Career Progression Plan Template

This career progression plan template is designed to help business owners and HR professionals support their employees through goals and steps to advance their professional growth. 

Not sure what a career progression plan template is or how to create one. Keep reading and we’ll tell you everything you need to know. 

What is a career progression plan?

Let’s start with the basics, a career development plan template is a structured framework designed to map out an employee’s potential growth within an organisation. 

It outlines clear pathways, milestones and skills required for employees to advance in their careers, helping them understand what is needed to move to the next level while aligning with business objectives.

What is included in this template

• Overall career goals
• 12-month goal setting
• 5-year goal setting
• Lifetime career vision
• Action plan for the next 12 months
• Long-term development strategy

Want all of this at your fingertips? Download the template. 

Why career progression planning matters

For business owners, leaders and HR professionals, investing in your team’s development is one of the best uses of your time, even when you’re short on it.

So is spending time on professional development really worth it? The short answer is yes. Here’s why. 

Drives employee engagement 

Employee engagement is essential for building a productive and motivated team. And employees who see clear pathways for growth are more likely to be invested in business objectives, which increases motivation. 

A career progression plan template:

• Clarifies “what’s next” and how to get there
• Encourages employees to take ownership of their development
• Provides meaningful goals to strive towards, making daily work feel purposeful

Boosts retention and reduces turnover

Hiring and retaining top talent is a big concern for many SMEs, so finding ways to reduce turnover and boost retention is on the front of many business owners and HR professionals’ minds. 

Lack of opportunities for growth is often a reason an employee will leave a business. But a development plan can highlight that your business is invested in their team. It does this by: 

• Demonstrating a commitment to employee development
• Showing that growth is possible within the organisation, reducing the temptation to seek opportunities elsewhere
• Helping to retain high-performing talent, reducing hiring and onboarding costs

Aligns individual growth with business goals

Career progression planning templates help business leaders and HR professionals to consider what development opportunities align with overarching business objectives. While it’s important to keep your team happy, it’s also important to make sure people decisions are driving business growth. 

It does this by: 

• Identifying future leaders and critical skill pathways
• Supporting succession planning for key roles
• Helping to match training and development investment with business strategy

Development at work matters because it is a win-win for employees and the business. It boosts employee engagement and gives them clarity, purpose and motivation as well as helping businesses retain top talent.

Who is the career progression plan template for?

This career progression plan template is designed for HR managers and business owners who want to supercharge their teams’ development. It can be tailored to suit:

• Junior to mid-level employees looking to map out their next steps.
• Team members who want clarity on how to advance within their role or transition into a new role or pathway.
• Employees seeking to align personal aspirations with organisational opportunities, ensuring their development supports both their goals and the business needs.
• Managers and team leaders who want to have structured, meaningful career conversations with their team members, using a consistent, transparent approach.

Supercharge employee management with Employment Hero

Don’t have time to write a career development plan template from scratch? Don’t worry, we’ve created one for you. Save time by downloading our fully customisable template. 

Employment Hero can do far more than just helping you out with templates. Our Employment Operating System takes the traditional isolated aspects of employment and integrates them into a seamless, human and AI-powered solution that empowers employers, employees and job seekers alike. 

Supercharge your employee management processes, find and hire top talent with SmartMatch, seamlessly onboard new hires, automate complex payroll, drive employee engagement and more!

One system, everything employment. 

Download the free career progression template.