More now than ever people are constantly looking for ways to grow and develop their career. This can be a hard task for many people to accomplish through just their current jobs alone, and many seek opportunities outside of their workplace to grow professionally.

As a result, many people might look into taking other jobs if it means they’ll get to grow themselves professionally. New data shows that the average employee today will change their jobs no less than 10 times before they’re in their 40s. This can seem shocking compared to just a few decades ago when employees stayed at a place of business for their entire life, or at least a few years.

Companies looking to keep their employees should look into offering career development opportunities. Employees are more likely to stay at a job they feel like is helping them grow professionally — even if that doesn’t come in the form of promotions or raises.

Offering ways for employees to develop their careers while working can help a company with:

• job satisfaction for their employees
• employee turn-over
• productivity

Employees who feel satisfied with their jobs are more likely to do better work and will stay their longer. This will help companies meet their bottom line and keep a happy, positive workplace that encourages other employees to do good as well.

Career development opportunities might look different from industry to industry. Many corporations look into offering free college classes or tuition reimbursement to their employees. Other companies offer internal training classes and certificates in relevant software.

Offering classes can only do so much for career development. The best way for companies to keep their employees for a long time is to offer clear promotions and actual growth opportunities. Having a clear pathway up the corporate ladder will keep people at the company for a long time.

Good employees are looking for places that allow them to grow their talents and opportunity to shine. In addition to career development, there should be a clear pathway to tangible career growth.

Without promotions and raises built into an employee’s growth plan, good employees will ultimately end up leaving for better positions at other companies. In place of these growth opportunities, offering career development courses and training that will better prepare them down the road will help ease some of the tension.