Tag: Career Management

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How to Have Effective Career Conversations

Career Management

A career conversation is a critical tool used to engage employees and support organizational development. Gallup suggests that leaders can increase engagement and productivity on their teams by providing more meaningful feedback and support. Holding effective career conversations is a strategic way to do this.

So, what establishes an effective career conversation? It’s crucial to understand that a career conversation is not a performance review or one-off chat. Each meeting should be an intentional discussion to learn about employee goals, align their aspirations with organizational goals, and enhance employee engagement. Exploring conversation themes that identify an employee’s satisfaction or dissatisfaction in their role, readiness for role enrichment, or new position supports having effective career conversations. People First Career Management consultants recommend considering the following elements to have more effective career conversations with your employees.

  • Prepare for the conversation
  • Ask the right questions
  • Move the conversation to action
  • Summarize next steps

Prepare for the conversation

Preparing for a career conversation sets the table for more meaningful discussions and ensures you can guide the conversation and keep it on track.

Plan to keep the conversation informal. Pick a setting that doesn’t give the impression that the employee is heading into a performance review. To do this, avoid booking a formal meeting room and instead consider going out for coffee or lunch. If you’re working remotely, you can host a virtual conversation. Arrange a coffee or lunch delivery to your employee to provide a similar feeling as going together in person. If you’re going to meet in the office, look for an informal meeting space.

To have a productive conversation, it’s also valuable to review the conversation themes ahead of time to determine the purpose and establish an outcome of the conversation. Providing the employee with a chance to prepare is also valuable. When you send the meeting invite, share an overview of the purpose of the conversation and the questions you plan to ask.

Coworkers talking at a coffee shop

Ask the right questions

Talking about an employee’s career plans can clarify uncertainty and align individual and organizational goals. It allows you to gather information, identify obstacles, and establish the next steps in their professional development. Asking the right questions and encouraging your employee to be accountable for their career development is key to a successful conversation. More importantly, it shows your interest in their career by building connections, identifying employee interests and opportunities, and fostering a learning environment within the organization.

Questions to consider in your next career conversation include:

  • What do you enjoy most and least about your current role?
  • In what settings or circumstances do you think you make the greatest contributions?
  • What would you like to learn this year and why?
  • What are some successes you’ve had in your current role that you’re most proud of and why?
  • What projects, responsibilities, or positions are you interested in and empower you to pursue your career goals?
  • What can I do to help you progress towards achieving your career goals?

Plan to ask open-ended questions centred around self-reflection and self-discovery to keep the conversation focused on the employee’s career development. This can provide insight and direction for what steps you can take to assist with the employee’s career development.

Move the conversation to action

To have an effective career conversation there needs to be action afterwards. After talking about the employee’s career goals, focus the conversation on what you can each do to help reach those goals.

Often these discussions result in a manager providing the employee with additional resources and information to support their career development journey. Whether you’re introducing them to other people in the company or providing development resources, you need to gather and share that information right away. Other follow-up considerations for managers include:

  • Providing constructive feedback and insights on how to proceed with career plans.
  • Looking for opportunities to align employee development with the organization’s goals, and
  • Offering information about potential career paths available within the organization.

Follow up considerations for an employee could include:

  • Finding professional development training opportunities that interest them and align with career goals.
  • Asking for feedback and putting it into action right away to enhance their development and take ownership of their career.

Assigning follow-up items to yourself and your employees shows them that you genuinely support their career development and care about their future with the organization. It also encourages the employee to take ownership over their career development.

Manager and employee talking at a table, with coffee cups and snacks. Manager is sitting causally with one leg crossed over his knee.

Summarize next steps in the wrap-up

As the conversation comes to an end, take a moment to summarize what you heard, confirm the next steps in terms of actions the employee should take, and set a date for a follow-up. Always close with encouragement and appreciation for the time and effort the employee took to prepare for the discussion.

Career conversations are an easy yet effective way to support your employees, learn about their goals and provide feedback. But an effective career conversation only happens when both the manager and the employee are prepared. Using the advice above, you can hold better career conversations with your employees.

View Our Solutions

For additional support, contact us to learn how People First’s career consultants help managers and employees participate in effective career conversations.

Jen Oleson
Manager, Operations, Career Management

Jen believes that adopting an intentional and focused approach to one’s decisions and choices can lead to a more fulfilling and purposeful life. Her purpose and passion are to serve, inspire, and empower people and organizations to achieve their goals.

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Five Ways Career Transition Services Supports
Employee Mental Health

Career Management

It’s easy to say that providing career transition services is the right thing to do. After all, it helps departing employees to find new opportunities. However, career transition support is more than helping someone find a new job; it’s a way to support employees during times of change – both those departing and those remaining with the company. Specifically, career transition services can help support employee mental health. Here are five ways a partnership with People First HR’s Career Management team supports employee mental health.

Getting Home Safely

After receiving the notification, an individual may experience a range of emotions: stress, shame, sadness, anger. Having a consultant onsite ensures support for the individual immediately after the notification. The consultant can assess the individual’s emotional state and help them exit the workplace. The consultant can provide taxi chits if the individual is not okay to drive home or doesn’t have a ride, which allows the individual to exit the workplace right away. This helps eliminate waiting time which can result in an increased range of emotions including anxiety, sadness and anger.

Post-Notification Support

Once the termination is complete, it is normal for you, as a manager, to worry and wonder about your employee and their emotional state. It’s unlikely, however, that you’ll be able to communicate with the departed employee. With career transition services, a consultant can check in with the individual later in the day to ensure they are doing okay. The consultant will talk to the individual about the emotions they may be experiencing, helping them to refocus and move forward.

Professional Referrals

While our consultants are great at providing emotional and practical support to departing employees, they can recognize when an individual should see a health professional.  Asking for help is not easy, and an individual who is in a fragile state may not realize they need assistance. Our consultants are there for your departed employee when it is needed most.

Leader Support

Businesswoman using mobile phone

Letting someone go is never an easy decision or conversation. For some, this may be the first time notifying an employee of job loss, and for others who have already had this experience, it might make you feel stressed and anxious to do it again. With career transition services, a consultant is with you every step of the way. As you make decisions around the process, your consultant will help ensure you feel comfortable and confident with the messaging and logistics for the notification meeting. Your well-being and mental health are just as important during this process.

After the departed employee engages in their career transition program, you will receive high-level updates, giving you peace of mind that the departing employee is being taken care of and supported.

Minimize Disruption and Fear to Remaining Staff

Often during times of transition, the focus is on the departing individual. You may forget to think about how the news may affect the remaining employees. Learning that a colleague has lost their job can cause stress and uncertainty, which may impact performance going forward. Career transition consultants can help guide you through the delivery of the message to the remaining employees to help the team feel safe and secure, especially for larger group notifications. As well, by providing transition services, your remaining employees will know that their organization cares and, if they find themselves in the same situation in the future, they will be treated with the same respect and dignity.