Nowa strona 1 » How to Increase Career Visibility with Internal Platforms

Introduction: From Career Ambiguity to Career Clarity

In many organizations, employees are motivated to grow but lack the visibility into how to do so. They often ask: What does my next step look like? How can I grow beyond my current role? Are there lateral moves available?

Despite having formal career frameworks, too many companies still suffer from opaque career systems. Information is scattered across documents, manager conversations, or HR manuals—rarely centralized, interactive, or personalized. This lack of transparency can stifle engagement, limit mobility, and inadvertently reinforce inequity.

The solution lies in digitally-enabled career visibility, where internal platforms make growth pathways discoverable, dynamic, and democratized. This guide outlines how to leverage your intranet, HRIS, career tools, and visualization technologies to build a career ecosystem where every employee can see and shape their future.

1. Understanding Career Visibility in the Digital Age

Career visibility goes far beyond publishing job descriptions or promotion policies. It’s about creating a living system that shows employees:

The different career tracks they can pursue (vertical, lateral, cross-functional)
The skills, experiences, and behaviors needed for each step
Real-time internal opportunities aligned to their aspirations

Career visibility is not a static library—it’s a dynamic interface between the employee, their goals, and the organization’s opportunities. Done right, it turns abstract career conversations into concrete career decisions.

2. Establishing the Foundation: A Unified Career Framework

Before leveraging technology, you need a clear, up-to-date career architecture with well-defined:

Job families and levels
Career progression pathways
Skill requirements and success criteria for each role

This structure serves as the backbone for any platform or tool. If your foundational career data is incomplete, outdated, or misaligned, digitization will only amplify the confusion.

Once validated, this data should be integrated into a central digital repository—usually your HRIS or a connected career development platform.

3. Leveraging Internal Platforms to Drive Career Visibility

There are three primary platform categories to activate: Intranet, HRIS, and Career Visualization Tools. Each serves a unique function in enabling visibility.

A. Intranet as the Career Hub

Your intranet is the digital front door of the employee experience. It’s often underutilized when it comes to career development.

A modern intranet can:

Host interactive career maps for each job family
Link to relevant learning resources by role or skill
Feature employee stories showcasing non-linear career growth
Provide access to mentorship programs, gig boards, or development resources

Example:
A marketing associate visits the intranet to view the "Marketing Career Pathways" page. They find visual maps showing possible vertical and lateral moves, skill guides, links to internal job openings, and real stories from peers who moved from marketing to product or strategy roles.

By consolidating resources and making them intuitive, the intranet becomes a career launchpad—not just an information repository.

B. HRIS as the Career Data Engine

Your Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is the backbone of employee data. Increasingly, modern HRIS platforms (e.g., Workday, SuccessFactors, Oracle HCM) offer career pathing and internal mobility features.

Use your HRIS to:

Allow employees to view career paths based on their current role
Suggest target roles based on skill data and past experiences
Provide personalized learning recommendations tied to career goals
Track and display career development activities like IDPs, certifications, or projects

Example:
A software engineer logs into the HRIS and sees a personalized dashboard: “Based on your current role, skill set, and interests, you might explore Senior Engineer, Technical Product Manager, or UX Researcher roles.” Each option links to the skills required and learning assets to close any gaps.

This enables data-informed, self-directed development.

C. Career Visualization Tools

These tools help transform complex role structures into visual, engaging pathways. Visualization fosters understanding, motivation, and exploration.

Options include:

Custom-built journey maps and interactive org trees
Off-the-shelf tools like Fuel50, Gloat, or Eightfold
Internal tools that visualize roles, skills, and employees

Look for tools that allow employees to:

Explore "if-then" pathways (If I develop Skill X, then I could explore Role Y)
View progress tracking toward next-step roles
Compare paths across business units or functions

Example:
An employee in supply chain sees a heat map of skill progression. They click on “Procurement Lead” and view required skills, current proficiency, learning resources, and mentors who’ve walked that path.

Such tools create career discovery experiences, not just static documents.

4. Making Growth Paths Transparent and Inclusive

Technology enables visibility, but design determines accessibility and equity. Career tools must:

Be intuitive and mobile-friendly
Avoid jargon or HR-centric language
Represent diverse career paths—not just the “high flyer” track
Show both lateral and vertical options
Include examples across geographies, departments, and employee levels

A. Employee Personas and Use Cases

Design tools for different personas:

Early-career employee: Seeks clarity on where to go next
Mid-level manager: Wants to explore cross-functional opportunities
Individual contributor: Desires growth without people management
Career pivoter: Looking to shift into a new domain

Make sure each can see themselves in the career tools provided.

B. Inclusive Storytelling

Pair visual maps with employee stories that reflect different journeys:

Lateral moves across business lines
Career pivots post-parental leave
Cross-country or virtual rotations
Returnships or re-skilling pathways

When people see others like them succeed, it reinforces the belief that growth is possible.

5. Governance and Content Management

Career information must be current and credible. To ensure sustainability:

Assign content owners for each job family or business unit
Review and update career paths at least biannually
Involve HRBPs and functional leaders in validation
Use analytics to track which paths are explored, where drop-offs occur, and where interest surges

Creating a career governance council can ensure cross-functional alignment and platform consistency.

6. Embedding Career Visibility into the Flow of Work

To maximize use, career visibility must be part of everyday tools and conversations.

A. Embed into Performance Check-Ins

Managers should use digital tools during one-on-one career conversations, showing employees their next steps and co-creating plans.

B. Integrate with Learning Journeys

As employees complete learning, reflect progress against target roles. “You’ve completed 3 of 5 learning modules needed for ‘People Leader’ readiness.”

C. Link to Internal Opportunity Platforms

Connect visibility platforms to:

Internal gig boards
Stretch assignments
Short-term projects
Open positions

So exploration leads to action, not just aspiration.

7. Communications and Launch Strategy

Building a platform is one thing—getting employees to use it is another.

Launch with a campaign mindset:

Brand the platform (e.g., “MyGrowth”, “PathFinder”)
Use teasers, demo videos, and employee champions
Host “Explore Your Path” weeks or virtual career expos
Train managers to walk employees through tools
Celebrate employees who use the platform to shift roles

Ongoing awareness is essential. A dormant platform is a wasted investment.

8. Metrics That Matter

Track usage, outcomes, and equity:

% of employees who log into career tools
Time spent exploring career maps or profiles
Number of internal moves influenced by the platform
Disparities in usage by gender, region, or level
Skills most searched or desired across functions

Use these insights to improve content, add features, or target communications.

Conclusion: Visibility is the Engine of Career Empowerment

Career development doesn’t happen in the dark. Employees want—and deserve—to see what’s possible, what’s required, and how to get there. Internal platforms have the power to democratize access to opportunity, align growth with skills, and foster a workforce that is curious, confident, and ready to move.

In the end, the most powerful question a career visibility platform can help an employee answer is:

“Where could I go next—and what can I do today to get there?”

If your internal systems can make that answer clear, you’ve taken a giant step toward a more agile, empowered, and future-ready workforce.