It’s no wonder managers can find it hard to have career conversations with employees. Time pressures, office politics and egos can all get in the way.

We all know it’s good to talk.

But, let’s face it.  Opening up a conversation about a sensitive issue like career progression can weigh heavily on even the most experienced shoulders.  And it doesn’t matter if you’re a manager or an employee.  Where should you start?  How should you begin?  And what will the results be?

Once a problem is aired, how long can it take to get to the heart of it?  An hour?  Or perhaps longer?  And when you’re busy leading an organisation or working through the day’s to-do-list, it can feel like there just aren’t enough hours in the day.

Ignorance is not bliss

But as we all know, problems arise when issues are ignored.  The temptation is to sweep the problem under the office carpet.  But this risks damaging both your working relationships and your career progression.

In worst-case scenarios, in organisations where career conversations with employees don’t happen or where they are not handled well, employees can feel unsupported.  This can lead to feelings of resentment.  And if these feelings aren’t addressed, organisations can see their key talent up and leave.

At the same time managers tasked with the job of opening up the topic of career for discussion, can feel afraid of opening up a veritable can of worms.  What if their employee asks something they can’t or don’t want to answer?

The Truth | Engagement Surveys

The need for career conversations with employees is typically highlighted in engagement survey results. If employee engagement is low, directors will ask their managers to find out why.

• What’s not happening that needs to happen?
• Where are the problems?
• How can we make things better?
• When can we expect a solution?

And so meeting rooms are booked.  Strong coffee is poured and deep breaths are taken.

But what if there was a simple way to address the issue of career progression and aspiration?  What if you could enable and even empower managers and employees to talk to each other with ease and without fear?  What it there was a professional toolkit that you could introduce that would take away all the stress, all the drama – and the need for hour-long meetings?

Make Career Conversations with Employees Easier

The Career Conversation Toolkit has been designed to do the ‘heavy lifting’ involved in holding career conversations with employees.  The design of the toolkit means that managers can give employees something to take away and think about before they start to talk.

This has two key benefits. It gives the manager a trusted framework to work within.  And, perhaps more importantly, it gives the employee time to prepare their responses.  With training in its use managers can be confident that the Career Conversations toolkit will give them:

• The time to hold regular career conversations
• The confidence to answer any questions that arise
• The knowledge to deliver the correct solutions
• The secret to retaining their organisation’s key talent

At the same time employees will:

• Get the opportunity to say what they need and define their ambitions
• Feel supported and empowered to take ownership of their careers
• Work in partnership with their managers to achieve both their ambitions and those of the organisation

As in any relationship, when issues are ignored, problems develop. Effective career conversations mean that this does not happen. Ambitions are fulfilled and organisations thrive.

Click here to find out more about how the Career Conversation Toolkit can help you remove the fear from career conversations >>