Staff taking hands-on approach to climb career ladder

A survey by recruitment firm Reed found that of the estimated 15 million employees who gained promotion in the last five years, half did so by taking on extra tasks unprompted, almost obliging bosses to afford them higher status within the company.

In contrast, a quarter of those promoted said it came as a total surprise, while 17 per cent said that they directly asked to be given extra responsibility.

‘Up managing’, as Reed put it, was most common in the North West, with 57 per cent of promotions resulting from go-getting staff. East Anglia closely followed with 54 per cent of promotions.

Reed said that new technology has led to a less hands-on approach by managers who can now work from home, allowing staff to fill the void in the office. The recruitment firm said that with promotions now based more on merit than length of service, many employees are seizing the initiative.

The survey also revealed encouraging enthusiasm among workers to stretch their potential, network with managers and take on extra training in order to improve their chances of promotion.

The apparent determination to succeed among UK staff will be good news to small businesses, who are struggling to take on quality employees due to the chronic lack of workplace skills.

Although the improving economic picture has led to many companies attempting to take on extra staff, there are an estimated 500,000 unfilled vacancies in Britain because employers are failing to find suitable candidates.

Dan Ferrrandino, managing director of Reed, said that nowadays it is more important than ever for staff to actively manage their careers rather than sitting back and waiting for something to happen.

“Not only is there no such thing as a job for life, people no longer get promotions just because they have stayed around long enough.

“Organisations are well aware of the importance of talented people and want to keep them,” he said.