Here is an excerpt from an article written by Frank Kalman for Talent Management magazine. He explains how, though career advancement and development plans are an important component for attracting talent, many firms fall short when it comes to executing and communicating them. To read the complete article, check out all the resources, and sign up for a free subscription to the TM and/or Chief Learning Officer magazines published by MedfiaTec, please click here.

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The prospect of employee development and career advancement is a major factor in talent attraction and retention. Yet many companies still struggle when it comes to designing career management programs and communicating them to employees.

Just 37 percent of North American companies say their employees understand how they can influence their careers, according to a new survey from global human resources services firm Towers Watson. Moreover, 44 percent say that employees are actually able to achieve career advancement given the structure and tools in place.

The survey’s findings are especially alarming considering the prospect of continued development is the reason many people join companies to begin with, while the lack of career advancement once they join is among the top reasons people leave, according to the survey.

“The big takeaway is that we need to do a better job designing and delivering our career management programs,” said Laura Sejen, global leader of rewards at Towers Watson.

There are several reasons organizations are missing the mark on career management programs.

The first [of four reasons] is that many career management programs are poorly designed. Only 30 percent of respondents in the survey said their company had defined vertical career paths for employees, and just 25 percent said they have dual career paths for managers and individual contributors.

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To read the complete article, please click here.

Frank Kalman is an associate editor at Talent Management magazine. He can be reached at fkalman@talentmgt.com.