“There’s nowhere to grow here.” It’s one of the most common things people say when a strong performer resigns. And often it isn’t entirely true: the company does have opportunities, but nobody showed them, nobody explained what it would take to get there, and nobody sat down with that person to talk about their future.
A career path solves exactly that. It isn’t a promise of promotion or an org chart with arrows; it’s a system that tells each person where they can grow, what they need to get there, and how the company will support them. In this guide we explain how to design one step by step.
Why growth matters so much for retention
When people stop seeing a next step, they start looking for it elsewhere. And it’s usually the best people who leave first, because they have the most options. We explain how to spot this cause in your data in Leadership, pay, or lack of growth?
The numbers back this up. According to LinkedIn’s 2022 Workplace Learning Report, as cited by UNLEASH, companies that are good at career development keep their people for about 5.4 years, versus 2.9 years at those that aren’t. And the conversation is still the weak spot: in the 2025 report, only 15% of people said their manager helped them build a career plan in the previous six months.
What a career path is (and isn’t)
A career path combines three things:
- Growth tracks: the possible routes within the company, from one role to others.
- Requirements by level: the skills, experience, and results needed to move up.
- An individual development plan: what each person will do, with the company’s support, to close the gap.
What it isn’t:
- It isn’t a guaranteed promotion. Moving up depends on the position existing and the person meeting the requirements.
- It isn’t only about “moving up.” In an SME, management roles are few. A good plan includes growing in expertise, responsibility, and pay without necessarily managing people.
- It isn’t an HR document. If managers don’t use it in real conversations, it’s useless.
Types of growth tracks
| Track | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Vertical | Moving up a level with more responsibility or direct reports. | Operator → Line lead → Supervisor. |
| Specialist | Growing in technical mastery and pay without moving into management. | Maintenance technician → Specialist technician → Senior specialist. |
| Lateral | Moving to another department to gain experience and open new paths. | Quality → Production planning. |
| Project-based | Taking on projects or added responsibilities that build new capabilities. | Leading a system rollout or an improvement program. |
The specialist track is key to retaining valuable technical people who don’t want to (or shouldn’t) become managers. Without it, the only way to earn more is to take a management role, and the company loses a great technician to gain a mediocre supervisor.
How to design a career path in 7 steps
1. Identify the key roles and people
Don’t start with the whole company. Pick the job families where turnover hurts most or where talent is hardest to replace: technical sales, maintenance, supervision, engineering, middle management.
2. Map the possible tracks
For each job family, define the levels and the connections: which role leads to which, in what order, and which lateral moves make sense. Use clear, consistent level names.
3. Define the requirements for each level
For each level, describe:
- Technical and behavioral skills required.
- Minimum experience and the type of experience.
- Results demonstrated in the current level.
- Training or certifications, where relevant.
Clear criteria that everyone knows are what make the plan fair. If nobody knows what it takes to move up, promotions look like favors.
4. Connect the tracks to pay
Each level should have a salary range. If someone can grow along the specialist track but their pay doesn’t change, the plan loses credibility. Designing pay scales and salary bands is the foundation for growth to show up in income too.
5. Build an individual development plan
For each person in a key role, agree with their manager on:
- Which next step they’re aiming for, and a realistic timeframe.
- Which gaps they have against that level’s requirements.
- Which actions will close them: stretch projects, rotations, mentoring, courses.
- How and when progress will be reviewed.
Most development happens on the job, through real challenges and feedback; formal training complements it but doesn’t replace it.
6. Prepare managers for career conversations
The manager makes or breaks the plan. They need to be able to explain the tracks, give honest feedback on gaps, and avoid promising what isn’t theirs to promise. A career conversation at least once a year, separate from the performance review, makes a big difference in how people feel. If managers don’t do it because development isn’t valued in practice at your company, the problem is cultural; we explain how to diagnose it.
7. Fill openings from within first
Post openings internally before looking outside, and give priority to those who meet the requirements. Nothing shows the plan is real better than seeing colleagues grow.
Example track in a plant
| Level | Main requirements | Typical time in level |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance technician A | Basic preventive maintenance, safety, reading manuals. | 1–2 years |
| Maintenance technician B | Diagnosing electrical and mechanical failures; training A technicians. | 2–3 years |
| Specialist technician | Mastery of critical equipment, root cause analysis, equipment improvements. | Ongoing |
| Maintenance supervisor (vertical track) | Planning, team management, maintenance metrics, budget. | Ongoing |
Illustrative example; requirements and timeframes depend on each company.
Common mistakes when designing career paths
- Designing it and not communicating it. A plan only HR knows about retains nobody.
- Offering only the management track, which forces your best technicians to choose between growing and doing what they do well.
- Promising fixed promotion timelines that depend on openings that may never come.
- Vague criteria, or criteria that change depending on the person.
- Giving development no budget or time: projects, mentoring, and training.
- Routinely hiring from outside for management roles, even when prepared internal candidates exist.
Frequently asked questions about career paths
Does an SME need a formal career path?
It doesn’t need a complex system, but it does need clear tracks for key roles, known requirements, and career conversations. In small companies, the specialist track and project-based growth are especially important.
What if there’s no opening to promote someone who’s ready?
Offer growth in responsibility, projects, and pay within their track, and be honest about timing. Hiding the situation creates more frustration than explaining it.
Is a career path the same as a succession plan?
No. A career path is for everyone in key roles; a succession plan focuses on having prepared replacements for critical positions. They complement each other: a good career path feeds succession.
How often should the individual development plan be reviewed?
Review progress every quarter and update the plan once a year, in a career conversation separate from the performance review.
Conclusion
People don’t stay for pay alone; they stay when they see a future and feel the company is helping them get there. A career path with clear tracks, known requirements, a link to pay, and managers who talk about development is one of the most effective tools to keep your best people and stop paying the cost of turnover.
At Total Consulting we design career paths, job profiles and job evaluation, pay scales, and talent development programs through our Talent and Belonging service. If your best people are leaving because they can’t see where to grow, schedule a free diagnostic session.
