Today’s workforce is facing a myriad of challenges, from rising education costs, a shift to remote or hybrid environments, and career paths that aren’t clearly defined. It’s becoming more and more the responsibility of leaders to help employees become their best professional selves. As a result, workers are more likely to select an employer willing to invest in their development.

Increasingly, workers say they want to grow in their jobs. How are companies designing an experience that provides a variety of career paths and development opportunities? At From Day One’s Miami conference, in a panel titled “How Career Growth Can Be a Part of Employee Experience from the Beginning,” experts discussed the most effective new educational techniques and pathways.

Rethinking Traditional Education as an Indicator of Talent

The role of higher education is changing in today's hiring environment. “Enrollment in master’s programs is down,” pointed out moderator Joe Johnson, contributor at WLRN. “It’s incredibly expensive to go to school, sometimes the salaries are not necessarily keeping up, and they’re weighing out their options,” said Amy Turner, talent operations leader and senior director at RSM US.

“What's happening is a lot of organizations are having to reevaluate what it takes to be successful in roles,” she said. Companies are taking a hard look at the value of higher education and whether those accredited employees actually bring special skills to the workplace, or if perhaps an alternative talent pool could be just as effective.

For Market Leader and EVP at Aon, Brian Bark, who recognizes that perhaps not many college students are dreaming of being insurance professionals, that talent often comes from Aon’s internship program. “I’m interested in helping these kids in college find their way after they graduate, whatever way that is,” Bark said.

“Employee growth starts in the interviews: letting them know they’re joining an organization where your entry role is important, but where you end up is more important.” Aon is also finding that four-year degrees are not necessary to many of their roles and has established an apprentice program to bring diverse talent into the workforce. “We’re taking kids who might not have ordinarily made it to college at all, giving them jobs, putting them through a two-year degree program, and then giving them full time employment after college,” Bark said.

Training and Development for a New Era

HR leaders are looking at professional development as a human-centered customer experience for employees, rather than one-off classes. “I never want to hear the word ‘training’ out of this team’s mouth ever again, we are now a CX practice, and our deliverable just happens to be learning in organizational design,” said Loren Blandon, global head of learning & growth at VMLY&R.

“We really put ourselves into the seat of being learning and experience curators, designers, and architects versus trainers,” she said. With this mindset, development becomes more about how to help people grow within the flow of work, rather than through pop-up training sessions.

Jackie Perez, VP, HR and corporate functions at Lennar, says that the company had experienced a turnover rate in the high 90s, until the organization established a three-day in-person orientation at company headquarters in Miami, recognizing that the moment someone joins an organization is a pivotal moment in their career journey. “We want to invest in how we immerse our associates from day one into our culture,” Perez said.

“We have large groups, 50+ associates that are all starting the same day, and they go through an experience journey. Our CEO speaks to them, and we take them to our communities, and we create that excitement that’s going to create a lasting effect.” Lennar is looking to expand this pilot program into its other new company learning centers throughout the country.

Not all successful employee engagement programs happen in-person, says Toni Banket, global head of TA, workforce development & employee branding strategy at Edwards Vacuum. Banket described her company’s online learning platform, called Coach Hub, which established long-term mentorship and short-term coaching pairings among employees. “The idea is to have someone that you trust whose opinion you value that can guide you through your journey to be successful within the work environment,” Banket said. “Continuous learning is embedded into our DNA.”

Part of continuous learning is also recognizing when more seasoned talent might need a refresher or should be shifted to another department where their abilities are more valuable. “If you have an aging skill set, we want to get everything we can out of that employee, while it's still revenue generating,” Turner said.

“It’s about having that performance management culture and those courageous conversations internally to talk about an aging skill set and the need to develop something and give them all the tools they need to be successful to embrace that.” These conversations, if handled correctly, can engender company loyalty and longevity rather than alienate older workers.

Onboarding for Organizational Success

In today’s talent marketplace, onboarding isn’t just a quick sit-down with HR to go over company policy. “Onboarding is about how you bring an individual into the organization and set them up for success in such a way to not only be a contributing member in their job, but of the overall organizational culture,” Turner said.

This engagement shouldn’t stop after an employee is no longer considered new. “Sometimes we over-index in creating this amazing experience for folks for those first weeks or the first 30 days,” Blandon says, while longer term talent is left out. “You have to continue to engage your associates at every point,” Perez agreed. It’s important to come up with creative ways to make them feel appreciated and keep them excited about the work.

One way VMLY&R accomplished this was through its “Learnfluencers” program, where expert employees deliver and facilitate workshops to others, a boon to both the employee asked to teach as well as an inspiration to those in the audience. “It almost gives them an intern-like experience as existing employees,” Blandon said.

Personal Growth for Employee Success

Ultimately, forward-thinking organizations are investing time, resources, and energy into ensuring personal career growth for their employees to drive loyalty, engagement, and organizational success. “We think about that entire employee lifecycle in terms of skill development: the skills you need to be successful in the role you’re in today, the skills you’ll need in a year, the skills you’ll need in three years, the skills you’ll need to get where you’d like to go in your career, and the skills you can take with you [if you leave],” Bark said.

“It’s all about finding people that have the right DNA to excel in these roles, and then giving them the tools and experiences and training and, and development opportunities they need to actually get there.” Turner’s motto is “hire for attitude, and train to retain.” Companies should place a higher value on a worker’s ability to learn and grow, and then provide them with the tools and network to achieve.

Katie Chambers is a freelance writer and award-winning communications executive with a lifelong commitment to supporting artists and advocating for inclusion. Her work has been seen in HuffPost, Honeysuckle Magazine, and several printed essay collections, among others, and she has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, and CBS New York.