A new career survey has discovered that UK businesses fail to provide frequent or effective career guidance to their employees. According to over 4,000 employees polled by Right Management, the majority of businesses in Britain are not providing regular and effective careers advice for their workers. By losing their focus on career development, they are harming retention, productivity and business performance
Talking to employees aged between 25 and 55 to understand to what extent employers are helping them manage their careers, the Right Management survey found that only 31% feel confident enough in their ability to initiate a conversation about career progression outside of annual performance reviews.
46% of those surveyed had never engaged in a quality conversation with their manager about their career, with 84% of employees talking about it with their employers only once or twice a year. The survey found that the majority of people wanted to discuss their career goals more frequently than they do currently.
Ian Symes, Managing Director at Right Management said: “It’s time for organisations to relinquish career development models that are almost 50 years out of date. Careers advice meetings need a completely different approach to meet employees’ changing career paths and ensure an engaged and high-performing workforce.”
The study found that, by employers providing better career support, they would benefit from employees being more engaged and happier in their careers, more likely to share ideas and more likely to succeed in their careers within the organisation.
Career counseling and guidance, at any stage along the career path, helps individuals by analysing their current career; and talking through their future career options and issues. If career support is not available through employers, talking through options with objective, qualified careers advice professionals will give individuals the answers to questions about their career path.
