10 Steps to Starting a Career-Advising Program

When James joined his company five years ago, he envisioned a long, fulfilling career. He made connections within the company and had a good understanding of his role as a subject matter expert. But as time passed, his path forward with his employer became less evident. With no clear career path or guidance, he began disengaging and felt less motivated to go the extra mile in his work.

James's story is not unique. Too often, employers invest heavily in recruitment and onboarding yet overlook the practice of career development, perhaps not realizing its benefits or purpose. Structured, in-house career-advising programs provide employees with the tools, guidance, and confidence to grow in their career within the organization.

According to the Harvard Division of Continuing Education blog post "Forget Work Perks. Millennial Employees Value Engagement," companies with strong career development initiatives see higher employee engagement, lower turnover, improved productivity, and enhanced employee wellness, not to mention significant cost savings in recruitment efforts.

Company and HR leaders once thought of career-advising programs as simply a perk, but such initiatives have quickly become a necessity for employers that want to attract, retain, and develop top talent in a rapidly evolving workforce. By integrating career advising into workplace initiatives, companies support both individual growth and cultivate a more motivated workforce.

Investing in career growth shows employees that the organization values and appreciates them. McKinsey & Company's 2022 Great Attrition, Great Attraction 2.0 global survey found that a lack of career development and advancement was the top reason people quit their jobs between April 2021 and April 2022, the height of the Great Resignation.

Effectively establishing a career development program requires holistic, strategic planning.

Implementing or expanding career development

Basing a program on a key career development framework sets the foundation for a long-lasting, purposeful initiative. Such a framework provides structure and clarity throughout the planning process.

Begin by understanding and articulating the program's outcomes. Leaders may decide to focus specifically on increasing retention, supporting the creation of employee career development plans, facilitating progression planning, or a combination of those goals. Next, determine the success measures and gather the necessary data ahead of time to inform the program and approach.

It can feel daunting to deploy a new career-advising program from scratch but, by using a set of prescribed steps for everything from planning to implementing to evaluating, employers can practically execute the process. This comprehensive 10-step approach can help to establish or expand career development programs within organizations.

10-step framework

1. Scan the environment. Take the time to understand what is happening within the company. Evaluate the current priorities and challenges and document them. Consider management's goals and determine how your program complements or aligns with them. Ask yourself:

• What are the organization's current priorities?

• To what extent does management support the career-advising program's goals?

• What organizational time constraints may affect the program? Consider alignment with special programming such as onboarding or leadership development.

• Which factors in the environment may affect the program? Consider budget, policy changes, or other matters.

2. Identify the target audience. Determine the intended audience and define its unique characteristics, for example:

• Career development needs

• Demographic data, including age and educational background

• Diversity traits, which can provide unique considerations such as identifying systemic barriers or defining workplace culture

• Distinctive characteristics such as remote or hybrid workplaces

Taking such characteristics into account when developing the program will ensure the participants will receive maximum benefits. For example, individuals later in their career will have different needs than those who are just starting out, so determining those details will aid in delivering an effective program.

In addition, understand employees' unique characteristics when planning for scalability.

3. Identify the population's needs. Use a variety of resources, such as questionnaires, to capture the support areas the population desires. For instance, the employees may identify a need for upskilling opportunities or the ability to connect with senior colleagues. Perhaps they need directional guidance for their next role within the company. Or maybe they say they need comprehensive career development support, from onboarding to retirement, and they are looking to your program to deliver.

4. Identify stakeholders. Formally identify the program stakeholders, including individuals who will be delivering, participating in, and evaluating the initiative as well as people who will need to remain informed of progress. Include staff who may be influential in the program's success as well as those at executive leadership levels.

5. Establish objectives. Using the information gleaned from step 3, clearly articulate the program objectives in measurable terms. Establish three to five objectives.

6. Define program evaluation. Document the methods to measure the program's effectiveness. Lay out the tools and metrics that will contribute to measuring the objectives you established in step 5.

7. Determine program content. One of the lengthiest parts of the process—determining and gathering content from existing and new resources—can come from a variety of media. Review your program's objectives and consider the best approach to get the right information across to the target audience. Depending on the objectives, you may consider using:

• Live or virtual group presentations and workshops

• One-on-one sessions

• Asynchronous materials or activities to independently complete such as training modules, goal-setting documents, or assessment tools

• Other complementary initiatives such as a mentoring program

8. Determine resources. Understand which assets are necessary to effectively execute the program. Consider staff, financial, and physical resources such as meeting spaces, IT needs, and room setup. During this stage, deliver any necessary training to successfully deploy the initiative, such as career advisor training for the staff who will be responsible for program implementation.

9. Identify barriers. Investigate the issues that could potentially prevent the program from being successful. Establish a contingency plan to mitigate the risks. Evaluate:

• Potential lack of support from senior leadership

• Limited budget

• Insufficient number of participants

• Change in policies or procedures

10. Create a promotional plan. Build a marketing plan for the program, considering the sources of information employees use throughout their workday.

Tools and resources

An assortment of assets can support robust career development initiatives. With each one contributing to comprehensive career planning, combining resources with a varied approach helps to yield the most effective results.

Career assessments. Use and leverage career assessments to help individuals understand their interests, skills, values, and other attributes so they can connect with career pathways in the organization. Doing so fosters a sense of awareness of potential opportunities available for employees, giving them an increasing sense of ownership and motivation over their career planning.

Mentoring programs. Whether revising an existing initiative or creating a new one, mentoring programs provide staff with first-hand support to learn, develop, strategize, and grow in their careers. An additional advantage is that mentors upskill themselves by gaining experience in leadership and support, providing a mutual benefit for all parties.

Training opportunities. When identifying the individuals who will be responsible for implementing the career-advising program, it is vital to provide them with adequate training in foundational topics such as career theory (scientific frameworks to use throughout career advising), assessment interpretation, and effective helping skills such as attending and active listening

While career-advising training is imperative for those directly involved in the initiative, it can also benefit anyone working in a leadership or people-management role. Such individuals will continue to act as change champions within the company and serve as advocates for the program.

Stakeholders. A career-advising program's stakeholders are far-reaching and have a variety of roles, including people who create and lead the initiative and those benefiting from programming. Engage stakeholders on all levels throughout program creation and execution because buy-in is key to successful implementation. Stakeholders include, but are not limited to, advisors and advisees.

Typically under the advisors umbrella are staff closely related to people operations serving as program administrators and leaders. Roles such as HR managers and leaders, organizational trainers, and enablement specialists take on the role as career advisors. That group will expand through program implementation to include roles such as department heads, people leaders, and executive team members as they begin to participate in specific career-advising programming.

Stakeholders in the role of advisee can be vast and ever evolving. Each employee, regardless of role or tenure, can benefit from a career-advising program. Initiatives in early stages often will begin with new hires because retention rates are lower for that group. However, staff in middle management and specialized areas of the business are sure to benefit from a long-term career plan that aims to keep them engaged as they progress in tenure.

Essential strategies

Setting a foundation for a successful career-advising program takes a combination of planning, execution, and engagement. Following strategies throughout the implementation and adoption phases can improve program effectiveness.

Ground components of the career development program in relevant theories. Doing so is vital to continually following best practices, whether it's using the hope-action theory and inventory to drive metrics, Holland's theory of vocational choice to support assessments, or ensuring the career-advising training is from a reputable provider with a background in relevant career guidance practices and industry recognition (see sidebar). Maintaining alignment will ensure you provide high-quality, well-vetted approaches.

Actively involve employees in the planning process to promote buy-in. Engaging participants at the start of program planning can help ensure that end users have a voice and a sense of ownership in the initiative, allowing for a more effective and robust planning process.

Secure public advocacy from senior leaders to reinforce commitment. Employees consistently look to senior leadership to set the tone and expectations of priorities for the organization. Engage senior leaders and ask them to publicly promote and endorse the initiative so that staff will become motivated to engage in and complete the process.

Establish regular touchpoints to keep employees engaged and informed. Career development is ongoing. Therefore, the program should have regular touchpoints to keep career development at the forefront of employees' minds. Consider the program length and the best cadence for ongoing efforts within the context of your organization. Leverage employees in the process to ensure that the expectations and schedule are realistic and beneficial within the scope of their work.

Identify and empower change champions to drive support and adoption. Pinpoint change champions early on by leveraging employees who are motivated, excited, and engaged in the initiative. Consider them as internal influences to further promote program engagement.

Evaluation methods

Using a variety of methods to capture data and evaluate the program's success will yield robust results. Leverage surveys, questionnaires, focus groups, empirical research, and interviews at different stages throughout and after the program to capture both immediate and ongoing effects (see sidebar above).

An important consideration when evaluating program effectiveness is to measure outcomes and results against the objectives you initially established and determine how the results align. Reviewing any changes in participants' hopefulness about career trajectory, for example, is one metric to use as a pre- and postprogram measure. Longer-term measures, such as a decrease in attrition rates or an increase in engagement, are another indication that the initiative is having a positive effect on the participants.

Case study: Federal Bureau of Prisons

Last year, the Federal Bureau of Prisons started implementing a robust career-advising program with the primary objective of supporting retention and career growth within the organization. The multifaceted approach includes upskilling management staff in appropriate career-advising techniques as well as leveraging a multifunctional career planning system rooted in career development theory that simultaneously supports ongoing employee growth and development.

The agency is also planning to use the existing mentoring program as part of the career development initiative and upskill mentors to have career conversations with their mentees.

The organization used the Hope-Action Inventory as one metric to determine program success by taking pre- and postprogram measures and examining the differences. Results indicate that, under the hope construct, there has been a 7 percent increase in goal-setting abilities and an 8 percent increase in visioning for those who completed the program.

Trust the process

Implementing an in-house career-advising program in the workplace is a strategic investment that benefits both the employee and organization. By following specific core principles, strategies, and techniques, employers can boost employee engagement, retention, and productivity across the workforce. As workplace needs continue to evolve, career-advising and career development programs will be a necessity to continue to enhance employee satisfaction and ensure long-term organizational success.

Career Development Theories

The hope-action theory is a modern framework in career development that highlights hope as the key driver of action and progress in one's career. Using the Hope-Action Inventory (HAI), individuals can measure their career-related hopefulness across seven constructs: self-reflection, self-clarity, visioning, goal setting, implementing, adapting, and hope.

The HAI is particularly valuable as a pre- and postprogram assessment tool, providing a tangible, data-driven narrative of a participant's growth. By integrating the inventory into workplace career programs, companies can track developmental impact on both an individual and organizational level, using metrics to drive strategic solutions and determine the overall program effectiveness.

Holland's theory of vocational choice is a cornerstone of career development, emphasizing the connection between personality traits and work environments to enhance career satisfaction. The theory, which psychologist John Holland developed, identifies six categories: realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional. By aligning a person's dominant traits with compatible work environments, the theory provides a practical and approachable framework for career exploration and decision making. Holland's work forms the basis of career assessments in O*NET (a primary source of occupational information in the US) and other global career guidance systems, helping individuals find fulfilling career paths.

KeyProgram Evaluation Methods

Short term:

• Distribute surveys to measure participants' immediate satisfaction.

• Leverage questionnaires to evaluate the immediate impact of learning.

• Use exit interviews to gain first-hand insights into the program's benefits.

Long term:

• Gather self-reported data to gain insight into the program's long-term benefits, as submitted by the participants.

• Analyze empirical data you gathered via studies and reports. Empirical data can provide objective information regarding program effectiveness. For example, measure attrition data over time to determine whether the career-advising program decreased numbers.

• Seek external feedback such as asking participants' co-workers or supervisors to complete an evaluation of the employee. Doing so provides a third-party perspective on any behavior changes in the individual that they observed.