CAREER MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT FOR LEADERSHIP: A CASE OF LOCAL BANKS IN PAKISTAN

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 themand career management and development has traditionally been an effective tool of employee growth and retention. Accordingly, 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 middle 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. Study showed that all employees were not aware of the term succession planning and were not sure 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.