Sela Jordan, HR Director for Western States Mortgage, was confused and concerned when her company didn’t receive recognition at an awards luncheon yesterday. Today, she’s called in her two person staff to develop a plan to make sure that it doesn’t happen again. 

A few weeks ago, the local newspaper sent out an employee survey for organizations that wanted to be considered for the community’s “50 Best Employers.” Jordan expected Western States to be included since they are one of the ten largest employers in the area and have generous employee benefits. When results were announced at a luncheon for executives of the employers included in the survey, Jordan was shocked to find that Western didn’t make the list. The survey results provided to her following the luncheon indicated that employees felt that the pay was fair, benefits were good, and the culture was warm and friendly. What she didn’t expect were many comments that there was little opportunity for career advancement, and that the company seemed unconcerned about employees’ growth within the company.

During the recession, Western States Mortgage suffered the same financial problems that affected many lenders. They survived by making severe cuts in every department including  the HR department, who was forced to eliminate most employee development and career development activities. The main reason was a shortage of HR staff and budget, but it also seemed pointless to spend time and effort on career development in the midst of layoffs in nearly every department, and reduced opportunities for advancement. In the last 2 years, Western States has slowly climbed back to financial stability and has recently hired a large number of new employees keeping the HR department busy with recruiting, onboarding, and training activities. 

After reading the survey results, Jordan reviewed the succession plans created before the recession and found that most of the employees that had been considered to replace top managers were gone. The recession decimated the ranks of the mid‐level managers and supervisors, leaving few with the experience or leadership skills to take over. Adding to her concern, many senior managers are now in their mid‐ to late‐50s and approaching the late‐career stage if they aren’t already there.

Jordan and her small staff have established these goals for their new career development plan: (1) identify and develop young managers with the potential to move into senior management positions in the next 5–10 years, (2) communicate career opportunities to non management employees, and (3) keep the current senior managers engaged and productive. “In addition to those important goals,” Washington told her staff, “we’re going to make the top 10 on that list next year!”

Questions: 

1. In what ways can mentoring and coaching help accomplish Western State’s Career Development goals?

2. How will Western States benefit from a successful career development program in addition to getting on the “Best Employers” list? 

3. How can Western States improve communication about careers and career development opportunities?

4. Create a fourth goal for the career development plan and explain why it’s important.

5. Research: If finances at Western states don’t allow tuition reimbursement or paying for outside training programs, what career development activities in addition to mentoring might be appropriate for employees interested in mid‐ and senior‐ level management positions? Start with examples from this chapter, then search online for examples from organizations you admire or would like to work for. Summarize your results and include your sources.