NEWS: Survey Details Most Effective Career Development Methods in 2013

DALLAS/FT. WORTH – November 11, 2013 – A new Insala survey finds that traditional training courses, mentoring, and special projects and situational challenges are the most effective career development methods used by organizations in 2013.

The survey sought, among other things, to determine if there is a discrepancy between the popularity of career development methods and their effectiveness.

Additionally, the survey sought to determine the difference in development method effectiveness targeted to two groups:

– Director level and above
– All other employees

Interpretation of Findings

What’s most notable is that mentoring does not rank in the top five most-used career development methods, but ranks as the most effective method for all employees who are not director level and above, and as third-most effective for director level and above.

Conversely, E-Learning ranks as the second-most-used method, but is not one of the top five most-effective methods for either population.

Holding steady in the top five most-used methods, as well as in both top five most-effective lists, are traditional training courses and special projects or situational challenges.

Frequency of Career Development Method Use

The most-used career development methods overall are:

1. Traditional training courses (78%)
2. E-Learning (70%)
3. Special projects or situational challenges (58%)
4(t). 360 feedback and/or assessments (51.5%)
4(t). Continuing education (51.5%)

Ranking of Career Development Method Effectiveness

For director level and above, the most effective methods were noted to be:

1. 360 feedback and/or assessments (46%)
2. Special projects or situational challenges (37%)
3. Mentoring for high performers (17%)
4. Coaching for high performers (17%)
5. Networking events (16%)

For all other employees, the most effective methods were noted to be:

1. Mentoring for all employees (36%)
2. Traditional training courses (31%)
3. Special projects or situational challenges (30%)
4. Coaching for all employees (30%)
5. Employee initiated career discussions (23%)

The survey was released in July of this year, and was closed in September with a total of 259 respondents. Of those responses, 202 were valid for the analysis described above.

A white paper detailing all findings will be released by Insala in early 2014. Visit www.insala.com for more information or email editor(at)insala.com to request a copy of the results.

About Insala

Insala is a leading global provider of talent development solutions through innovative Web-based SaaS (Software as a Service) technology. Insala seeks to be a partner to organizations by focusing on employees’ development at every stage of their employee lifecycle, providing solutions for career development, mentoring, coaching, career transition, and corporate alumni programs. For more information, please visit www.insala.com.

Media contact:
Stephen Grindrod
[email protected]
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