How to Encourage Career Growth for Employee Retention & Success

It has been said many times before but bears repeating: the most valuable asset for almost any company is its people. As such, one of the most effective ways to position the business for future success is to invest in the growth of its employees.

Executives are increasingly recognizing this, and elevating the Learning & Development function as a result. Seventy-two percent of L&D leaders agree that their functions have become more strategic parts of the organization, and in 2022, spending power for L&D pros reached a six-year high.

Here, we’ll explore the modern best practices for supporting career growth, with resources to take the next step.

"Opportunities to learn and grow" have been cited as the number one driver of great work culture — up from number nine in 2019.

Employees who feel cared about at work are 3.2x more likely to report being happy at their company, and 3.7x more likely to recommend working there.

Only one in five employees believe they can meet their career goals where they work today, and have both their manager’s and organization’s support to pursue those goals 一 even in another part of the business.

More than 60% of U.S. employees who quit their jobs in the past year cited a lack of career advancement opportunities.

80% of people seeking employment say they are concerned about their career growth, compared to 49% of all workers.

Additional sources: Pew Research Center; Prudential

Enable learning in the flow of work — and life: The rise of hybrid workplaces has blurred the lines between ‘on’ and ‘off’ for learning opportunities. Modernized career development programs are flexible, personalized, and carefully measured to ensure users are engaging.
Tap into what makes employees tick: Employees far and wide have used the pandemic as a time to reflect on what matters to them and what they really want in their careers. Strong feedback loops and user-guided learning tools help programs align to what learners really want.
Support internal mobility: It’s critical that employees not feel hopeless or stuck when they’re not happy in their current role. This focus is worth exploring in further depth below.

When organizations invest in internal mobility programs, employees stay almost 2x longer.

62% of L&D pros are prioritizing internal mobility.

Developing the skills and strengths of your employees not only makes them more happy and fulfilled with the work, but also benefits your organization by making them more impactful and motivated contributors.

Establishing an employee career growth program that people are eager and motivated to engage with is paramount. Learning activities that feel forced, rigid, or burdensome simply don’t break through and achieve the desired results.

These career development resources can help you implement a learning strategy that spurs active participation and drives meaningful employee career growth:

Show them the way: Learn how to build employee career paths through skill development.
Engage your learners: Give them specific reasons to invest their time and energy into learning and development. Build it into employee schedules and performance reviews. Consider tying the program to other initiatives; for example, Avnet used “learning for a cause” as their motivational angle, with great success.
Keep employees from checking out: A strong L&D program can be one of your best defenses against boreout, or boredom on the job that often leads to dissatisfaction and departure.
Adopt the right tools: Online learning is most effective when it is personalized, interactive, social, and data-driven. A platform like LinkedIn Learning delivers on all these requisites to kick your employee development program into high gear.

How to Encourage Career Growth for Employee Retention & Success

Supporting employee growth = supporting company growth

Career growth is a huge employee priority

Keys to a culture of career development

How internal mobility supports employee growth

Facts about internal mobility

Encouraging career growth in your organization

Help your employees develop skills they can use right away.