First published on Thursday, June 4, 2020
Last updated on Friday, January 31, 2025
Talking about opportunities for career development and promotions shouldn’t be stressful, but for many employees and employers, it can be. As daunting as it can feel, discussing advancement is essential for organizations that want to engage employees through development opportunities, or to retain their best talent by hiring from within.
A structure for employee advancement discussion
To have useful discussions with employees about career advancement, your organization needs fair and consistent HR policies that support it.
These might include:
Advertising posts and promotion opportunities within your organization
Providing employee development that prepares workers for progression, such as training, coaching, mentoring, or involvement in special projects
A career ladder system, which defines the career progression path for employees based on their skills, experience, and length of service
These policies can provide a structure for employee progression that HR should communicate clearly, so employees know about opportunities and feel comfortable discussing them.
Define the moment for discussing career development
When is the right moment to discuss employee promotions? HR can break down this communication barrier through your organization's career development plan or progression policy.
For example, your policy could state that employees will be automatically considered for promotion when they reach two years of service and a specific level of training.
Progression possibilities can then be discussed at employee appraisal or review meetings.
Without a defined ‘trigger’ or set time for discussing progression, the topic may be left hanging awkwardly in the air — leaving workers uncertain about what their future holds.
Tips for discussing career advancements
When it comes to the discussion itself, it’s important to base decisions on facts and have a frank, honest conversation. Your objectives are to promote your best-performing workers, while encouraging others to keep developing.
Make sure employees know about progression opportunities open to them
Encourage credible candidates to apply for promotions
Let under-qualified employees know what they need to do develop and be eligible for progression
Finally, remember that progression is an extremely important goal for many employees. Be positive, sensitive, and supportive in all discussions.
Employees are one of the biggest investments your organization makes: their skills and knowledge continually grow through training, on-the-job learning, and other development initiatives. So, it is important that employers help deserving employees grow if they want the maximum return-on-investment (ROI) for their organization.
Need help? Get in touch with BrightHR
If you’re struggling to retain your best talent or don’t know how to implement career progression pathways that benefit both your staff and your business, do not hesitate to get in touch with our HR experts. Our team can support you in developing policies that fit with your current employment contracts.
Plus, we can introduce you to our HR software, including performance management tools which allow you to manage your employee’s performance and progression with handy digital features. Set goals and track performance in just a few clicks, store HR documents in one place, and keep a record of notes from your employee appraisal meetings.
Book your free demo today to discover the many benefits of HR software for your business.
