New advances in talent management have rendered the corporate ladder of yesterday obsolete. Studies show that less than 20 percent of employees have better than a 50 percent chance of succeeding at the next level, making the traditional concept of career progression rather passé.
Benefits of a New Structure
Leading companies with an organizational structure that looks more like a lattice find their employees have greater access to invaluable learning opportunities. This structure opens the flow of communication, addresses individual needs for career advancement and encourages a progressive approach to how work is done.
Implementing the Lattice Approach
How can your organization unleash the power of the lattice approach? It’s simpler than you think.
Start by opening the lines of communication
In traditional corporate cultures, information flows in one direction – down. For maximum efficiency, encourage communication across departments, from manager to employee and vice versa.
One way to enact this change is through a learning management tool. With learning management, employees have access to a central knowledge base where they have the opportunity to share expertise with peers from every level.
A second approach to open communication is with 360 degree reviews. Managers can provide constructive criticism and praise to employees and employees can do the same for managers, so communication is traveling both ways.
By eliminating communication parameters organizations have a greater advantage, especially in regards to productivity.
Don’t assume every employee has the same career path in mind
Advancement doesn’t have to be a singular movement. For some, a career path might look more sporadic, from customer service to marketing to finance. Making these types of moves can broaden ones professional portfolio. An employee with a cross-functional perspective instantly becomes even more valuable to your business, because they have a deeper perspective into how things work across multiple facets.
Throw away the rule book
The workforce is no longer what it once was; work is becoming increasingly virtual, globally dispersed and team-oriented. The lattice makes collaboration a reality.
Making efforts to advance an organization in any of the preceding ways is a step in the right direction. Leading companies using a lattice structure are already making advances and those that quickly follow suit will help pave the way for the new working world.