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  • Getting Started
  • STEP 1: PREPARE FOR ACTION
    • Executive Driven Survey Overview
    • Timelines and Deliverables
    • Schedule a Meeting with your Consultant or Project Manager
    • Stategic Assessment Session
    • Prepare for Action FAQ
      • Who will be responsible for different aspects of the project?
      • What kind of support can we expect during each phase of the survey process?
      • What are the recommended timelines for various project phases?
      • When should we schedule the questionnaire design call?
      • What kind of access will we have to the online reporting tool?
  • STEP 2: DEVELOP QUESTIONNAIRE
    • Questionnaire Design
      • TalentMap Employee Engagement Questionnaire
      • 5-Point Rating Scale
      • Response Scale From Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree
      • Length of an Employee Engagement Questionnaire
      • Determining Areas of Importance
      • Employee Net Promoter Score
    • Questionnaire FAQ
      • Can we customize the standard questionnaire?
      • How can we incorporate our specific themes or categories into the survey?
      • Can we add questions about our organization's mission, vision or strategic plans?
      • Which benchmark should we choose?
      • How do I sign off on a survey?
      • What is the difference between engagement and satisfaction?
      • Where should we place demographic questions?
      • Will the survey questions change in the future?
      • When you use the term “we” in the questionnaire, who does this refer to?
      • Can we change the scale so that Strongly Disagree is the last option?
  • STEP 3: PRE-SURVEY COMMUNICATION & SETUP
    • Participant Information File
      • Change Date of Birth and Length of Service to Ranges
    • Email Whitelisting
      • Compass Email Whitelisting (DIY)
    • Survey Communications
      • Comprehensive Guide To Survey Communications
      • Pre-Survey Email Communication Package
      • Promotional Posters
      • Employee Info Sheets
      • Engagement Survey Invitation Email
      • Exit Survey Invitation Email
      • Entry Survey Invitation Email
      • PIN Survey Invitation Email
    • Response Rate Strategies
    • Pre-Survey FAQ
      • Is the survey confidential?
      • How can we effectively communicate the survey to our employees?
      • How long should the survey be open?
      • Can I make changes to my PIF?
      • What methods are available for survey distribution?
      • Should we include new employees in our survey?
      • Should we survey contract or term employees?
      • What languages are available for communications material?
      • How long does it take to program my survey?
      • Are there standard invitations for Pulse surveys?
      • Why am I getting invalid entries in my import log?
  • STEP 4: DEPLOY EMPLOYEE SURVEY
    • Monitor Response Rates
    • Survey Live FAQ
      • How often are survey response rates updated?
      • Can I save my responses and complete the survey later?
      • Can responses be changed once submitted?
      • Can I extend my survey?
      • My survey link is not working what do I do?
      • We had bouncebacks, can you send the survey to them immediately?
      • What reports will our organization have access to?
  • STEP 5: ANALYZE, INTERPRET & REPORT
    • Compass Reports
      • General
        • Filter Data
        • Bulk Export
      • Snapshot
        • Webpage
          • Snapshot Report Overview
          • Sort Data
          • Compare to Overall
          • Compare to Other
          • Hide Benchmark and / or Previous Period
        • Export to PowerPoint
          • Export Response Rate
          • Export Lookup / Lookdown
          • Export Heatmap
          • Export Key Driver Analysis
          • Export AI Comment Summaries
        • Export to Excel
      • Heatmap
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        • Heatmap Previous Period
      • Comments
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          • Ask Comment Questions
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            • Import Hidden Words or Phrases
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        • Word Cloud
          • Word Cloud Overview
          • Word Cloud Settings
          • Import Stop Words
        • Export to Excel
        • How to Handle and Distribute Verbatim Comments
        • FAQ
          • How should disclosure of employee comments be handled?
          • Who has access to comments in Compass?
          • How is AI data handled?
      • Insights
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      • Prepare Reports for Senior Leadership
      • Reporting FAQ
        • How should I analyze the survey results?
        • What is key driver analysis?
        • What is Pearson correlation?
        • What size group is required to do driver analysis?
        • Why do some scores total over 100%?
        • What is the purpose of the neutral option?
        • What is the minimum participation percentage to achieve statistically valid results?
        • Should we focus on dimensions with low scores?
        • How does report filter confidentiality work?
        • Can I turn off the confidentiality similarity warning message?
        • Can I filter by questions in the survey?
    • Compass Admin
      • Results
        • General
          • Enable Results for Reporting
          • Edit Demographic Report Labels
          • Update a Survey Title
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          • Edit Participant Information
          • Remove Participant(s) From an Email Campaign
        • Survey Items
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          • Convert a Survey Item into a Demographic Filter
        • Benchmarks
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        • Dashboard Editor
        • Assign Access
      • Users
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        • Add a User
        • Log In with Microsoft Account
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  • STEP 6: DISCUSS, CLARIFY & PLAN
    • TalentMap Reports
      • Scouting Report
      • HR Preview
      • Executive Presentation
      • Additional Presentations
      • TalentMap Report FAQ
        • What’s the difference between a preview and a final executive presentation?
        • High satisfaction vs low engagement (or vis versa)?
    • Post-Survey Consulting Services
    • Focus Groups
      • Conduct a Focus Group
      • Focus Group Invitation Email - Template
    • Management Resources
      • Improve Diversity & Inclusion in the Workplace
      • 360 Leadership
      • Employee Onboarding
      • Stay Interviews
      • Exit Interviews
      • One-on-One Meetings
  • STEP 7: COMMUNICATE & TAKE ACTION
    • Communicating Results
      • Constructive Strategies for Leaders with Low Scores
    • Action Planning
      • Organization vs. Leadership Action Plans
        • Pitfalls to Avoid When Action Planning for Senior Leaders and Managers
      • Develop an Action Plan
      • Create Action Teams, Documentation and Implementation
    • Action Planning Resources
      • Before You Start
        • Action Planning Quick Wins
        • 6 Steps to Successful Action Planning
        • Plan for Action Planning Difficulties
        • Proven Action Planning Tips
      • Tactical
        • How to Start Action Planning
        • Action Plan Framework Guide
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        • Action Planning Checklist
        • Action Plan Template
        • 3 Post-Survey Action Planning Tactics
    • Action Plan Library
      • Compensation
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        • Develop Cross-Training Programs
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        • Avoid Switch-Tracking When Given Feedback
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  • DIY SURVEY DESIGN & DEPLOYMENT
    • Compass Questionnaire Design (DIY)
      • Getting Started (DIY)
        • Build a Survey
        • Style a Survey
        • Test a Survey
        • Pulse Survey Overview
        • Getting Started With Logic (Branching)
      • Compass Survey Design (DIY)
        • Build
          • Question Types
          • Add a Question
          • Require a Question
          • Add Text / Instruction
          • Page Title and Description
          • Copy & Paste
          • Reorder Questions
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          • Copy a Survey
          • Skip Logic
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          • Restore "Undo" a Question or Page
          • Textbox / Long Answer Character Limit
          • Post a Survey Link
          • Disable a Question
        • Style
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          • Invite Others to Test
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        • Tools
          • Rename a Survey Title
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            • Share A Translated Survey
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        • Design FAQ
          • Why is there a red asterisk on my question?
          • How do I add or remove page breaks?
          • How can I design surveys to be more accessible?
          • Why is my question title and/or answer option blank?
          • Why Is the font for some of my survey questions different?
          • Why are the option buttons not displaying in my survey?
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    • Compass Survey Deployment (DIY)
      • Create an Email Campaign
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  • GENERAL
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  1. STEP 7: COMMUNICATE & TAKE ACTION
  2. Action Plan Library
  3. Growth & Development

Instituting Regular Career Pathing Conversations

PreviousIncrease / Improve TrainingNextProfessional Development Plans

Last updated 12 months ago

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No employee likes being stuck in a dead-end job. But with more organizations flattening out and nonlinear careers becoming the new norm, employers must find other ways to support employee development. An effective way to do that is through regular career pathing conversations.

Goal

Speed up career advancement and encourage more managers to support their employees’ career development.

What is career pathing?

Career pathing is a developing planning process that allows employees to visualize their career growth within a company. It lets them take an honest look at their abilities and competencies, and determine the skills they need to advance in their careers. Unlike performance reviews that focus on the past, career pathing is forward-looking. Learn more about career pathing .

Why institute career pathing conversations?

Career pathing conversations allow employees to share their career aspirations and seek advice on how to achieve them. As a manager, initiating these conversations with your employees builds trust, shows a genuine interest in their development, and proves your commitment to helping them reach their career goals and milestones.

How do career pathing conversations drive employee engagement?

Employees feel more engaged when their organization offers a clear path for advancement. Creating personalized career plans with your employees will keep them motivated and allow them to take ownership of their career. It will also encourage them to . Click to discover other ways career pathing can improve employee engagement.

How do career pathing conversations benefit the organization?

Everyone knows compensation and company culture play a factor in job satisfaction. But without a clear career path, your organization is at risk of driving great employees away. This is where career pathing conversations come in. These conversations can help reduce turnover, limit stagnation, and give employees a sense of purpose — resulting in a more engaged workforce to move your organization forward.

Once you have a career pathing conversation with your employees, this will help you put a plan into place.

Action

Have a Career Pathing Conversation

  1. Start the conversation - Plan a 30–60 minute meeting with each employee to chat about their career aspirations. This conversation should be informal, and if possible, held outside the office. Have your team prepare for the conversation by asking them to think about what jobs they are interested in, the skills they want to develop, and their strengths and weaknesses.

  2. Find out what motivates your employees - Want to know what motivates your employees? Ask questions that provide an understanding of what drives them to perform and succeed: What do/don’t they like doing? What motivates them? Where would they like to be career-wise in a year or two? Use active listening skills and do not be judgmental. Try not to interpret what they are saying through your own lens, or using your values.

  3. Talk competencies - Ask employees what competencies they think they need to develop. Remember, competence is not about performance. It refers to the knowledge and skills required to perform a job.

  4. Offer advice - Give your best advice on how your employees should develop missing competencies. Here you may discuss any resources available through the organization or outside.

  5. Encourage employees to own the process - After the meeting, have each employee write a brief summary of the conversation and share it with you. Ask them to plan for the next meeting at a frequency that suits them.

  6. Think of ways you can help your employees progress - Prepare 1–3 suggestions for each employee on how they can progress in their careers. Show them to your supervisor and ask if there are any opportunities to align your employees' goals with the goals of the organization. Do not make commitments on behalf of the organization without approval.

  7. Create a plan - Share your suggestions with each employee and work together to develop a career plan. Decide on at least 1 or 2 goals for them to work towards. Then, offer direction on how they can reach them within the organization. Be sure to include milestones or timelines to achieve these goals. This should include scheduled touchpoints with you to assess progress.

  8. Provide ongoing support - Empower your employees by providing them with the tools and resources they need to succeed. Meet with them at least once between conversations to show you are actively supporting their development. An easy way to show your support is by asking them how you can help and/or offering interesting and engaging learning experiences.

Reference Material

here
develop the competencies they need to succeed
here
guide
Five Ways that Career Pathing Increases Employee Engagement
How to Make a Career Path Plan
How Career Pathing can Help You Win Talent and Boost Engagement