Career Lattice: What It Is and How It Revolutionizes Professional Growth
In the corporate world, the journey to the top is often depicted as a straight climb up the corporate ladder. Start at the bottom rung and inch your way up, one promotion at a time.
However, not everyone's career journey is a straight shot to the top. And that's okay!
Enter the career lattice - a dynamic approach to career development.
Unlike the rigid structure of the ladder, the career lattice encourages lateral moves, skills expansion, and personal growth.
With career lattice, you'll:
- Attract top talents.
- Promote cross-functional collaboration.
- Enhance organizational agility and more.
This article will:
- Explain the concept of a career lattice.
- Analyze the benefits it brings to companies and employees.
- How to implement a career lattice model in your organization.
- Look at examples of companies that have successfully implemented this innovative approach.
🕵️♀️ What is a career lattice?
A career lattice is an approach to career development that allows employees to progress in multiple directions rather than just the traditional vertical climb up the organizational ladder.
Unlike the rigid trajectory of a career ladder, the career lattice recognizes that growth can happen in various directions. Employees can move laterally, diagonally, or vertically, allowing for a more personalized and fulfilling career path. They can venture into different roles, new departments, or even transition across functions to pursue their passions and ambitions.
A career lattice represents a more flexible, employee-centric view of career progression, accommodating diverse interests, skills, and work-life needs.
Imagine the possibilities within an organization that embraces the career lattice:
- Lateral progression: Gone are the days of being confined to your current job role. Employees can explore new horizons and discover untapped skills in a lattice organization. Quiet hiring, a leading HR trend, focuses on upskilling or reskilling employees, unlocking a world of growth opportunities.
- Flexible working arrangements: Say goodbye to the monotonous 9 to 5 grind. In a lattice organization, employees can work at their own pace and in their preferred environment. This flexibility creates a harmonious balance between personal and professional commitments, nurturing happier and more engaged employees.
- Collaborative workplace culture: Boundaries between teams crumble in a lattice organization. Employees seamlessly collaborate across departments, sharing knowledge and expertise. This vibrant exchange of ideas propels the company forward, fostering innovation and agility.
🆚 Career ladder vs. Career lattice
"Climbing up the corporate ladder" has long been the mantra of ambitious professionals seeking upward mobility within their chosen fields. It represents the traditional path where employees strive for promotions based on tenure, stellar performance, and a nod from their manager.
Gradually, they ascend to senior-level positions, gaining more responsibilities and a bump in their paycheck along the way.
If climbing the ladder is vertical growth, then a lattice career path expands in all directions - vertically, horizontally, and diagonally.
Instead of solely focusing on ascending through the ranks within a single department, a lattice career allows individuals to transition between roles within the same company, enabling them to acquire new skills and gain a well-rounded experience.
To better understand the distinctions between the traditional career ladder and the innovative lattice career path, let's explore their key differences.
💡 Get inspired by these 10+ career progression examples and start offering more diverse growth possibilities to your employees.
🧰 How can my organization implement a career lattice model?
Implementing a career lattice model in your organization requires careful planning and execution as it's a significant shift from the old yet structured approach.
Here are four steps to get started when implementing career lattices at your company.
🌐 Identify and map job roles and skills
Begin by analyzing the job roles and skills that match your employees' current skillset and interests.
For example, do they have the soft skills and knowledge needed for the job, or can these be developed?
Then, establish an application process to ensure your employees can adequately transition from their current position to the new role.
📈 Promote internal mobility
Encourage employees to explore different roles and departments by fostering a supportive culture recognizing and rewarding their career exploration.
Communicate the benefits of transitioning to different career paths, such as potential increases in compensation, achievable targets, and additional incentives.
🎓 Provide relevant training and development opportunities
Employee onboarding shouldn't just be for new hires.
Remember that shifting employees internally is a big career move as they enter a brand-new role.
Make them feel supported throughout the transition process with the necessary tools and training to help them learn the ropes of the new position.
Identify gaps, such as hard skills they need to know through training to speed up the process and guide them on their onboarding journey.
💬 Communicate with employees
Inform your employees about the career opportunities this move can provide. Afterward, advertise the available job positions through company-wide meetings or emails to ensure everyone knows the options they can pursue.
🏢 3 Career lattice examples
As workplace trends continue to evolve, the need to shift from the traditional corporate ladder to a progressive structure such as a career lattice is needed more than ever. Thanks to this modern approach, most companies have reported increased employee productivity and performance because of broader access to opportunities and more collaborative work methods.
Here are three examples of companies that have successfully shifted to the career lattice model.
Deloitte
Deloitte is a great example of a company that has successfully embraced the career lattice model.
Their model allows employees to move laterally into different roles or departments, explore new capabilities, and even take sabbaticals or flexible work arrangements, all without compromising their career progression path.
Manika Agarwal, manager in the Mergers & Acquisitions and Restructuring practice, started as a business technology and expressed her desire to expand her skill set beyond coding.
Deloitte's leadership encouraged her to pursue an MBA, and upon her return, she specialized in M&A IT with their full support.
Manika's story underscores how Deloitte's model allows employees to move laterally into different roles and empowers employees to contribute their expertise to the organization's success.
IBM
IBM allows employees to create unique paths and be trailblazers in their careers.
Ali, a member of IBM's Customer Success Management team, exemplifies the success of this model.
In his previous role as a Solution Architect, he focused on bridging the gap between business problems and organizational solutions.
In his new role, IBM has allowed him to explore fascinating software and technologies to support clients in modernization and customization, showcasing IBM's commitment to expanding employees' skills, fostering growth, and empowering employees to reach their full potential.
Spotify
Spotify's Steps framework is a perfect example of an organization that intentionally moved away from hierarchical upward mobility.
Their approach to career progression, "thinking more about rocks in a stream than a staircase," supports movement side-to-side or backward to move forward eventually.
💪 Discover the ins & outs of Spotify's learning and development strategy and career progression in our case study, Employee Training and Development at Spotify: Learn From the Best Learning Organizations.
🏆 What are the benefits of a career lattice for employees and organizations?
As the workforce constantly evolves, organizations recognize the need for a more flexible and innovative approach to career development.
A career lattice benefits employees and organizations, fostering a culture of growth, adaptability, and mutual success.
For employees
Greater career flexibility
Having broader employee opportunities can increase their motivation to excel in their careers. While promotion is a common aspiration for employees, offering them opportunities to explore other skills and projects beyond their current roles or functions enhances their career flexibility.
🔍 Discover the power of career mobility, unlocking endless possibilities! 🚀
Career growth
By moving laterally, diagonally, or vertically within the organization, employees can acquire a diverse set of skills and experiences. Which broadens people's knowledge base, enhances their versatility, and opens personal and professional growth opportunities.
Work-life balance
The career lattice often goes hand in hand with flexible work arrangements, allowing employees to achieve a better work-life balance. In addition, employees can adapt their schedules to accommodate personal commitments, reducing stress and improving overall well-being.
Enhanced job satisfaction
Career lattice empowers employees to align their work with their passions and interests. This sense of fulfillment leads to higher job satisfaction, motivation, and overall happiness in their careers.
For organizations
Increase in employee retention
Employees are more likely to stay in a company when they see a clear path for advancement.
A whopping 86% of professionals would quit their current jobs if a new company offered them more opportunities for professional development.
With a career lattice structure in place, you gain valuable insights into what your employees want and provide them with more options for career progression. In addition, it shows a commitment to their development, fostering loyalty and reducing turnover of high-performing talents.
Improved employee engagement
Another key advantage of implementing a career lattice is its significant boost to employee engagement. When you offer employees projects they find interesting, they feel valued and supported and are more likely to become productive and efficient.
Adaptive to changing business needs and job roles
Encouraging employees to take on various roles and functions can give them new perspectives, skills, and innovative ideas to bring to their work. This promotes a flexible and adaptable workforce, which can effectively respond to changing market demands. By experiencing different roles and functions, employees can contribute to a dynamic and agile organization.
"On a bigger scale, organizations that implement a career lattice model will have employees that work at higher levels of collaboration and cross-departmental teamwork, which is hugely beneficial for productivity." Erin Banta, co-founder of online retailer Pepper.
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With Zavvy, you can:
- Create frameworks tailored to specific values and competencies.
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- Assess your employees and their competencies and assign them to the right level.
- Run 360 feedback to help employees understand where they are, what steps lie ahead, and how to get there.
- Empower your employees with development plans, so they can structure their progress across the career lattice.
- Track progress and engage employees with reminders, tasks, and reflections.
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❓FAQs
🕵️♀️ What is a career lattice?
A career lattice is a flexible approach to career development that allows employees to explore diverse roles and directions while still achieving their long-term goals.
🌟 How does the career lattice concept support professional growth and development?
The career lattice concept supports professional growth and development by encouraging employees to explore diverse opportunities and take on different organizational roles. This allows individuals to acquire new skills, expand their knowledge, and gain a broader business perspective. In addition, the career lattice enables individuals to constantly develop and adapt by offering lateral moves and skill expansion, fostering their long-term career growth.
🧰 How can my organization implement a career lattice model?
- Identify and map job roles and skills.
- Promote internal mobility.
- Provide relevant training and development opportunities.
- Communicate with employees.
💼 How are companies adapting to meet these aspirations with a dynamic approach?
Companies embrace the career lattice to meet changing employee desires. Unlike the rigid ladder structure, it offers flexibility and encourages lateral moves. Employees can explore various roles, departments, and projects aligned with their interests and goals. This fosters skills expansion and personal growth and empowers individuals to shape fulfilling and diverse career paths.
🌱 How does the career lattice differ from the traditional corporate ladder regarding flexibility?
The career lattice allows for more flexibility by deviating from the typical linear progression of the corporate ladder. Unlike the conventional approach, employees can opt for lateral moves, explore new roles, and develop their skills in different areas. This fosters a broader range of experiences and enables personal growth, empowering individuals to shape their career paths.