CAREER PATHS I like how Carter, Cook, and Dorsey have balanced the perspective and needs of the employee with the needs of the organization. They ve provided a practical toolkit for practitioners, rooted in a strong conceptual model. I have looked at other sources on career paths in organizations, but this is the book I d actually use to design a system. Steven D. Ashworth Ph.D, Manager, Human Resource Research & Analysis, Sempra Energy Utilities If you are, like me, a consultant who helps organizations develop and utilize their talent toward maximum performance; or a business leader building a worldclass organization with limited financial resources; or a Human Resources manager whose Generation Y employees are anxious to get ahead you need to read this book. It clearly defines the why and how of using career path models as the foundation for a comprehensive talent management process. Gena Cox Ph.D, Managing Consultant, Human Capital Resource CenterCareer Paths offers a career path model and useful tools and tips for developing, implementing, and integrating career paths into talent management systems. The authors describe the value of career paths from individual employee, organizational, and industry standpoints and show how career path efforts can be integrated with recruitment and hiring, strategic planning, succession management, employee development, and retention programs. With a sample career path guide and a list of resources for organizations, this book is an indispensable reference for HR professionals, managers and executives, training and development professionals, and organizational consultants.

CAREER PATHS"I like how Carter, Cook, and Dorsey have balanced the perspective and needs of the employee with the needs of the organization. They've provided a practical toolkit for practitioners, rooted in a strong conceptual model. I have looked at other sources on career paths in organizations, but this is the book I'd actually use to design a system."Steven D. Ashworth Ph.D, Manager, Human Resource Research & Analysis, Sempra Energy Utilities"If you are, like me, a consultant who helps organizations develop and utilize their talent toward maximum performance; or a business leader building a worldclass organization with limited financial resources; or a Human Resources manager whose Generation Y employees are anxious to get ahead - you need to read this book. It clearly defines the 'why' and 'how' of using career path models as the foundation for a comprehensive talent management process."Gena Cox Ph.D, Managing Consultant, Human Capital Resource CenterCareer Paths offers a career path model and useful tools and tips for developing, implementing, and integrating career paths into talent management systems. The authors describe the value of career paths from individual employee, organizational, and industry standpoints and show how career path efforts can be integrated with recruitment and hiring, strategic planning, succession management, employee development, and retention programs. With a sample career path guide and a list of resources for organizations, this book is an indispensable reference for HR professionals, managers and executives, training and development professionals, and organizational consultants.

Series Editor's Preface xiPreface xiiiChapter 1 Introduction 1What are Career Paths? 2The Goal of This Book 19Overview 21Chapter 2 A Conceptual Toolkit for Constructing Career Paths23Career Path Attributes 26Career Path Patterns 27Outcomes 29The Bottom Line 31Chapter 3 A Practical Toolkit for Constructing Career Paths33Sources and Methods 34Past 34Present 37Future 37A Note about the Special Role of Interviews and Focus Groups38How to Construct Career Paths 39Initial Steps 39Sequential List of Positions or Roles 47Qualifi cations 53Critical Developmental Experiences 54Competencies that are Accrued, Strengthened, or Required 56Career Success Factors 60Other Information 63Explicit Focus on Movement 64Promoting Alignment 64Assessment of Personal Attributes and Career Paths 64Implementation Tips 65The Bottom Line 67Chapter 4 Integrating Career Paths into Talent ManagementSystems I: Recruitment, Hiring, Retention, Promotion, and EmployeeDevelopment 69Connecting the Employee to the Organization 69Engaging the New Workforce 72Recruitment and Hiring 73Retention 80Promotion 81Development Planning and Execution 83The Bottom Line 89Chapter 5 Integrating Career Paths into Talent ManagementSystems II: Strategic Workforce Planning, the Early Identifi cationand Development of Executive Talent, and Succession Management91Keeping an Eye on the Big Picture 91Strategic Workforce Planning 92Identifying and Developing Early-Career, High-PotentialLeadership Talent 95Who Are Our High Potentials? 95How Can We Develop (and Promote) Them Faster? 97Managing Communications Regarding High Potentials 98Succession Management 99Evaluating Readiness for Promotion in the Context of SuccessionManagement 101Methods for Evaluating Readiness 102Keeping Those "Not Yet Ready" on the Path(s) to Get There102The Bottom Line 105Chapter 6 Expanding Success Beyond the IndividualOrganization - Industry and Economic Development Perspectives107Career Paths and the Industry Perspective 109Examples 110Differences between Industry Career Paths and OrganizationalCareer Paths 116Career Paths and the Economic Development Perspective 118Examples 120Differences between Career Paths Designed for EconomicDevelopment Purposes and Organizational Career Paths 124Labor Market Analyses and Analyses of Cross-OccupationRequirements 125Labor Market Analyses 125Analyses of Requirements across Occupations 126The Bottom Line 127Chapter 7 Looking to the Future 129Trend One - Demographic Trends 130Implications for Organizations 131Trend Two - Technology 132Implications for Organizations 134Trend Three - Globalization and Changing OrganizationalStructures 134Implications for Organizations 135Trend Four - Defi ning Career Success 136Implications for Organizations 136The Bottom Line 137Career Path Resource List 139Notes 143References 147Name Index 151Subject Index 153