Campers not climbers: who’s responsible for careers?

While employees show loyalty to their
organisations, limited career progression and
unclear development paths highlight a need for
leaders to rethink talent strategies and empower
individuals to take charge of their growth.

Employees are happy with the status quo

Over the past five years, only 18% of employees changed roles within their organisation, and just 16% applied for other a new internal role. The workforce is stagnating and employees are failing to mobilise. Despite this limited internal mobility, 77% of employees plan to stay with their current employer for the foreseeable future. However, looking ahead, only 18% are considering an internal role change in the next two years. This data suggests a strong sense of loyalty but highlights a concerning lack of internal mobility, presenting challenges when it comes to businesses driving innovation, upskilling and ongoing workforce development. But why are employees staying put?

Changing structures

With flatter organisational structures, career steps are becoming increasingly larger. Bloomberg reports that middle manager job cuts made up more than 30% of laid-off employees by March 2024, up from 20% in 2018. Where in the past promotions were made in small steps, the data shows that people are more focused on developing within their current roles before making a significant career step, with 29% of employees looking to take on more responsibilities in their current role.

“With flattened organisational structures and fewer middle management roles, we’re seeing career progression is less transparent: in many organisations there are fewer clear opportunities for people to move up, and therefore promotions are being reserved for the most driven and proactive employees. Meanwhile, workers are questioning what they want from their careers – is a larger salary worth the longer hours and increased pressures? For many people, the payoff simply isn’t enough.”
Amy Smyth, Vice President Sales and Solutions, Right Management Europe

Over the past 5 years…

18%

Only

changed role in
their organisation

16%

And only

applied for
another job inside
the organisation

77%

plan to stay with
their organisation for
the foreseeable
future

In the next 2
years, only

18%

are considering changing role
within their current organisation

Why are employees staying put?

Burnout

Employees are experiencing more overwhelm and burnout in the workplace than ever before, with ManpowerGroup reporting that 49% of employees worldwide are experiencing daily stress and PWC revealing that 45% say their workload has significantly increased. With talent scarcity and the removal of job levels, employees are facing higher pressure and expectations on productivity and workload. Since the pandemic in 2020 there has been an increased desire for people to feel safe and in control of their work/life balance; one way to do this is maintain the status quo. For many, there is a concern that taking on more training = taking on more responsibility. On the flip side, managers may think that if they offer more training, they are risking their employees leaving and taking their new skills elsewhere, causing immediate unwelcome impacts on team performance.

Changing priorities

Post-Covid, Europe didn’t see the same sweeping levels of the ‘Great Resignation’ experienced by the US, instead seeing greater levels of retention across many sectors. But employees have realised they want more: demanding greater work/life balance and time to focus on other priorities outside of the workplace. Individuals are weighing up the payoff between taking on additional responsibilities and the enhanced salary it may offer, versus the potential added stress and wider impact on their wellbeing. And this focus is becoming entrenched in employment legislation too, with 11 European countries currently adopting regulations on ‘the right to disconnect’ from employer contact outside of working hours, and organisations increasingly adopting a four-day working week.

…but employers think they’re in control

A mismatch in expectations

There is a significant gap between how employees and employers perceive career ownership: 46% of employees said their employer controls their future career path – and even more employers agreed, with 66% of leaders saying the organisation is more in control of employees’ future career paths than its employees. This lack of individual career ownership from employees is contributing to the static nature of the workforce, with employees waiting for their careers to happen to them, rather than actively driving them forwards.

Further, the data highlights that while 88% of leaders believe employees are looking for career opportunities within the company, a far smaller 62% of employees agree.

ManpowerGroup’s latest Talent Barometer also highlights that over a third of employees don’t believe they have opportunities for promotion or movement within the organisation. Leaders are overestimating the level of internal mobility and opportunities for career advancement, resulting in misaligned investments in talent development.

Whilst this lack of internal mobility suggests current interventions aren’t working well, it also highlights a trend of underinvestment. 40% of leaders agree that learning and development is important at their organisation, but what about the remaining 60%? This situation is not expected to change in the near future, as half of leaders (50%) say they don’t plan to make any changes in investment or focus of career interventions in the next 5 years. Meanwhile, only 29% of employees say career development help is available to them, suggesting that a large proportion (71%) of employees are not receiving the support they need to grow their careers.

“Skills needs are changing faster than ever. With a large proportion of employees remaining stagnant in their roles for a significant amount of time, organisations are facing a ticking time bomb, risking not having the talent or skills needed for the future. How will you bring in new people, grow and diversify? How will you motivate the quiet quitters? Combined with the growing number of retirees and the number of new jobs that will require AI or green skills moving forward, organisations need to act to mobilise their talent.”
Nicola Rundle, Vice President Solutions and Market Development, Right Management Europe

Are leaders accidental talent blockers?

Business leaders are contributing to workforce stagnation with a short-term view of retention

While 27% of overall respondents cited retention as the main reason for investing in talent interventions, this figure rises to 32% among business leaders. In contrast, HR leaders selected a wider variety of priorities, citing enhancing employer brand as their top goal (22%). Meanwhile, saving on recruitment costs was the least popular choice, at 15%.

This discrepancy indicates the need for a mindset shift among business leaders. While they value retention to mitigate the immediate impact of departure, they may not be driving internal mobility to its maximum benefit, or understanding its power as a strategic workforce tool. In fact, over a third of employees said they had low trust that their manager has their best interests in mind for career development, with the figure rising to nearly 60% for Gen X women.

The short-term need to keep employees in their current roles, helping them meet KPIs and remain productive, outweighs the longer term, broader perspective on retention to grow skills within the organisation as a whole.

Are organisations adequately equipping and incentivising their leaders to promote internal growth and career movement?

To drive workforce agility and navigate transformational changes effectively, leaders need to be motivated and rewarded to support career development within their workforce. Empowering leaders with the right tools and mindset can help align strategic goals, reduce unnecessary turnover, and boost employee engagement. This requires a cultural shift, emphasising the value of internal mobility as a key tactic for long-term business success.

“Internal mobility isn’t solely an HR responsibility - business leaders play a crucial role in facilitating workforce agility. But they need the right mindset, training and support to drive mobility effectively. Internal mobility needs to be viewed as a driver of business growth – it’s not about keeping everyone in their role for as long as possible, it’s about maximising talent in the right roles at the right time.”
Tim Gilbert, Managing Director – Right Management UK

And it’s sometimes making things worse…

1/3 employees said career support measures actually had a negative impact on their careers

Despite the growing emphasis on career support initiatives, one-third of employees report that such measures have had a negative impact on their careers. This includes various forms of support, such as skills assessments, development programmes, internal mobility, and coaching. The findings suggest that the way career support is communicated and delivered is critical. In some cases, employees may perceive these efforts as attempts to manage them out of the business, rather than providing genuine opportunities for growth and development.

Unless employees, managers and leaders are aligned on the goals of the support, and how that support should progress, they are at risk of a negative outcome, or a failure to engage altogether.

Employees are less likely to take up the support on offer if the communications aren’t managed transparently, further contributing to the stagnation of the workforce.

Career development initiatives done well can unlock productivity and engagement but a well thought out development plan, with targeted communication is essential to minimise any negative impact. It’s crucial to align motivations and expectations across all levels—managers, leadership, and employees—to ensure that career support is perceived as an opportunity for growth rather than a hidden agenda. By doing so, organisations can foster trust and ensure career development initiatives truly benefit their employees.

How can organisations mitigate the risk of a negative outcome?

“To maximise the positive impact of career development programmes and minimise any negative effects, organisations must focus on clear and transparent communication. We often see organisations who bring an intervention to the workforce disguised as a sheep – but in reality, it’s a wolf designed to reduce numbers and encourage voluntary turnover. As an employee, if you’ve seen this happen once, you’re more likely to be suspicious of future interventions and respond negatively. By contrast, the organisations that are doing it right are honest about the desired outcomes of a project from the get-go, for example: “We need to restructure… but we want to give employees the opportunity to make a move that’s right for them…”
Alessandra Masciadri - Vice President Solutions and Market Development, Right Management Europe