CAREER MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT FOR LEADERSHIP IN LOCAL BANKS

Abstract

Local organizations in Pakistan are generally seen giving adequate consideration to human resource related activities such as recruitment and selection, performance evaluation, compensation and rewards administration; however, they do not give ample attention to the otherwise core HR function of career management and development. As a consequence, employees of these organizations generally assume primary responsibility for their career planning and management themselves. These organizations astoundingly overlook this fact that the greatest competitive advantage of an enterprise lies in its ability to have and retain the competent workforce with them- and career management and development has traditionally been an effective tool of employee development and retention. Policy makers of these organizations must understand the need for career management and development of their employees if they want to prepare them for the leadership challenges of the future. This study examined the career building measures of local banks and identified how to ascertain the future talent and steer it to fill the future leadership positions. For this purpose, qualitative research was conducted through in depth interviews and questionnaires along the amiddle hierarchical levels in the local banks. The analysis revealed that very few employees were aware of the career management system of their banks. The most important career development activities of the banks were building team skills, task rotations and individual competency trainings. However, few of the employees were not aware of the term succession planning and were unsure if succession management exists in their banks. Formal assessment is undertaken by most banks to determine the developmental needs of the employees as compared to informal or self assessment. This study will also be useful for these banks to acknowledge the need for career management and development as an effective tool of human resource development for the future.Career Management, Leadership, Career Development, Succession Planning