Helping people find their true vocation
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Early on in their career, people are very focused on finding the ‘ideal job’ or on how to ensure a series of perfect jobs. However, for many people, waiting for that move into the perfect role they believe is waiting for them is a frustrating and fruitless exercise. In fact, if you look at some recent surveys in 2012 only 19% of people were satisfied with their jobs – they’re unhappy, probably because they’re focused on the negatives in their current role and are waiting for the dream of their “ideal” job.
As HR professionals, what can we do to tackle this dissatisfaction?
As it’s unlikely that you can find the ideal job for each of your employees, the best thing to do is to focus on the two key dimensions that indicate if someone is in the “right” place for now –
- Firstly, work out what is motivating them from a career point of view. Each of us has different priorities in life and things we want from our career right now. It might be work/life balance, having fun, or driving through fast-track success. By identifying what motivates each employee you can start to home in on specific advice for each individual in terms of how they can get the most satisfaction from their role, and where to move next to be even happier. For instance, if they want more challenge from their role, perhaps they should consider moving to work with a specific manager who is known for taking risks with team members and giving people big projects and tasks. When working with clients, we use our Career Motivation Cards. By asking people to pick 2-3 cards that are their priority motivations, in just 5 minutes they can focus the career conversation really well. (The reverse of the cards contains more useful information – on the pros and cons of those motivations, to ensure a grounded conversation – and targeted career tactics to help people to manage the downside.) But another way of focusing on motivation is to ask them what would make them really happy in their career right now? What would be happening, what would they be enjoying, or what would motivate them as well as what is dissatisfying them right now?
- Secondly, get a good understanding of their strengths. If you find out what the people you are working with are good at, what they enjoy doing and what energises them, you’re more likely to get to the root of why they’re unhappy with their current career position and where they may be happier. There are various tools on the market which can help you with this (including our own Talent Profile & Strengths Cards). The key is to know that engagement research shows that people who use their strengths every day are happier in the workplace. Even if they don’t feel their job is ideal, they still get more satisfaction from making a real contribution and from using their strengths.
If you need to have a quick career conversation, you can add value by looking at just these two issues, to help people crystallise what motivates them right now, and where their strengths lie.