How HR leaders can drive career growth opportunities

While most employees want to see a future for themselves at work, without clear career growth opportunities, even the most motivated teams hit a ceiling. 

For HR leaders and managers, developing a path forward for employees is where real career growth happens. Mentorship, structured development plans, and feedback systems all fuel advancement as leaders take their teams’ potential and turn it into progress. 

What is career growth?

Career growth is the progress someone makes as they learn new skills, knowledge, and experience to move them further in their professional development. It’s the road map from where they’re starting to where they want to go, whether that’s a promotion, a new role, or a new skill set. 

When companies make career growth part of their DNA, they see results fast. Employees stay longer, perform better, and are more energetic at work. According to LinkedIn, 91% of learning and development professionals believe that continuous learning is critical for career success. 

Plus, when you invest in the growth of your people, you increase employee engagement and satisfaction — a vital part of the employee experience.  

Career growth opportunities: 3 examples 

Here’s a breakdown of the three most common types of career growth.

1. Promotions 

A promotion is the most traditional type of career advancement. Climbing the corporate ladder typically comes with higher pay, more responsibilities, and greater decision-making power. 

Awarding strong performers with promotions shows employees that you value their work and that their contributions are benefiting the company. 

2. Lateral moves 

A lateral move means switching to a different role or department at a similar level instead of moving upward. It’s a powerful way to broaden an employee’s skill set and deepen their understanding of your organization. 

Do you have team members wanting to shift to a different position? These moves boost your team’s versatility and build collaboration across teams while preparing others for future cross-functional leadership roles. 

3. Skill development programs 

Skills-focused professional development programs give employees the tools to grow within their current role or prepare for their next one. Examples include training, professional certifications, mentorship, and cross-functional projects. 

The most effective programs mix technical upskilling with soft skills practice like communication and collaboration. According to LinkedIn, 94% of workers would stick around longer if their company invested in learning and development opportunities for employees.

What is career development? 

Career development is the ongoing process of helping employees develop the skill sets, experience, and insights they need to reach their career goals. It includes setting goals, planning their next role, mentoring, coaching, training, and providing guided feedback. 

Development focuses more on equipping employees for their long-term career path. Career growth is the “what,” and career development is the “how.”

How HR leaders can create advancement opportunities for employees 

It’s tempting to think you need to make grand, sweeping gestures to enable career growth. But the truth is that small moves, done well, make the biggest difference. Here are eight focused strategies to better equip your employees. 

Implement structured career development plans 

A structured professional development plan spells out the milestones, skills, and next steps for an employee’s career path. Once you set a plan with your team members, revisit it regularly to make sure everyone is aligned. 

Say a junior analyst wants to become a team lead. If you invite them to map out the progression with you, you’ll both have a clear view of the necessary steps. Define the skills they’ll need at each stage, and set quarterly progress check-ins to determine if they’re meeting the goals you worked together to lay out. 

Support cross-functional projects 

Cross-functional projects give your team members exposure to different departments, encouraging people to work outside their day-to-day bubble. This type of experience opens doors to new skills, perspectives, and networks. 

Encourage team members to join cross-functional initiatives, like a task force for rolling out a new tool or improving a process that spans departments. These projects help employees build new skills, expand their internal network, and gain visibility. The best part? They get an opportunity to grow without leaving their current role.

Establish mentoring and coaching programs 

Whether it’s formal or informal, coaching is a powerful tool for helping employees gain insight for career advancement and leadership readiness. 

Try pairing a mid-level manager with a senior leader. The senior leader can mentor the manager, helping to build their confidence. You can also encourage “coffee chat coaching,” letting team members alternate between the role of mentor and mentee. 

Use feedback systems 

Feedback is an important part of career growth. Use systems that allow two-way communication so you can gather feedback in addition to giving it.

Consider using Workleap Officevibe to run pulse surveys that touch on career advancement. If the results show that your team members want more clarity about their potential career paths, set up one-on-one career growth meetings. 

Invest in your employees’ goals

Everyone’s needs and wants are different. That’s why it’s imperative to listen and ask plenty of questions during career planning sessions and 1:1s. Be sure to show a real interest in your team member’s ambitions, and make time to help them map out their goals.

If a new hire tells you they want to become a product manager one day, take them seriously. In a one-on-one meeting, plot a path forward, then connect them with your company’s product leaders. If their bandwidth opens up, set up small projects to help them build relevant experience. 

Promote learning and skill-building activities 

Invest in your team by providing (or subsidizing) training programs, workshops, and certifications. If you want to do this on a smaller scale, consider hosting in-office training events. 

Offering tuition assistance for courses is one great option. You can also host “lunch and learn” events, where interested team members can take turns learning from each other while enjoying a midday meal. 

Try employee recognition

Nothing says “we see you” to employees like acknowledgement. Recognize progress in all forms, not just promotions. Whether it's mastering a new tool or stepping up in a project, meaningful acknowledgment builds momentum.

If a team member masters a new tool or takes on a last-minute project, give them a shout-out in your next all-hands meeting. You can also offer more structured rewards linked to performance, like bonuses and gift cards. 

Promote internal mobility

Internal mobility is when people move within an organization, whether through a promotion or a lateral move to another role. Creating an internal job board is a smart way to give employees a chance to grow without switching companies. Letting workers apply to jobs outside their current specialty helps keep them happy so top talent doesn’t jump ship.

Set your team up for success with Workleap 

The right tools can turn career development from a hopeful intention into a structured, scalable system. With Workleap Performance, managers can run continuous review cycles, track career goals, and deliver feedback that actually fuels growth.

Plus, our built-in AI insights help you spot coaching moments and keep development on track. And seamless integrations make it easier to connect performance with real recognition. 

Ready to see how Workleap can help your team unlock employee potential? Try Workleap Performance for free today.

FAQs 

How can managers identify the right growth opportunities for employees?

Start by asking each employee about their career goals, what excites them, and where they’re heading. Then, use those ambitions to identify roles, skill sets, and development opportunities at your company. 

What are examples of career development activities?

Good options go beyond courses. These include mentoring, coaching, job rotations, and role shadowing. Networking and workshops are also great for career development. 

What tools help track career progression effectively? 

Use career maps to help your employees visualize potential career paths and the next steps they need to take. Evaluate their performance in scheduled meetings to identify and address their progress and skills gaps. 

A personal Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis is helpful, too. This allows your employees to assess what they’re good at and what needs work. It also looks at their external career influences.