Career Development for Apple employees
Apple is the most valuable company in the world. It frequently deals with products requiring different sets of skills, often skills that are not available anywhere. So, an employee skill set changes faster at Apple than in most other companies. Apple has a lot of training available for its employees, but it expects every employee to take control of his/her training and learning. The Employees are not given a training plan as the expectation is that the employees own their career progression. Apple expects its employees to be self-reliant. As an example, Apple is probably the only company whose salesforce probably does not receive any training on how to sell. Apple feels that providing targets and learning plans reduces employee’s self-reliance, which is an attribute that is problematic in a scenario where the skill set requirements are fast changing. Employee ownership of training and development helps them learn continuously for their development.
However, it does not mean that Apple absolves itself from the career development of the employees. Apple views career management as a partnership. For the employee, the career management process will help them in identifying skills and abilities that are required for current and future opportunities for career progression. For Apple, this will help it have the ready pool of resources who have the right skills and abilities as and when needed. So Apple has a comprehensive career resource library, which consists of current information about careers in various forms of media and from various sources. It also offers job listings internal to Apple and in the industry. There are bulletin boards that give the latest industry trends. Informal one-hour brown bag seminars are conducted on the latest trends in the business, career, and industry trends. Apple’s career resource center offers a variety of skills assessment programs and also offers one-on-one counseling for people who are interested in job and career development issues. Networking groups help in job progression by identifying career change opportunities inside and outside Apple.
Retention for Apple Employees
Apple ended the year 2015 with the highest retention rate for employees ever, 81%. The reason for this high retention rate are listed below:
Apple treats its employees with respect. They are not treated as somebody working with customers or as retail employees but treated as executives who are delivering to the customer the beautiful products that Jony Ive and his team took years to build. Apple ensures that all employees know what is expected of them every day at work. Changing expectations create stress and keep employees on the edge. They make employees feel unsuccessful and they lose their internal security. Apple does not support unchanging jobs, on the contrary, it ensures that the employees know what is expected of them clearly. Apple’s focus was not on the products but on people in the store. Apple bucked the industry trend and stopped offering special deals on Holidays such as Black Friday so that the employees are not stressed. The employees are provided a forum where they can freely express their opinions. Due to the employee-owned career development programs, the most motivated employees grow and this means they can be retained as long as they are challenged or offered growth. Since Apple produces products that are path breaking, challenges are plenty and that acts as a great retention factor. Apple employees are always recognized and this instills a sense of pride in them, which is good for retention. It does not mean the retention plan is always working as there is still an attrition rate of 19%, which Apple intends to improve. Angel Ahrendts, Apple’s retail chief, argues that money is not the ultimate factor for becoming an Apple employee. She feels that employees feel connected due to the feeling of “one Apple”. The culture, the pride, the values, and the protection act as a strong retention factor.
References
Don, R. (2016, January 20). Here's How Apple's Retail Chief Keeps Employees Happy. Retrieved from Fortune.com: http://fortune.com/2016/01/28/apple-retail-ahrendts-employees/
John, S. (2011, September 19). Talent management lessons From Apple - a case study of the world’s most valuable firm (part 2 of 4). Retrieved from eremedia.com: http://www.eremedia.com/ere/talent-management-lessons-from-apple-a-case-study-of-the-worlds-most-valuable-firm-part-2-of-3/
Mark, M. (2016, January 29). Apple is enjoying one of the highest staff retention rates ever! What’s their secret? Retrieved from HRzone: http://www.hrzone.com/community/blogs/mark-mccormack/apple-is-enjoying-one-of-the-highest-staff-retention-rates-ever-whats
Shari, C. (1994, April 1). Apple computer leaves no stone unturned in employee career management. Retrieved from workforce.com: http://www.workforce.com/articles/apple-computer-leaves-no-stone-unturned-in-employee-career-management
