Four Stages-Innovative Career Management
Authors: Evans W.D. , Nemeth C.W. 
Published: March 2010

The personal growth of employees is a cornerstone value to the success of Esso Resources. Employees working at their fullest potential represent the greatest resource for increasing productivity and results. Within Esso's Exploration Department a career development model known as the Four Stages Career Model has been adopted to help employees in the management of their careers.

In applying the model, our efforts to date have been in using it to enhance performance management, and career development planning and feedback.

Our experience with the Four Stages Model has increased our understanding of the need for a career model in managing professionals. We define employee development as those processes necessary to help employees identify, work towards and reach their career potential, and understand how best to contribute to, and achieve organizational goals. We use the Four Stages Career Model as the mechanism to communicate and apply each of the elements of our Employee Development process (Fig. 1). Each of these elements are found in most, if not all organizations. What we feel is unique is how we have used the our Stages Model to influence how each element or sub-process is used by managers and employees. Examples of this will be discussed later.

Introduction

Over the last several decades industry's ability to exploit new ideas and technologiesas led to numerous innovations which have dramatically increased our capability to find, produce and refine oil and gas. While we have successfully mastered and applied knowledge from the physical sciences our success with the social sciences has not been as spectacular or as profitable. As we examine our own, as well as other industries, it is obvious that technological advances represent at best a short-lived advantage. A second look at other industries, however, reveals that in numerous cases innovations from the social sciences in how employees are managed and developed have led to dramatic improvement in productivity and results(1).

One specific area in how employees are managed that is receiving increased attention is employee or career development, i.e. how careers are defined, developed and managed within organizations. Whether the reasons for this interest are due to the increasing rise of the knowledge worker(2), he recognition of the need to manage individual values(3), or the innovation transformation(4) evolving in organizations, managers increasingly see heir organization's future success rests with tapping each employee's potential. Effective employee development can help managers realize this great resource.

Within the Exploration Department of Esso Resources, we have developed a program known as the Employee Development Process and have adopted a descriptive career concept known as the Four Stages Career Model, to help us in apping our human resource.

Initial Implementation

Exploration success is dependent on highly skilled, experienced and motivated professionals working in an environment conducive to creativity, initiative and innovation. To help us realize this state during the rapid expansion of 1979–1981, Exploration management actively began examining programs and deas aimed at developing and increasing professional performance.