The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Career development is a system, not a ladder diagram. To make growth realistic, employers need to show employees which roles are available, what skills those roles require, and how to build those skills through learning and real work. That system should include lateral moves as well as promotions, prepare managers to coach, and make internal hiring rules clear.
For employees asking, “How can I grow my career at work?”, the answer should be more than a course catalogue: it should connect their interests and current skills to concrete opportunities. The 20 actions below are practical options to combine, not a ranked list of programs every organization must launch.
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Build pathways employees can understand
1. Map upward and lateral options
Show more than the next promotion. Map possible moves into adjacent roles, teams and functions so development does not depend on a senior vacancy. Explain career lattices alongside upward progression; a lateral move can build experience or skills needed for a later step.
2. Publish role skills and proficiency expectations
For each target role, identify the skills needed and the expected level of proficiency. Employees can then compare their current capabilities with the role’s requirements and see where to focus. SHRM describes career development as broader and longer-term than task training, which is typically short-term and focused on particular skills. SHRM’s L&D guide recommends grounding learning in assessed skill gaps and future workforce needs.
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3. Show example routes between teams
Use example routes to make cross-functional moves legible: which experiences or skills could help someone move from one role or team to another? Present routes as options, not promises. A pathway should help employees explore possibilities without implying that a particular move or promotion is guaranteed.
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4. Post openings where employees can find them
Use a consistent, visible place for internal vacancies, and make postings available to employees who may not hear about them through informal networks. Tell staff where opportunities are published and how often the page is updated.
5. Explain eligibility and application rules
Set out the steps for applying internally, including eligibility, timing, manager involvement or approval, and how decisions are communicated. Employees should not have to guess whether they can apply or whether expressing interest will create a problem with their current manager. SHRM’s career-pathing guidance and internal mobility guidance emphasize transparent opportunities and clear expectations.
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6. Hold role-exploration sessions
Use internal career fairs, team presentations or role Q&A sessions to explain what different jobs involve. Give employees a chance to hear about the work, required capabilities and possible routes into it before applying.
7. Give internal candidates useful feedback
When an employee is not selected, explain the decision respectfully and, where appropriate, identify the experience or skills that would strengthen a future application. A decision with no explanation can make an otherwise visible mobility process feel opaque.
Connect learning to real work and business needs
8. Assess skills and agree on a development plan
Use a structured assessment to compare an employee’s current skills with the requirements of a role or business need. Agree on a small number of goals, actions and ways to check progress rather than treating a generic course list as a plan.
9. Apply new skills in everyday tasks
Pair formal learning with work that lets employees practice the skill. SHRM recommends integrating learning with everyday tasks; employees need opportunities to use new knowledge, receive feedback and build proficiency rather than simply complete training.
10. Address current and anticipated skill gaps
Plan for skills needed now and those likely to matter as work changes. In SHRM’s 2026 Skills (R)evolution reporting, 72% of HR professionals said their L&D strategy was primarily driven by current skills needs. That finding describes respondents’ reported strategy; it is not a recommendation to ignore skills that may be needed later. SHRM’s report page summarizes the findings.
11. Tie development goals to business priorities
Connect learning plans to organizational goals and critical roles while also considering employee aspirations. A plan based only on a succession chart may not feel credible to employees; a plan based only on personal interests may not prepare people for work the organization needs done. SHRM reports that organizations with more strategic L&D practices were 2.3 times as likely to achieve better financial outcomes. This is a reported association, not proof that L&D alone caused those outcomes.
12. Use rotations and short-term assignments
Offer job rotations, project assignments or temporary exposure to adjacent work where feasible. These experiences can help employees test interest, build skills and give teams a view of talent beyond their immediate function. In SHRM’s 2026 Talent Trends release, 93% of HR respondents considered job rotation highly effective for addressing talent gaps, while fewer than 25% reported implementing it compared with other L&D pathways. The release reports a survey of 2,094 U.S. HR professionals conducted February 9–20, 2026; the specific rotation figures are reported there without a fuller breakdown on the opened page. Read SHRM’s Talent Trends release.
13. Create mentoring and coaching opportunities
Provide access to mentors, peer learning or coaching so employees can ask questions, get perspective and practice skills. Clarify the purpose and time commitment; mentoring can complement, but does not replace, relevant work experience or clear role expectations.
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14. Make learning resources available throughout the year
Communicate learning opportunities regularly and make access practical across teams and schedules. SHRM’s 2026 Skills-First Movement page reports that 59% of workers whose organizations promoted upskilling opportunities throughout the year said they were engaged, compared with 31% where organizations did not. This is an observed association, not a guarantee that promotion of opportunities will cause engagement. See SHRM’s Skills-First Movement report.
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Equip managers to support growth
15. Train managers to coach careers
Before introducing a formal pathway program, prepare managers to discuss career interests, explain career lattices, identify skill gaps and give useful feedback. Without that preparation, employees may receive very different guidance depending on who manages them.
16. Schedule development conversations and stay interviews
Make career conversations recurring rather than waiting for an annual review or resignation risk. Ask what work an employee wants to learn, what obstacles are in the way and what experience could help them test a possible direction. Keep these conversations distinct from promises of a particular opening or promotion.
17. Give specific readiness feedback and next steps
Tell employees what they are already demonstrating and what evidence would show readiness for a target role. Convert gaps into achievable actions, such as leading a project, practicing a skill with a coach or completing a relevant assignment. Revisit the plan as work and interests change.
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18. Recognize meaningful skill growth
Recognize demonstrated capabilities and completed development milestones, not just course attendance. This can make progress visible while keeping the emphasis on applying skills and contributing to work.
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19. Measure skills and movement, not only course completion
Track learning completion, proficiency gains, performance and whether employees move into opportunities. SHRM’s L&D guidance also points to organizational measures such as turnover or sales growth. Choose measures that match the pathway’s purpose: a high completion rate alone does not establish that employees gained capability or that internal mobility improved.
20. Review and update pathways
Review role maps, skill expectations, access rules and outcomes as organizational needs change. Gather input from employees, managers and business leaders; retire routes that no longer reflect actual work and add emerging opportunities when roles or skill needs shift.
What the evidence does—and does not—show
SHRM’s 2026 reporting offers context for investing in development, but its figures come from separate surveys and should not be combined as if they were one sample. The Skills (R)evolution page summarizes data from more than 1,800 L&D professionals and 6,650 global workers; it reports that 78% of global workers whose organizations offer L&D programs said participation positively affects their workplace engagement. The 2026 Skills-First Movement report describes separate 2025 U.S. samples of HR professionals, supervisors and workers. The Talent Trends survey covered U.S. HR professionals in February 2026. Survey responses and associations do not establish that any single practice guarantees retention, engagement or financial results.
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Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →SHRM President and CEO Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. said, “We must fundamentally rethink how we find and build talent.” For employers, a practical starting point is to make roles and skills visible, connect development to real work, and give managers clear processes for supporting employees as they explore options.
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