In these tough economic times, we keep hearing how important it is to communicate with employees about the key role they’ll be playing in the company’s future. So how come almost four in ten workers say they never engage in career discussions with their managers?
According to a recent Right Management survey, 37% of employees polled said they never had career conversations with their supervisors. Almost as bad: 30% said they had such conversations only once a year. On the plus side:
- 17% had career talks twice a year, and
- 15% said the discussions occurred every quarter.
Here’s proof of the disconnect. An earlier Right Management poll of senior execs and HR pros explored top leadership priorities. The responses:
- 51% identified engaging employees to ensure organizational alignment and commitment as the No. 1 concern, followed by
- clearly defining roles and expectations (21%)
- developing the organization’s current skill base and capabilities (15%), and
- making efficient and informed personnel decisions (13%).
Apparently — judging by these two pieces of research — there’s a gap between intention and execution.
How often do your company managers have career discussions with employees? Let us know in the Comments section below.