I recently spoke with the vice president of human resources for the YMCA of Greater Rochester NY about the approaches they use and the programs they have in place for career development. I was quite impressed with what this not-for-profit organization can manage.  

First and foremost, it is the YMCA’s philosophy that employees own their careers and must be the primary driver of it.  Below are three examples of what this YMCA is doing.

CEO Engagement

The CEO got his start as a locker room attendant at the YMCA in Connecticut. Over the following years, he traveled to other YMCA’s in the country to build his career.  He has taken his personal experiences and now mentors all new full time professionals, which he refers to as the “rookie program.”   On average there are 10-20 people in this program, which lasts for an entire year. The CEO shares a wide variety of information related to his career path, mistakes he has made, things he has done well, recommended books to read, and what employees need to do for development. 

Degree Program

Another program is based on a relationship that the YMCA has with Springfield College in Massachusetts.  If an employee wants to pursue a bachelor’s degree, the YMCA will send him or her to Springfield for two years and pay for half the cost. During the education process, the student completes internships and coops with other YMCA locations in different parts of the country. 

At the onset of this process, the employee signs an agreement that indicates he or she will not be employed by the YMCA for these two years. However, the student must promise to return to the YMCA in Rochester after he or she graduates.  The YMCA, in return, promises to provide the graduate with a promotion and other responsibilities when he or she returns to Rochester.   As indicated by the vice president of HR, it is a win-win for the organization and the employee.  “They come back more well-rounded both academically and experientially.”

Springfield College manages the entire process, including the coordination of internships and coops with other YMCA programs.

Career Mentoring

In addition to these more formal programs, the YMCA of Rochester offers career coaching.  There are three support functions in this process, which comes from HR, the supervisor and a mentor or coach.  

• The mentoring process starts with employee and HR.  HR facilitates the process, provides the learning resources and helps guide employees through the development process.  HR will also provide coaching and counseling as needed; however, HR defers to the supervisor as often as possible since it is the YMCA’s belief that the supervisor should be the primary coach.

• The supervisor meets formally with the employee at mid-year and year-end reviews as part of the performance management process.  These sessions are “the absolutes of the process.”  In addition, the supervisor is expected to have discussions and provide ongoing feedback throughout the year.  The manager and employee set the frequency of their coaching meetings.   The YMCA does not dictate the “in between” process.

• Similarly, the formality of the mentor relationships ends with the pairing-up process.  This process includes a mentor/mentee orientation session, which defines the role of the mentor and the responsibilities of the mentee.  The actual pairing is a result of questions that are asked of the mentee regarding his or her career aspirations.   Employees are matched with someone that has a similar type of experience or domain expertise.  In other words, the pairing is aligned to the employee's career aspirations.  The mentor is expected to help guide the employee on his or her career.  Their relationship and the approach is defined by the mentor and mentee.  There is no cut-off date of the mentor relationships.  The YMCA believes it is best to “let it end naturally.”

Our research shows that a centralized approach to development drives far greater value for career planning. (See Figure)   While employees must be the primary drivers of their careers, companies must provide the tools, resources and opportunities for employees to take advantage of.   The YMCA has taken a pro-active approach to career development. Starting with the CEO and supported by all senior leaders in the organization, they have developed core programs and processes that will provide their employees with the tools for establishing a long-term career at the YMCA (whether in Rochester or other location).

Figure 1: Managing Career Development 

What are you doing for career development?  I want to know.  I am currently in the process of a research study on this topic to learn best practices, approaches and key challenges that companies are facing.  If you would be interested in speaking with me about what you are doing in this area, send me an email at kim.lamoureux@bersin.com so that I can schedule a call with you.

The Career Development research report will be available at the end of Q2.