According to new research from Right Management, 46% of UK employees have never spoken to their manager about their career goals, with 84% only talking about it with their employers once or twice a year.

The absence of career goal discussion is due to a lack of confidence (as reported by 31% of respondents), and knowledge around the opportunities available to them.

“It’s time for organisations to relinquish career development models that are almost 50 years out of date,” Ian Symes, Managing Director at Right Management, said. “Career conversations need a completely different approach to meet employees’ changing needs and ensure an engaged and high-performing workforce. Employers need to start proving that they’re serious about nurturing this ‘career for me’ expectation that the next wave of talent demands. A performance review just once a year falls drastically short of achieving that.”

The study also showed that there are benefits to career conversations with 76% of respondents stating that they would feel more engaged in their work. Meanwhile, 75% state they would be happier in the work they do, while 68% say they would be more likely to share ideas. Moreover, 68% of respondents are more likely to recommend their employer to a friend while 73% say they would be more likely to stay in the organization.

“The fundamental challenge is that a majority of managers are unequipped to take action and drive change required,” Symes said. “Managers fear having meaningful career conversations with their staff as they cannot meet expectations such as promotion or training investment, however careers are changing rapidly and employees are increasingly seeking opportunities for personal growth, new experiences and additional responsibility.”

The research also shows a chronic lack of planning for individual careers both in the roles that employees currently operate in and looking at alternative career paths. Less than half (42%) of respondents feel that a career development plan is available to them. Just over a quarter (27%) think that a career map that outlines a variety of career alternatives is available. Only 35% of those surveyed think that all employees have access to technical skills development programmes and just 27% believe there is access to leadership development. Furthermore just 18% feel that all employees have access to a coach and one fifth have access to formal mentoring programmes.