Career Management Systems, Essay Example

Examine the common components of career management systems.

Career management systems are utilized to help employees track, develop and manage their careers within an organization.  The ability to manage and drive employee growth through a career management system not only allows for the employee to become empowered by their new capabilities but also the responsibility is shifted from the manager of the employee to the employee themselves.  The key components of a career management system revolves around the creation of a resource for the employee to develop opportunities, access to mentors or guides within the company, training classes and openings within the company.  These focal points allows for development and attraction of talent within the organization by providing new opportunities in many areas of the organization as well as building upon the talents of the employees in their current job function.  The career management system facilitates the management of the employee’s interests, strengths, weaknesses while documenting and tracking career objectives.  The system would also put a plan to the objectives so that the employee has the ability to execute the action plan to further their career.

The career management system facilitates key components within the employee’s career.  These components include career motivation and action to make the changes necessary to fulfill that motivation.  The career management system includes key components of the process such as a self-assessment, feedback on current status, goal setting and action planning.  The self-assessment allows the employee to determine their interests, abilities, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and career milestones.  The evaluation by an external entity allows for an unbiased view on the employee and their capabilities and their fit within the organization.  This ability to provide a baseline of the employee will allow for a productive and realistic approach to developing the career plan.  The goal setting encompasses both short-term and long-term objectives which include potential positions, training, and skill set expansion. The goal setting would be followed by the ability to set the plan to action and a developmental action plan would be established with objectives, timelines and a critical path in which to achieve those objectives.  The assessments, reviews, objectives and action plan are all living documents that reside within the career management system and would require an active interaction between the organization, manager and employee.

The system itself is designed to facilitate the business’s needs by placing the right resources in the right place, driving employees to obtain and achieve their goals and aligning the employees needs with the strategic intent of the organization.  In order to make this successful, the manager and the employee must participate in the system and the employee would take an active role in their career advancement.  The system would provide continuous feedback, track and align goals and ultimately help put action to the career plan the employee has developed with input from the manager and the business objectives.

The career management system and each of its components allow for the ownership of the employee’s career to be held and acted upon by the employee themselves.  The continual feedback and baseline allow for progressive improvement by the employee and in-depth understanding by the manager on the intent of the employee and their operational and strategic goals.  The action plan allows for the organization to align training opportunities as well as open positions within the organization with the right resource at the right time.