Career development programmes are a critical part of any company’s employee value proposition. People in full-time employment spend at least a fifth of their time in any given week at work – making sure your colleagues get the most out of that time underpins a successful workforce.

However, these programmes tend to take a one-size-fits-all approach. They often have little flex built in, assuming everyone has the same ambitions and life circumstances. In today’s working world, that doesn’t cut it.

The disruption of the pandemic has had a lasting impact on people’s expectations and priorities. While accelerating up the career ladder is still the ambition for many, an increasing number of people are deciding that work isn’t their number one priority. Whether a temporary or permanent decision, life circumstances mean that for some, family, health, or outside goals come first.

Countless studies have demonstrated this mindset shift among the British workforce and beyond. A recent survey by Forbes Advisor found that over half (54%) of British workers would accept a lower-paid job in exchange for a better work-life balance.

Side hustles are also becoming a priority for many. According to a nationwide survey by Finder and Censuswide in January this year, 43% of Brits have a side hustle as an additional source of income. That figure rises to 68% among Gen Z, who have most embraced this hustler mindset. At 65%, millennials aren’t far behind.

Work doesn’t come first for everyone, and that’s okay

The cost of living has skyrocketed over the last couple of years, so it’s no wonder people are keen to spend time earning some extra cash. But money isn’t the only motivator; domain registry GoDaddy found one in three side hustlers in the UK set up their business as a passion project.

As employers, there’s no point putting our heads in the sand about this. Work doesn’t come first for everyone, and that’s okay. What’s important is that businesses find ways to empower and engage all of their colleagues, taking into account their unique circumstances and goals.

Perhaps they’re just starting their career and still deciding what they want to achieve in the long term. Maybe they have a few years of experience behind them and are looking to accelerate their career progression. Or perhaps they’ve got commitments as a carer and therefore just want to nail the job they’re already in. The best career development programmes allow colleagues to dial up or down their goals as they need.

The impact on colleague engagement

While some employers might baulk at the idea, it’s also the right thing to do from a commercial perspective. It’s no secret that employee engagement levels strongly correlate with business success; not only does it improve retention and thus reduce the costs associated with a high turnover rate, but it also leads to better outcomes for customers and clients.

Recent Gallup research shows that teams with high levels of engagement enjoy a 10% uplift in client loyalty and a 23% increase in profitability compared to low-engagement teams. Conversely, colleague disengagement has cost the world an estimated $8.8trn in lost productivity.

Engaged colleagues are more energised, motivated, and invested in delivering excellence for clients. However, people are rarely engaged at work if they feel they are treated like a cog in the machine.

We at Sleek Events have been on a journey to develop an internal development programme that speaks to our colleagues’ unique needs, affectionately known as ‘Occupational Dreams’. While it’s a constant work in progress, early indicators suggest it’s working well – we have achieved a consistent colleague engagement score of 86% when the average for a top-scoring company is 70-80%.

Encouraging our colleagues to take charge of their own careers has been particularly effective. We’ve given our colleagues ownership over their development plans, empowering them to decide for themselves what they want to achieve, when, and how we can best support them on that journey. Allowing each person to determine what goals are appropriate for them means they are often much more achievable, creating space for that endorphin boost when they tick one off and avoiding the sense of futility that comes when a goal is just out of reach.

Our colleagues are also encouraged to own the outcomes of their projects. People are much more committed to their work if they can see their impact and claim responsibility when a client is delighted with their experience.

It’s also vital to bring middle and senior management on board from the outset so they feel a sense of ownership over the scheme.

If people aren’t empowered to own their careers, businesses can easily fall into an outdated adult-child dynamic, a death knell for motivation and innovation. That’s why we refer to our team as colleagues, not employees. We’re all adults and individuals working together to deliver excellence for our clients, and we should all be treated as such.

By the same token, businesses should engage their colleagues to help shape the overall programme design. Get to know each colleague’s history and goals individually, and use that information to create a highly tailored but scalable proposition.

Carve out time and space

Even with the best intentions, many businesses fail to make time for learning and development. This tells colleagues that their personal goals aren’t important, which inevitably kills their motivation to deliver for the business and clients. Time costs money, yes. But the long-term impact of investing in your colleagues’ careers will be more than worth it.

Building learning and development into the flow of work can help reduce the amount of time taken away from clients, and we have also found it to be a more effective way to help colleagues improve. While external training courses can be valuable, lessons learned in the flow of work can be immediately applied and reinforced. Plus, they can better address individual needs than a course designed to teach many at once.

It’s also vital to bring middle and senior management on board from the outset so they feel a sense of ownership over the scheme. That motivates managers to make the career development of those they manage a genuine priority.

Perhaps most importantly, any development programme should include everybody within the business, not just those facing clients. Of course, delivering excellence is the most important business priority, but that can’t be done without the support of those working hard behind the scenes.

Don’t let people get stagnant 

The point of introducing a more flexible career development programme isn’t, and should never be, to allow anybody within the business to become stagnant. There’s always room for growth, even for those who want to stay in their current job. In today’s rapidly changing world, where technologies evolve at pace, there will always be new skill requirements to meet.

Setting and achieving goals is essential for everyone, no matter their life circumstances or career ambitions. That means every person needs to be held accountable for their personal growth. For us, that has meant appointing a team development lead to check in on each colleague’s progress.

Once the seed of disengagement is planted, stopping its growth is nearly impossible. It only takes one person in a business feeling ignored or misunderstood to kick off a company-wide engagement problem, and that can have disastrous consequences on productivity, turnover and client satisfaction.

So, tailored colleague empowerment needs to be a priority for all businesses. Work-life balance looks different for each individual; leaders and HR teams need to create a system that works for everyone so they can deliver their best work in return.