A career development workshop for employees helps people take ownership of their growth inside the organisation. Bodhih's workshop covers a skills and strengths inventory, internal mobility options, a personal development plan and practice for career conversations with a manager. It supports retention by making growth paths visible and turning ambition into concrete next steps.
- Recommended: 1 day in person, or 3 × 2.5-hour live virtual sessions
- Level: Foundation · In person · Live virtual · Blended
- Designed with the ADDIE model and customised to your context
- Offered by Bodhih since 2008 to 2,000+ organisations across 7 regions
Also known as: career planning workshop, career planning training for employees, internal mobility workshop, individual development plan workshop
Where and how: career development workshop for employees training as an in-person workshop in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Jaipur; as a live online course; or delivered overseas in Dubai, Singapore and across the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
Last reviewed · Bodhih Training, Bengaluru
Why growth has to be visible, not assumed
Ask a 24-year-old analyst where their career is heading and you may hear: I am not sure anyone here knows. Gen Z employees in particular tend to read a lack of visible progress as stagnation, and they act on it faster than earlier generations.
Many organisations want to fill roles from within, but people cannot move towards opportunities they cannot see or explain. A career development workshop for employees gives them the map, the language and the plan, so internal mobility becomes a shared effort rather than an HR hope.
55% of career development champions prioritise internal mobility, but only 24% of organisations have structured internal mobility programs.
What participants will be able to do
Know your strengths
Build a clear inventory of your skills, strengths and interests using evidence from real work.
Define what growth means to you
Choose between deeper expertise, broader scope, a lateral move or leadership, based on your values.
See internal options
Explore the roles, projects and pathways available in your organisation and what each requires.
Close skill gaps
Turn gaps into a 90-day learning plan combining courses, stretch work and people to learn from.
Lead the career conversation
Prepare and practise a focused conversation with your manager about growth, feedback and support.
Build visibility
Make your contributions and aspirations known through networks, mentors and internal communities.
Who should attend
- Early-career employees and Gen Z professionals looking for visible growth
- Mid-career employees considering a lateral move, specialisation or new direction
- High performers who feel stuck and are weighing an external move
- Employees returning from a career break or long leave
- Teams going through restructuring where roles and paths are changing
- Organisations launching internal job markets or talent marketplaces
Program outline
Recommended design, customised to your context after a short needs analysis.
01Careers are not ladders any moreModule 1 · 60 min+
- Lattice careers, lateral moves and skills-based growth
- What internal mobility means in your organisation
- Myths about promotions, tenure and growth
02Skills and strengths inventoryModule 2 · 90 min+
- Mapping technical, human and transferable skills
- Evidence from projects, feedback and achievements
- Values and motivators that shape career choices
03Exploring options inside the organisationModule 3 · 75 min+
- Reading role profiles and competency frameworks
- Informational conversations with people in target roles
- Short-term projects, rotations and stretch assignments
04Your development planModule 4 · 75 min+
- Choosing one or two priority development goals
- The 70-20-10 mix of experience, people and courses
- Writing a 90-day plan with measurable milestones
05The career conversation with your managerModule 5 · 75 min+
- Preparing your ask, evidence and questions
- Handling a not-yet or a no constructively
- Role-play with peer feedback
06Visibility and networksModule 6 · 45 min+
- Sharing work and aspirations without self-promotion fatigue
- Finding mentors and sponsors
- Using internal communities and learning platforms
Sample training plan: 1-day hands-on design
This one-day workshop gives employees the map, the language and the plan to grow inside their organisation. Participants work on their own career all day. They draw their career line, build a skills inventory backed by evidence, sort their values, explore real internal roles and pathways, practise an informational conversation, write a 90-day development plan and rehearse the career conversation with their manager. The capstone is that conversation, played with realistic 'not yet' and 'no' responses.
Participants leave with an evidence-based skills inventory, two explored internal options, a 90-day plan and a rehearsed manager conversation.
- 09:30–10:00My career lineEnergiser
- 10:00–10:30Ladders, lattices and mythsConcept burst
- 10:30–11:15Skills with evidenceBuild sprint
- 11:30–12:15What matters to meDiagnostic
- 12:15–13:00Role explorerGallery walk
- 13:45–14:30The informational conversationSkill drill
- 14:30–15:15My 90-day development planBuild sprint
- 15:30–16:45The career conversationRole-play
- 16:45–17:30Visibility and commitmentsAction planning
Every session’s activity, timings, outputs and materials, plus pre-work, a 90-day reinforcement plan and how impact is measured. Free, emailed to you instantly.
Recommended: 1 day in person (09:30–17:30), or 3 × 2.5-hour live virtual sessions, plus a 90-day development plan reviewed with each participant's manager. A sample design: every Bodhih program is customised after a short needs analysis.
How long is a career development workshop for employees?
The recommended design is one day in person, from 09:30 to 17:30, followed by a 90-day development plan reviewed with each participant's manager. It also runs as three live virtual sessions of 2.5 hours each, with informational interviews held between sessions.
What activities are included in a career development workshop?
Participants work on their own careers. They draw a career line, build a skills inventory backed by evidence, sort values cards, walk a gallery of real internal roles, practise an informational conversation, write a 90-day plan and rehearse the career conversation with a manager who says 'not yet'.
How we deliver it
Built on your frameworks
During ADDIE analysis we review your career paths, competency models and internal job processes, so the career development workshop for employees reflects real options.
Reflect, then plan
Guided reflection tools lead into practical planning, so insight turns into a written plan before people leave the room.
Practice the conversation
Participants rehearse the manager conversation in pairs, which makes the real one far more likely to happen.
Manager bridge
Managers receive a short guide to respond well when team members bring their plans, and can join Bodhih's career conversations program.
Tailored versions
For Gen Z and early-career cohorts
More support on exploring options, building first networks and asking for feedback, with energetic, discussion-heavy activities.
For mid-career professionals
Deeper work on reinvention, specialisation versus breadth, and navigating a changing role as AI reshapes tasks.
For internal mobility launches
Aligned to your talent marketplace or job posting process, with practical guidance on applying and preparing internally.
How we measure impact
We apply the ADDIE Evaluate stage with measures agreed at the start. Participants can complete a skills self-assessment and competency assessments on AssessAll to anchor their plans in evidence. We track how many development plans are discussed with managers within 30 days. At 60 and 90 days, short check-ins review progress on learning milestones, and HR can monitor internal applications, project moves and engagement comments on growth alongside the program.
Pair this program with AssessAll, Bodhih’s AI assessment platform, for pre- and post-program skill measurement.
Frequently asked questions
What happens in a career development workshop for employees?
Participants reflect on their skills, strengths and values, explore career options inside the organisation, build a personal development plan and practise a career conversation with their manager. The workshop is interactive, with self-assessment, pair work and role-play. People leave with a written 90-day plan and a clear next step rather than general inspiration.
What is an individual development plan?
An individual development plan, or IDP, is a short document that sets out a person's career goals, the skills they need to build and the specific actions they will take. Good plans combine on-the-job experience, learning from people and formal courses, with dates and review points. The workshop helps each participant draft one that they can refine with their manager.
How do I ask my manager about career growth?
Prepare first: be clear about what you want, the evidence of your contribution and the support you need. Ask open questions about how your manager sees your strengths and gaps, and agree one or two next steps. The workshop gives participants a simple conversation structure and time to rehearse it, so the discussion feels natural rather than awkward.
Does this workshop encourage people to leave the company?
It is designed to do the opposite. When people cannot see growth internally, they tend to look outside. The workshop makes internal paths visible, helps employees plan realistic moves and connects them with managers and mentors. Organisations usually run it as part of a retention or internal mobility effort for exactly this reason.
How can I move to a different role internally?
Start by understanding what the target role requires and talking to people who do it. Identify your transferable skills and the gaps, then close them through projects, learning and mentoring. Discuss the move openly with your manager and follow your organisation's internal application process. The workshop walks through each of these steps with your own policies in mind.
Should managers attend too?
Managers do not need to attend the employee workshop, but they matter a great deal to what happens next. We provide a short guide for managers, and many organisations pair this workshop with Bodhih's career conversations training for managers, so both sides of the conversation are prepared and growth discussions become routine.
Can the workshop be customised for our organisation?
Yes. Bodhih has designed programs for more than 2,000 companies since 2008, and every design follows the ADDIE model. We start by reviewing your career frameworks, role families and internal mobility process, then adapt exercises, examples and duration. Delivery is in person, with trainers travelling from Bengaluru, or live virtual.