Why professional development matters more than cash to young workers
At 27, Giustina Romanelli knows what she wants from her career. The MBA candidate at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management plans to go into marketing and sales in the pharmaceutical industry, eventually reaching a chief executive officer position.
To reach her goal, Romanelli knows she’ll need all the career support she can get, which is why professional development will be a key factor when it comes to choosing her first job.
“In order to get there, you do need to get all of the training and skills and experience possible,” she says. “Perhaps training on negotiations, leadership, better understanding of the market, how to be a better sales rep — basically how to perform better in my position and courses in how to help me advance in the company.”
Romanelli says she’ll go with the organization that offers the most career support, not necessarily the highest salary, since she knows that will come with advancement.
Research by the consulting firm RSM Richter found 37 per cent of the under-30 workforce places career growth and professional development as a primary consideration when starting out. By comparison, just 16 per cent say salary is the most important factor. The survey asked 259 Canadians under 30 to rank the most important things a company could offer for them to consider a job.
“They realize now that companies are competitive, that they’re informed about the market rates so they’re competitively paid from the start,” says Lisa Fusina, HR manager for RSM Richter in Toronto and Calgary. “It’s not an issue they have to worry about, so they focus on other things that can add to their professional experience.”
A similar study by accountancy firm Ernst & Young in the United Kingdom found similar results, with 44 per cent of 1,000 respondents rating training opportunities highest compared with 18 per cent who put salary first.
Fusina is not surprised to see this trend emerging.
“Our culture today is a learning culture,” she says. “People are taking master’s degrees or multiple, ongoing courses for their personal satisfaction or their career growth. They don’t want to stop that just because they’re going into their career.”
Indeed, Romanelli says her primary concern is that her career evolves and changes.
“I’m the type of person who can’t be doing the same job day in, day out,” she says. “I need to have challenge and the feeling I’m actually accomplishing something. For me, my personal satisfaction is based on getting as far ahead as I can. (That’s) not to say that I’d kick off the CEO right off the bat, but to get there you do need to get all of the training and experience possible.”
Keeping this generation of employees satisfied will require more than simple promises of training and development. Fusina says it will have to be meaningful, to both the employee and the organization.
“It comes down to relevance: Is the training relevant either to their current job or their career development?” she says.
Professional development has to be considered keeping in mind both the organization’s overall strategy and the employee’s individual needs, says Fusina.
“Everybody is different. Everybody has a different career path. Everybody has a different skill set coming into the organization,” she says. “So knowing the direction, the strategy of the organization, understanding the skills gap, understanding the individual needs and tying it all back to the job is important.”
But how much should an organization invest in employees, if those skills give them an advantage to move elsewhere? Fusina says good professional development actually aids in retention because workers feel they have a reason to stay.
“Investing in your people is still a competitive advantage, a way to get people to join your organization,” she says. “It’s a retention strategy and it’s also a way to fulfill your strategy.”
It’s also important to provide direct access to senior managers, says Fusina. Although the RSM Richter study suggests younger workers give this low priority, she says it has been a competitive advantage within her organization.
Romanelli would agree. She considers mentorship programs with senior leaders a form of professional development, to “understand how they got there.”
However, even with the best access and best offer of career support, Romanelli says she’s not entirely willing to sacrifice part of her paycheque.
“You’re definitely looking for experience but if you’ve just finished your schooling, you do have debts to pay,” she says. “Money is still a factor.”
Danielle Harder is a Whitby, Ont.-based freelance writer.
To reach her goal, Romanelli knows she’ll need all the career support she can get, which is why professional development will be a key factor when it comes to choosing her first job.
“In order to get there, you do need to get all of the training and skills and experience possible,” she says. “Perhaps training on negotiations, leadership, better understanding of the market, how to be a better sales rep — basically how to perform better in my position and courses in how to help me advance in the company.”
Romanelli says she’ll go with the organization that offers the most career support, not necessarily the highest salary, since she knows that will come with advancement.
Research by the consulting firm RSM Richter found 37 per cent of the under-30 workforce places career growth and professional development as a primary consideration when starting out. By comparison, just 16 per cent say salary is the most important factor. The survey asked 259 Canadians under 30 to rank the most important things a company could offer for them to consider a job.
“They realize now that companies are competitive, that they’re informed about the market rates so they’re competitively paid from the start,” says Lisa Fusina, HR manager for RSM Richter in Toronto and Calgary. “It’s not an issue they have to worry about, so they focus on other things that can add to their professional experience.”
A similar study by accountancy firm Ernst & Young in the United Kingdom found similar results, with 44 per cent of 1,000 respondents rating training opportunities highest compared with 18 per cent who put salary first.
Fusina is not surprised to see this trend emerging.
“Our culture today is a learning culture,” she says. “People are taking master’s degrees or multiple, ongoing courses for their personal satisfaction or their career growth. They don’t want to stop that just because they’re going into their career.”
Indeed, Romanelli says her primary concern is that her career evolves and changes.
“I’m the type of person who can’t be doing the same job day in, day out,” she says. “I need to have challenge and the feeling I’m actually accomplishing something. For me, my personal satisfaction is based on getting as far ahead as I can. (That’s) not to say that I’d kick off the CEO right off the bat, but to get there you do need to get all of the training and experience possible.”
Keeping this generation of employees satisfied will require more than simple promises of training and development. Fusina says it will have to be meaningful, to both the employee and the organization.
“It comes down to relevance: Is the training relevant either to their current job or their career development?” she says.
Professional development has to be considered keeping in mind both the organization’s overall strategy and the employee’s individual needs, says Fusina.
“Everybody is different. Everybody has a different career path. Everybody has a different skill set coming into the organization,” she says. “So knowing the direction, the strategy of the organization, understanding the skills gap, understanding the individual needs and tying it all back to the job is important.”
But how much should an organization invest in employees, if those skills give them an advantage to move elsewhere? Fusina says good professional development actually aids in retention because workers feel they have a reason to stay.
“Investing in your people is still a competitive advantage, a way to get people to join your organization,” she says. “It’s a retention strategy and it’s also a way to fulfill your strategy.”
It’s also important to provide direct access to senior managers, says Fusina. Although the RSM Richter study suggests younger workers give this low priority, she says it has been a competitive advantage within her organization.
Romanelli would agree. She considers mentorship programs with senior leaders a form of professional development, to “understand how they got there.”
However, even with the best access and best offer of career support, Romanelli says she’s not entirely willing to sacrifice part of her paycheque.
“You’re definitely looking for experience but if you’ve just finished your schooling, you do have debts to pay,” she says. “Money is still a factor.”
Danielle Harder is a Whitby, Ont.-based freelance writer.
