Companies are increasingly focusing on identifying and developing talent within their structures. To effectively support the career growth of their employees, leaders must not only recognise their potential but also manage it skilfully. Microcredentials play a key role in this process – they are a tool that helps build career pathways and enables precise documentation of skills and achievements.

Keep reading to find out:

• Why is building career pathways important for companies?
• What does career development solutions currently look like in organisations?
• How can microcredentials support these processes?

Employee career pathways vs. company strategies

One of the most important internal procedures in a business is creating career paths for employees. It enables the professional development of every team member to be planned and supported. Both employers and employees benefit from this idea, since it aims to establish clear growth opportunities that align with the company’s business objectives and are suitable for each employee’s abilities and goals. 

Key elements of a well-designed employee career pathway include:

• competency analysis,
• defining career goals,
• transparency (clear promotion criteria and well-defined expectations at each stage of development),
• access to development tools, such as training,
• frequent communication between the manager and employee, and mutual feedback related to progress, expectations, and opportunities. 

A well-planned career pathway for an employee takes into account more than just vertical promotion (moving into increasingly senior roles). A thoughtfully designed system of this kind includes various forms of development:

• horizontal (changing roles within the same structure);
• expert (specialising in a specific area);
• project-based (participation in development initiatives);
• managerial (following a leadership track).

Building career pathways in practice

Many professional qualifications are rapidly becoming outdated at the moment. Given the difficulties this poses, thoughtful career management has emerged as a crucial component of HR strategy – not only as a development tool, but also as a means of retaining talent and preparing organisations for future challenges. 

‘However, we are still a long way from this ideal picture in reality. Some big corporations in Poland can brag about having well-developed career pathway procedures. However, most employers prefer to look for answers reactively, when the need arises,’ says Klaudia Wacek from MyPath Programme Lead at Manpower Group.

Why is it that so many companies lack the right programmes and tools to support employee development pathways? There’s no single answer to that question. Cost is frequently the primary consideration for smaller businesses, especially when it comes to hiring a specialist to manage the process or buying appropriate systems. Other reasons include:

• a lack of awareness of the link between enabling employee development and increasing company revenue; 
• a focus on short-term business goals;
• undervaluing the impact of investing in employee growth on the company’s strategic success;
• a lack of appropriate data and tools for building a career pathway. 

Meanwhile, according to the Michael Page report “Talent Trends 2025”, career development has consistently ranked among the top five most important indicators of job satisfaction for professionals worldwide (Job Satisfaction Index).

‘Employees are ultimately responsible for shaping their careers, but it is the employer’s role to recognise their potential and support their development, which, in turn, strengthens the company’s position in the job market,’ emphasises Klaudia Wacek.

Microcredentials as a tool for building career pathways

For many businesses, especially small ones, one of the biggest obstacles is the lack of tools that enable continuous evaluation of employees’ abilities, accomplishments, and potential. Without such data, it’s difficult to create individualised and realistic career trajectories. Microcredentials may serve as a solution that can help bridge this gap.

Based on microcredentials, even smaller businesses can create a system for recognising employee qualifications. This requires work from HR teams to clearly define the requirements for each position and role; as a result, employees gain a transparent view of what is required to advance in their careers or alter their course of growth. They can then obtain digital badges that show their advancement inside the company, based on the skills they have learned.

‘Microcredentials issued via the Odznaka+ app can provide highly valuable insight into an individual’s development within a company. By tracking the career pathway built from these credentials, the employer gains a clear picture of when to offer a promotion, whether an employee’s skills could be better utilised in a different role, or when to invite them to apply for a new position, knowing they already possess the necessary competencies. This approach not only makes career planning more effective but also helps reduce talent attrition. What’s more, it aids in identifying talent that may have previously gone unnoticed,’ explains Klaudia Wacek.

As the expert points out, microcredentials also represent an investment in the future – both from the perspective of the employee and the employer.

‘Skills that may seem less relevant today could become crucial in a few years. The data stored within a microcredential system allows employers to revisit those competencies at the right time,’ she emphasises.

In practice, this means that employers gain a tool for consciously managing employee development. They can recognise in time when an individual has reached their full potential in their current role and offer them new challenges, before they decide to leave.

A key aspect of successfully implementing microcredentials is integrating them with the company’s HR systems and employee appraisal processes.

‘It’s important that the microcredential system can be integrated with internal HR platforms. Rather than multiplying the number of applications, all data relating to an employee’s career path should be stored in one place. Only then will the system remain transparent and support real development decisions, rather than complicate them,’ concludes Klaudia Wacek.

Sources: 

1. Talent Trends 2025, https://www.michaelpage.pl/en/talent-trends.