As an employer, you tend to think that your biggest responsibility towards your employees is their career development and well-being. That is true and definitely important to follow. But, whether it is executive development or training , there is a certain extent to which career development is the onus of the company. Beyond that, it becomes the accountability and initiative of the employees, to take their careers to the next level.

What then, is that extent to which you owe such development, to your employees? It depends on multiple factors that you need to keep in mind.

1. Business impact –The direct result of career development is believed to be business impact. So as an organization, your role is to support and drive this development, to the extent that it translates into business results. This could mean that your developmental programs have to be designed in a manner that every career change or shift has a link to the metrics.
2. Employee Engagement – Some employees are far more engaged with career development than with a pay hike. So find those employees and focus on them, to the extent that you can keep them engaged with the organization. To these employees, you owe a higher degree of time and effort, when it comes to their career development. Those who are not that engaged but are high potential and can help your organization to grow, also need your effort in this area. But to those who are disengaged as well as not performing, the extent of such development has to be minimal.
3. Organization’s budget – Your organization has a budget that is created for career development. That is the maximum financial investment that you owe your employees. Exceeding that in order to meet unrealistic expectations or competitor spending is not the right route to take. So stick to the budget for this area because while we want to meet the developmental needs of the employees, we also need to bear in mind that the business also needs to be profitable and only an allocated amount can be spent here.

As an HR or business leader you want to drive career development for the employees. But you have to work out a plan which is realistic and you understand the limitations of the same.