National Career Development Month is a chance for business leaders and managers to build a different work culture that encourages goal-setting activities and promotes personal and professional development.
Unfortunately, only one in four employees is confident about their career path. Only one-third of employees understand how to progress in their career path over the next five years. Less than half of employees feel their manager's feedback supports their career goals.
National Career Development Month is a chance for business leaders and managers to build a different work culture that encourages goal-setting activities and promotes personal and professional development.
A workplace culture should support employees to take new or advanced roles. As your leadership team embraces and celebrates this professional holiday, you will see how it benefits your business success and the employees who make it possible.
National Career Development Month is a celebration started by the National Career Development Agency. It acknowledges the importance of making and working toward professional goals. The celebration happens every year in November.
The NCDA hosts their own yearly contest or activity. But the agency also encourages business leaders to celebrate by allowing their employees to take part in career-related activities. These activities should promote well-being, self-awareness, and resilience.
Supporting professional development activities can have many benefits for employees and the businesses they work for. It can help to:
Investing in your employees with career development opportunities enriches their lives and helps your company achieve its strategic mission.
For most employees, it's easy to get stuck keeping up with the daily to-do list. When work gets busy, it can be difficult to find time to think about your future career choices. But it's important for your employees to be able to take a step back and think about the big picture.
Every employee needs to keep their long-term goals and the steps they need to take to get there at the forefront of their minds. One great way to celebrate National Career Development Month is to help them meet that goal.
Consider hosting a vision board workshop or party for your employees. While giving them time to slow down and relax, this concept also gives them:
Clearly, a vision board workshop is a winning choice for employees and their professional growth.
How to get started 👉 Dream big with a Vision Board Workshop! 🤔
Exploring new skills and interests is a great way to get employees thinking about their career path. They can think about what they might like to do in the future. In the process, they often discover new career paths they may not have thought of.
Starting employee resource groups (ERGs) is a great way to do this. ERGs are special interest groups made up of employees who share a characteristic, goal or interest. Groups are always employee-led, and participation is voluntary. Every ERG has a leadership structure that is usually voted on by the employees. Members of the group decide roles, meeting times, and activities.
ERGs let employees take part in continuous learning with like-minded coworkers. Participants in the group often ask mentors with experience to help them learn the skills they need to succeed in their desired careers. These groups have the added benefit of helping employees with shared interests connect on a deeper level. They feel a sense of belonging and inclusion when they aren't alone in pursuing their career goals.
You can encourage your employees to take part in ERGs in different ways. Consider events like lunch & learn sessions. Educational happy hours are another option. People can even discover organizations that align with the interests of a particular group.
These event ideas are great for getting people interested and helping employees explore new career pathways. They also connect employees to new causes that can motivate them to move toward their dreams.
How to get started 👉 Take a look at these 5 Employee Resource Group Event Ideas! 🧩
There's an age-old saying about career development: "It's not what you know, it's who you know." Skills and knowledge are important parts of helping employees move into their target roles. But helping them network and build professional relationships with other people in their field is equally important. Networking helps employees to:
Hosting a networking event in honor of National Career Development Month can help your employees grow their interpersonal skills. They might also find the support they need on the path to meeting their goals. Building relationships is an important part of personal growth.
How to get started 👉 Meet up at the Networking Water Cooler! 🤝
An employee might be looking to change roles or advance in their current career. Or they might just want to better their communication skills. Whatever the reason, professional development is a needed part of achieving their vision.
Unfortunately, not everyone can go to career training workshops, courses, and certificate programs. Why not help your employees develop their skills by hosting professional development workshops right on company grounds?
These workshops should be aimed at helping your employees upgrade their current skills.
When colleagues attend professional development sessions together, it also helps build a sense of teamwork and mutual interest. This ultimately contributes to a more tight-knit team and a positive workplace culture.
You could host workshops yourself or bring in a speaker from the National Career Development Association. It's important that your workshops are informative, engaging, and positive. They should help employees build their skill sets to enhance their current and future roles.
How to get started 👉 Learn how to be a better listener, collaborator, and colleague in Think Faster! 🧑🏫
It's important for leadership teams to work on their own professional development. That way, they can properly support their employees in reaching their goals. Leaders learn management skills from a variety of sources. Some of them are incredibly helpful for the job, while some of them may not align with your real-world experience. As a leader, you must learn how to consider your own actions, how they affect your employees, and whether your management style is effective.
It's also part of your job to foster leadership development in the employees you supervise. Whether your employees want to move into a management role or not, leadership skills can help them manage their own projects and tasks. It can help them be more intentional with their day-to-day decision-making and more mindful and self-aware when working with their colleagues.
Leadership development workshops are a great way to celebrate National Career Development Month and show your employees that you are invested in their futures regardless of their goals or the paths they choose to take.
How to get started 👉 Help your team leaders and managers learn new skills in a Mindful Leadership Workshop! 🚀
It's important for every professional to have and work toward a vision and goals for their future. Career development is important work. It inspires and motivates employees to get better every day. Thus, it deserves to be celebrated as much as possible. Fortunately, supporting your employees in their professional journey has a way of benefitting all stakeholders.
Provide ways for employees to think about their own long-term goals. You can also let them talk to other professionals who can help them meet those goals. Help them get training and education that can allow them to get to their ultimate professional destination. These steps show them that their leaders and managers understand them, increasing feelings of personal well-being and leading to greater performance. All those benefits can help push your company forward.
If you're ready to help your employees get on the path to solid career development, Confetti is here to help. We have a large collection of learning and development activities designed to get employees thinking about and working toward their futures.
With Confetti, you can celebrate all your employees do by investing in who they want to become. See how the Confetti team can help you help your employees get to the next level today!
