For many employees, advancement is very important. In a 1982 survey of foodservice supervisors reported at the US National Restaurant Show, the question was asked: "Where do you see yourself five years from now?" In response, 29 per cent said they saw themselves in their boss's job, 48 per cent said any higher-management job, and only 10 per cent saw themselves remaining at the same job. It is clear that many employees desire upward mobility. A career development system is important in getting them motivated.
Assessing the need
The need for a career development system can be seen in the following signals:
- Most vacancies above the lowest-level jobs are filled from outside the company.
- Employees are not promoted from within the organization or move up very slowly.
- Employee turnover is high.
- Employee productivity is low.
- Employee attitudes are poor and morale is low.
The starting point is the preparation of an organizational chart. This chart should list the number of employees in each job and the reporting relationships between positions, in addition to the wage range for each j ob. Exhibit 25 is a modified organizational chart, without salary ranges listed. See below.
Next, it is necessary to compare the salary ranges paid to those in the local community. Salary ranges that are much higher suggest a drain on profits; substandard wages will likely lead to dissatisfaction and employee turnover. A final use of the organizational chart is to examine the number of employees in each position. Is it reasonable for an employee to expect a promotion soon? The fewer visible promotional opportunities there are, the greater the chance of employee dissatisfaction and turnover.
A promotional pattern chart shows how existing employees have been promoted within the organization. It shows the sequence of promotions and transfers, as well as the time intervals between each move. Such a chart can be constructed in one of two ways. Existing employees can be questioned to determine their sequence of jobs since they joined the company. It is also possible, if record keeping is sufficient, to establish a point in time and trace the movements of past and existing employees since.
In analyzing these charts, the manager is looking for several things. Charts with few ports of entry (jobs filled by hiring from outside the company) indicate good promotional opportunities. A large number of ports of entry suggests that too many employees are being hired from outside and that internal promotion opportunities are lacking. It should be noted that every port to entry above the lowest organizational level represents an opportunity for internal promotion. Ports of exit, positions from which employees leave the organization, suggest dead-end jobs that lead nowhere. The company that reduces ports of entry and exit can significantly increase internal promotional opportunities for its employees.
The organizational chart shows us where we are; the promotional pattern chart indicates how people have progressed through the company. From them we can identify opportunities for increasing promotional opportunities.
Designing the structure
Typically, employees have been promoted on the basis of the lines of authority exhibited in a traditional organizational chart. A career development ladder links jobs based on the use of similar skills and knowledge (Exhibit 26). This clarifies the opportunities to move from one department to another or from the front of the house to the back of the house.
Creating a career development ladder requires analysis to develop job descriptions for each position on the organizational chart. Several steps are involved.
First, a job list is prepared of each and every separate function that the employee performing each job carries out. A server, for example, may be responsible for:
- greeting and seating restaurant customers
- serving water and lighting candles
- taking beverage orders and serving drinks
- presenting the food menu and beverage list
- assisting customers in making food and beverage selections
- placing orders in the kitchen
- serving wine
- collecting money and making change
- setting tables
From this, the supervisor and employee together complete a job breakdown, identifying for each function on the job list what has to be done, how it is to be done, and why it has to be done that way. This is a joint project because the employee is most familiar with what is done, while the supervisor is most familiar with how it should be done.
By comparing job descriptions on the basis of the skills and knowledge needed, the manager can construct the career ladder. Employees then can see that upward mobility is not restricted to traditional routes but is based on the acquisition of requisite skills and knowledge. They further see that the company is committed to a policy of promotion from within. Both of these points will increase employee motivation.
Designing the process
Four activities are necessary to implement the above system of career development. Job vacancies must be predicted, employees informed of the vacancies, employee selection completed, and training undertaken.
By predicting job vacancies, employees can be prepared for promotions before vacancies occur. This is a delicate process. If management waits until a vacancy occurs before beginning the process of employee selection and training, production and service will suffer while the position is not fully staffed. On the other hand, if employees are trained and prepared for promotion but openings do not materialize, dissatisfaction is likely to result.
Job vacancies are best predicted on the basis of past records. A career ladder program, however, can eventually reduce past levels of employee turnover. Existing figures would have to be modified to take expected changes into account. Because turnover varies by position and possibly by time of year, monthly figures should be developed for each position. The formula is that the turnover rate equals the number of employees separated and replaced, divided by the average number of employees, multiplied by one hundred. The result is expressed as a percentage.
The turnover rate would be applied to the number of people in each job to determine the number of projected vacancies each month in each position. For example, if we have experienced a turnover rate of 20 per cent during January in our servers and the number of servers during January is typically forty, then we would project eight vacancies (20 per cent of forty) next January among servers. To this figure would be added additional vacancies if any expansion is predicted.
Assuming no expansion, a prediction is made that eight additional servers will be required next January. This serves as the basis for establishing training schedules. If 20 hours of training are necessary to prepare an employee for this position, eight employees should undergo one hour of training a day for 20 days to prepare for January's vacancies. Therefore, training should begin in December.
Successful job selection
To be successful, this system must be highly visible to employees and understood by them. This means employees must be aware that they can move upward if they want. They also must be told how to participate. This involves having access to a career ladder and information about both the skills required for each position and how to apply for it.
Selection can be accomplished through a management-centered process or an employee bidding process. In the management-centered process, employee records are scrutinized to identify suitably qualified individuals. Suitability is based on the various jobs held outside as well as within the organization, the sequence of jobs held, training for higher-level jobs already completed within or outside the company, and the length of time within each job and within the company. Management then interviews and selects qualified employees.
In the employee bidding process, employees decide for themselves whether they feel qualified to pursue promotion. Job opportunities are posted for all employees to see. In order to avoid legal challenges based on discrimination, it is far better to engage in an employee bidding process. In addition, management's task is reduced. There is no need to comb all employee files for suitable candidates. Third, employees are more likely to feel part of the system and, therefore, to support it. The primary disadvantage is that this method takes longer. Typically, there will be at least two weeks between the posting and the closing of bids. A management-centered process can identify employees in a matter of days. The files of those who apply are considered on the basis of the criteria noted above, interviews conducted, and employees selected.
Training can then begin following a time schedule as described above.
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