every day or five days workweek. The future of work has already arrived. Companies cannot afford making employee ‘loyalty’ a one-way commitment and not investing in upskilling or reskilling the great people they already hired. When we acknowledge and take actions to change the status quo by focusing on what’s most important, that’s when real, future-proof workforce transformation happens.

#talentconnect #careertransformation #careerdevelopment #upskilling #futureofwork