We certainly don’t have to explain to you how important good HR work is for economic success. It is not for nothing that the HR department is considered the heart of the company. But have you ever wondered why it is so difficult for many companies to attract new skilled workers? And to tie the existing ones?
Our HR manager Elif Tunc is convinced: Well-designed, modern career models are the solution. First, they help recruiters select new hires more effectively. And secondly, they can use it to develop employees in a targeted manner and deploy them optimally in the company.
Elif not only developed his own career model and has already successfully implemented it in several companies, but also wrote a book about it. Here we present their concept and inform you about the advantages a modern career model can bring to your company.
Table of Contents
What is a career model? Finally a clear definition!
The term career model comes from personnel development. He designates the Course of characteristic stations from an employee to a higher position in the company. These stations are subject to conditions: experience, qualifications, tasks and requirements.
However, what is meant when a company introduces “a new career model” is not really clear to anyone. Neither do the decision-makers. And in many cases, personnel development hardly goes beyond the annual appraisal interviews.
That’s a shame, Elif thinks because a good career model can create clarity, open up perspectives and motivate employees enormously. It is crucial that the concepts for modern career models match the company’s intentions. And generally well thought out.
Personnel development concept: Classification in six levels
It is common for employees to be classified into several levels within a personnel development concept.
This classification by level plays an important role in each of the modern career models. Because it forms the starting point for the respective career development.
The career path – classification with an eye for detail
Another key keyword is the career path. In very compact, modern career models, the career path is often neglected – wrongly so. After all, all employees should find themselves in it. The career paths show the Opportunities for development within the organizational chart on. A distinction is usually made between different roles:
In Elif’s career model, the career paths are supplemented by additional sub-paths that make this modern career model more detailed and structured.
The goal of a modern career model: pyramid, not a mushroom!
Of course, every company wants to make a profit. This means that the employees make more money than they cost – the margin has to be right.
Are you wondering what that has to do with the career model and the personnel development concept? Well, a lot. Because companies often recruit very unsystematically. They fill gaps, fill vacancies as needed and focus on specialists.
In a well-thought-out career model, on the other hand, they are Recruiting goals clearly defined. A company works particularly efficiently when the classification of the employees into levels results in a pyramid: The basis is formed by the young professionals (level 1) – they are the cheapest employees and can develop further over time. As with a pyramid, the number of building blocks should decrease significantly with each higher level.
In fact, the situation is very different in many companies: the employees classified according to the level do not form a pyramid there, but a mushroom. And this mushroom head consists of expensively bought specialists and experts. This is not only uneconomical for the company. But also frustrating for the employees at the lower level. Because their chance of advancement is blocked.
On the other hand, if a company only recruits experts and specialists in exceptional cases and instead consistently invested in the further training of its own young professionals, the margin increases. At the same time, employee turnover is falling. And that is exactly the goal of modern career models.
The personnel development concept ensures employee loyalty
Imagine you are applying to a company that promises you great development opportunities. But after a few months, you realize that they are not nearly as great as advertised. On the contrary, there are hardly any further training opportunities for you. So your chances of advancement are slim. will you stay Or would you rather look for a job in a company where you can advance better?
Personnel development is an important argument for recruiters. It is all the more frustrating for them when the candidates who won it with a lot of effort drop out again. No matter how committed the HR staff can be – As long as there is no personnel development concept and no development opportunities, there is high fluctuation.
For this reason alone, a modern career model is so important. If it is based on a clear vision of the company and gives employees a positive outlook on their own professional development, it can retain them for a long time. Transparency in terms of career opportunities and training concepts is a very important factor for employee satisfaction. And thus also for the success of the company.
