How the Career Coaching Cohort is Accelerating Internal Mobility

The Career Coaching Cohort began with a simple but powerful idea: that career growth can be clearer, more intentional, and more empowering. Born from one employee’s journey to find clarity in her own career path, the program has evolved into a transformative resource that helps participants define, pursue, and achieve their professional goals. This initiative has evolved into a structured, impactful program that gives participants the tools, insights, and peer support they need to move forward with purpose and confidence.

This case study represents one of the submissions for i4cp's 2025 Next Practice Awards, winners will be honored at the i4cp 2025 Next Practices Now Conference. You can also view other Next Practice Award case studies.

Business Challenge

Symetra is a financial services organization that was founded in 1957. We offer Employee Benefits, annuity solutions for Retirement, and Life Insurance products. Our vision is “creating a world where more people have access to financial freedom”. Our strategy of Symetra Empowers Employee is “We respect every employee by embracing their unique points of view and providing opportunities to contribute, thrive and grow.” Symetra is deeply committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, and we’re hyper-focused on creating a rewarding, enriching employee experience that encourages all voices to be heard, diverse perspective embraced, and equitable access to opportunities for career growth.

We know our industry is complex. Our products are complex. Our systems are complex. We invest in the growth and development of our employees from day one, and our organization needs their knowledge, skills and capabilities, built over time and experience, to empower successful business outcomes, now and well into the future.

We are deeply committed to empowering equitable internal mobility for our team members by providing the resources they need to take charge of their careers. In alignment with this commitment, we launched the Career Coaching Cohort program, a unique initiative designed to help employees pursue their professional aspirations with a focus on career readiness through intentionality. The Career Coaching Cohort draws from Symetra’s wealth of learning and development resources to equip employees with practical strategies and a clear path for growth. Designed around key objectives, the program helps participants clarify career goals, enhance self-awareness, engage in strategic planning, and build a supportive community. These components collectively enable participants to not only visualize their career progression but to pursue it with a newfound sense of readiness.

Solution – Scope & Innovation

While Symetra has architected a well-defined Career Framework which provides transparent career pathways from Supporting Contributor to Individual or Technical Contributor up through Management. Every non-executive role has a Job Profile that outlines the responsibilities, and the skills and experience required, as well as a corresponding salary range that is all published on our internal site. The intent of this framework was to inform and empower employees to explore a multitude of paths to grow their careers at Symetra. However, we continued to see the lowest item rated in exit interview surveys for overall satisfaction was “opportunity for advancement”, and the lowest item rated for overall manager satisfaction was “develop me for future opportunities”. So why weren’t employees leveraging the resources? How might we empower employees to grow at Symetra rather than having to leave for career growth?

After conducting multiple listening sessions with employees, in mid-2024 we created the Career Coaching Cohort program to equip participants with the tools, insights, and most importantly, the community support necessary to navigate their desired career paths effectively. Leveraging the existing, robust learning and development resources, this program aims to provide a comprehensive structure to help employees plan, pursue, and achieve their career goals. Participants are encouraged to think about their objectives in measurable terms, identifying specific outcomes they wish to achieve, and ensuring that these goals are both realistic and relevant to their broader career path.

The program also places a strong emphasis on readiness—developing a concrete roadmap that outlines the steps participants need to take in their career journeys. This focus ensures that employees not only understand where they want to go but are also equipped with the practical strategies to get there.

The key objectives of the Career Coaching Cohort program include the following:

1. Clarifying and Achieving Career Goals:
    At the heart of the Career Coaching Cohort is the commitment to helping participants define and refine their career aspirations. Leveraging frameworks such as SMART goals and the GROW model, the program guides individuals through the process of setting specific, actionable, and measurable career goals. For example, a participant aspiring to a leadership role can identify the skills, relationships, and experiences needed to reach that objective within a specified timeframe. Through this structured approach, each participant leaves the program with clear, meaningful goals that are tailored to their unique aspirations.
2. Enhancing Self-Awareness and Strategic Career Planning:
    Understanding where one currently stands is crucial to planning forward movement. This program encourages participants to assess their current career realities, such as strengths, development areas, opportunities, and challenges. This heightened self-awareness allows participants to approach their career development with greater strategic intent. By evaluating personal strengths and growth opportunities, participants gain insights into how best to bridge the gap between their present position and future ambitions. Participants will explore the resources available to them how to use these resources more effectively.
3. Building a Career Community:
   The most distinctive aspect of the Career Coaching Cohort program is its emphasis on building and nurturing a “career community”. While career development is inherently personal, it does not have to be pursued in isolation.  The cohort’s community-focused design fosters a network of mutual support, collaboration, and shared insights. Recognizing that career development is both personal and communal, the program provides a space for employees to learn from each other, share strategies, and offer encouragement. This sense of community extends beyond the program’s duration, with participants continuing to draw from their cohort’s collective wisdom and support as they advance in their careers, especially as we operate in a “remote-first” environment.

Leveraging the Career Hub for Development Planning

A crucial enabler for the program is Symetra’s new Career Hub, a robust AI-powered tool that empowers employees to track their progress, develop relevant skills, and connect with mentors and projects aligned with their career goals. The Career Hub enables participants to make their aspirations visible to managers and mentors, facilitating collaboration and strategic alignment on development paths. This tool has become instrumental in helping employees at every stage of their career journey—from exploring new roles to honing skills to building and sharing their development plans. Since implementing the Career Hub, we’ve seen participants thrive, with many exploring roles and opportunities they may not have previously considered, supporting a continuous culture of growth.

Results & Impact

The initial pilot of the Career Coaching Cohort just closed out in September of 2024, but already, early indicators are very positive. One pilot participant has already achieved a promotion outside of her department, and we have 3 individuals who are currently in various stages of interviews. For those participants whose cohort is currently underway, the feedback is that the program is positively impacting their engagement and boosting their confidence to stay focused on the path ahead.  The Career Coaching Cohort is more than a series of workshops; it’s a transformational experience! Through this program, Symetra not only supports individual career growth but also aligns employees’ aspirations with broader organizational goals, fostering a motivated and purpose-driven workforce. By the program’s conclusion, participants have:

• Defined career goals: Personal, measurable objectives that serve as actionable steps toward fulfilling their personalized professional aspirations.
• A roadmap for career progression: Concrete plans that outline how to achieve their goals, ensuring they are well-prepared for future opportunities.
• Increased self-awareness: Through self-reflection and assessment exercises, participants will have a deeper understanding of their strengths, areas for growth, and how to leverage available resources for their development.
• A strategic career mindset: Knowledge and tools that help them make informed decisions, set realistic goals, and take ownership of their professional growth.
• A lasting support network: Peer relationships that continue to provide insights, support, and encouragement beyond the cohort experience.

Conclusion

While the program is still in early stages, the retrospective after the pilot resulted in a few tweaks to the cadence and programming of the Career Coaching Cohort. We’re going to market the program to our Employee Resource Groups (ERG’s) next as well as continue to nurture the community of past program participants by inviting them to quarterly connects to make new connections through intentional networking.

Symetra is preparing its team members not just for the next step in their careers, but for long-term meaningful professional success. The Career Coaching Cohort program is a direct reflection of our commitment to support equitable and inclusive development, creating an environment where everyone can thrive and contribute to the company's overall success, and deliver on our vision of “creating a world where more people have access to financial freedom”.