Organisations must shift from “job provider” towards “career enabler:” Right Management

Australia – 23 July, 2015: Business leaders must urgently abandon hierarchical and paternalistic people management practices and prioritise career development of individual employees if they are to succeed in the Human Age, according to Right Management, the global career experts within ManpowerGroup (NYSE: MAN).

A new discussion paper released today by Right Management, titled ‘Fulfilling careers instead of filling jobs’, highlights the need for business leaders and human resource (HR) professionals to redefine their relationship with employees. It says they must work collaboratively to build a “career culture” within organisations and career paths that provide professional development opportunities, or risk losing top talent to more attractive organisations. 

Research shows organisations that make career development a crucial part of their talent management strategy have 29 per cent higher revenue, higher client and customer retention and reduced talent acquisition costs.

Australia’s talent shortage creates a sellers’ market

The 2015 ManpowerGroup Talent Shortage Survey found that 42 per cent of Australian employers surveyed cannot fill roles. This is having a negative impact on their business; 46 per cent said that skills shortages reduced their ability to serve clients, 33 per cent said it reduced their organisations’ competitiveness and productivity.

To make themselves attractive to top talent, organisations must offer more than money. Right Management’s Global Career Aspirations Survey (2015) showed 31 per cent of Asia Pacific employees expect their workplace to provide career development opportunities. Further, 35 per cent of Millennials – the future of the workforce – expect organisations to provide career development opportunities.

Organisations that prioritise career development will succeed

Bridget Beattie, Executive Vice President Asia Pacific Middle East at Right Management says career development for individuals is a primary driver of engagement and consequently retention and productivity and will be crucial to help organisations remain agile and flexible to respond to future market changes.

“Flatter organisational structures, high competition for top talent and a shift towards a “career for me” mindset make it crucial for employers to develop a culture of career management and learning. When organisations proactively provide opportunities that allow employees to grow and increase their value, everyone benefits.” says Ms Beattie.

Multi-generational workforces and rapid technological change highlights the importance of a one-size-fits-one approach to career, to ensure new skills are developed and scaled as the market demands.        

“Organisations cannot afford to be on the back foot when it comes to making sure it has the talent it needs tomorrow. The winners of the future will be those that can attract individuals who are open to change, can move quickly to different areas of the business when needed and function well in collaborative and transparent environments.”

Tips for creating a career-focused culture

Employers should focus on refining their hiring practices, people management practices and developmental practices to ensure organisations have the right talent that will help them remain agile and responsive to change.  

“Assessment practices should be utilised during recruitment to test for learning capability and aptitude for growth, to ensure the organisation has the right soft and hard skills to help it align to where the market is headed”, says Ms Beattie.

“Further, providing relevant development opportunities and empowering individuals themselves to learn new skills will be crucial to ensure individuals evolve with changing job roles and move up, down or laterally with organisational need.

“Finally, organisational learning should be modelled from executive level down, with managers trained around how to have meaningful career conversations with employees to engage top talent and improve performance.”

A copy of the discussion paper can be found here.

About Right Management

Right Management is the global career and talent development expert within ManpowerGroup (NYSE: MAN).  We help organizations become more agile, attractive and innovative by creating a culture of career management and learning that nurtures future talent, motivates and engages people, and provides individuals with opportunities to increase their value throughout their careers.  We improve time to value through our expertise in organizational effectiveness, career management and individual development.  Our approach is centered on the fact that organizations thrive when individuals are successful in their careers.  We’ve spent the last 35 years identifying workforce challenges and developing innovative solutions, enabling our globally informed methods to be time-tested across more than 50 countries.  Visit www.rightmanagement.com.au to learn more about our capabilities and solutions.

Media contact

Lauren Knight
Buchan Consulting
[email protected]
03 9866 4722