A few years ago, we worked with a large retail company.
A new staff member would start out as a trainee, progress to team member, then perhaps to team leader, department manager or keyholder, and might even work their way up to Assistant Store Manager (ASM).
But the weird thing was that, after that, ASMs never became Store Managers (SMs). The two roles were quite different, with the ASM being an operational manager, and the SM being more of a strategic leader. And there was no bridge between.
So ASMs would get frustrated, leave and go somewhere else. And external retail managers were brought in as new Store Managers (without any institutional knowledge).
That all changed when we were able to map out the capabilities of each role, and design a development pathway for an ASM to get to SM.
Now ASMs have a Development Pathway; ambitious ASMs can get started on their development journey as soon as they feel ready; and the company has a talent pool of new SMs. Everybody wins!
This isn’t just about succession planning, it’s about supporting professional development.
Thinking about your organisation:
Do your core operational roles have a clear development pathway?
Is it clear how they can progress within your business?
Are there learning and development resources they can tap into?
It doesn’t have to be an elaborate solution, you just need to provide clarity and visibility of where they could go, and how they could get there.
If you want help with your pathway, or want to discuss what’s possible, give us a call.
