How to Create a Career Progression Plan
There is a lot of handwringing when it comes to Millennials & Gen Zs at work
‘How do we get them to stay?’ is a question I regularly hear, and understandably so. According to Gallup 36% will look for a new job in the next 12 months , which is a frightening statistic when it can take up to 18 months for a junior commercial hire to deliver a profitable return.
A huge 71% of those open for new roles cite a lack of engagement as the main reason for their dissatisfaction. Employers are unable to match the importance these generations place on their personal development. Certainly, within SDR this trend is palpable. The learning curve from a new hire SDR to 10 months experience is steep, its natural employees expect a next step when they’re aware of how much they’ve grown. (link to why it’s important to offer career dev).
Many companies feel they don’t have budget or space to offer career progression.
It’s not always easy to create promotion opportunities and pay rises in challenging economic times. And it can be hard for those in charge to see development as a priority when they grew up in a workplace with different values. (For example, Gen X’ers (50 years+) staying in a junior role for 18 months is a sign of loyalty, not laziness)
Generational differences explain how a tension can exist but are a distraction when it comes to building something effective for your business. The SDR model is an investment to increase the volume of customers. And career progression is a vital part of this model.
A good progression plan starts on day 1, and includes:
12 - 18 months schedule with monthly/ quarterly goals
Regular planned review sessions to feedback on progress against goals
Learning events to up-skill employees
Challenging yet achievable numerical targets
Attitudinal goals to mould for a cultural fit
For example:
Is creating some targets and writing a flyer enough? Unfortunately, not.
Here are some of the challenges you are likely to encounter:
Limited resources to create and run a career progression plan. Who has time to organise everything that’s needed?
SDRs book meetings, but they do not convert to Sales. Should you still promote them?
SDRs are not perceived by the Hiring Manager as the best fit for a new role
#1 Limited resources to create and run a career progression plan. Who has time to organise everything that’s needed?
Development plans need content and a person to organise the learning events, all of which are time consuming to create and run. Often the responsibility to set everything up falls to the Manager (the person already busy with a day job and a target). The Manager is unable to give this extra work their proper attention, things get rushed and the employees feel cheated. Meanwhile the Manager becomes increasingly stressed.
Solve this by tasking each Head of Department to produce a learning event with supporting material.
The whole company benefits from an increase in Sales, so everybody must play a part. It shouldn’t be difficult for a Director to produce an introductory class on their department and include a learning activity.
Alternatively, consider hiring somebody to help produce the content.
#2 SDRs book meetings, but they do not convert to Sales. Should you still promote them?
It is demoralising for all involved when high SDR activity does not lead to an increase in Sales. There are many reasons why this could be the case.
Start by asking these questions to interrogate the entire process:
How does the conversion of SDR meetings compare to non SDR meetings? What’s the reason for the differences?
Are SDR booking quality meetings? (link to How to Objectively Measure Meeting Quality).
Are the Sales Reps treating the SDR meetings seriously?
What do we learn from the prospect’s feedback about the company’s product and service?
How is the prospect nurtured after the meeting?
#3 SDRs are not perceived by the Hiring Manager as the best fit for a new role
Progression plans are most powerful when new SDRs see people like themselves promoted. Conversely it can be very destructive when an SDR completes a progression programme to then be passed over for a new role. This usually happens when the hiring Manager wants autonomy over their decision making or there is a wide skill gap between SDR & Sales Rep.
Company Leaders must create buy-in for the SDR model.
A company divided will not progress. When company money is spent as part of a business strategy for growth, everybody needs to be onboard with the plan, and active in its success. If a hiring manager is going against what’s agreed, then the responsibility sits firmly with the Head of the Company to ensure everybody is moving in the same direction.
The skill gap between SDR & Sales Rep is too big for a progression plan to help.
Sometimes there can be a huge leap from SDR to Sales Rep. This typically occurs when a company has a low volume of high value customers, and experienced reps are needed to manage the account. In these occasions it’s debatable whether the SDR model is right for the company. SDR models are successful when there is a high volume of low to medium value prospects.
In conclusion
Creating a good career progression plan is a necessary part of running a successful SDR team. And ideally the plan should be organised before recruiters start their interviews. The number one question asked by prospective SDRs in an interview is, ‘What is the career progression like?’ Being ready with a plan to show, in the interview, will set you apart from other firms that talk vaguely about hitting target to possibly be eligible for ‘something’.
And, there can be bad press around younger generations acting entitled to promotions, but let’s remember this demographic spent a lot of money on their education and are still only eligible for roles that are basically an extension of their current social media habits, with some cold calls thrown in. Of course, incumbents to the job market have a lot to learn, and most of them are hungry for this, their hunger for more should be embraced as a good thing, since it’s enthusiasm in its purest form.
*Millenials: The Job Hopping Generation
