Lessons in Career Planning & Development

Copyright © 2014 Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. |

Talent Development Practices Lessons in Career Planning & Development

Ganesh Ramakrishnan Senior Director – HR, Oracle Financial Services Software Ltd. May 23, 2014

2


“India has gone through more changes in the past 20 years than most countries witness over a century.”

– Prof. Amit K. Nandkeolyar, Indian School of Business

3

Source: Knowledge @ Wharton Report - India’s New HR Challenge: Managing a Multi-generational Workforce Feb 2014


Career Focus: More than ever before

Threat to demographic dividend: Jobs-oscelence says Subir Gokarn 60%

Under 30 in IT. Som Mittal (Nasscom) warns of mismatch of decision makers with those whom it impacts

Growth in coaching; from jobs to careers in the 1980s, now opportunities and projects

Simple work vs life balance approaches are not helpful to all

4


New Career Cell @ i-flex in 2007

• Top engagement driver identified in survey

• Lack of clarity in opportunities

• Flat 3-band hierarchy so infrequent moves upwards

• Pilot of concept with Consulting Services

– About 100 (non-random sample)

– 1-on-1 career counseling

– Pre- and Post-survey

5


6


Key Principles of CPD

7


Key Concepts of Career Planning

8


“HR’s most important task is changing mental models or mindsets, especially of senior leaders.”

– Prof. Jeffrey Pfeffer, Stanford University, author of The Knowing-Doing Gap and other books

9


Key Concepts of Career Planning

• Career Plans are nothing, Career Planning is everything

• Direction is important, milestones are broad indicators

10

Copyright © 2014 Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. | 11


Typical and Atypical Paths Traversed

12


A Few Unusual Paths

13


Other Issues

• Confusion on breadth versus depth

– Variety, value

• Making long-range plans for specialized destination

• Old weakness fixing approach

• Value of functional (BFSI) expertise not known to all

14


Approach Fine-tuning

• “Hands-on” movement

– Deep generalists (T-shaped)

• PrimeUniversity initiative

– Mandatory certification as Finance Foundation Professional

– Advanced IBFP

• Domain experts group

• More rotation into Tech Arch and Solution Arch

• Strengths approach – 1-on-1, regular workshops

15


“You can’t control the trajectory of your career… too many factors beyond your control… Approach your career with the right mind-set… career planning is a continuous process… to be actively managed. At each step, ask: What can I do next that will maximize my options in the future? .”

– Robert Pozen, President, Fidelity Investments, professor at Harvard, author of Extreme Productivity and other books

16


Post-Pilot Survey after 3 Months

17


Ideas from Other Companies

• “Realizable Career Paths” at Chubb Insurance, USA

• Video interviews of seniors

• At Oracle

– Job Competency Tool explorer

– Internal Job Portal

– Explicit line manager responsibility

18


Other Lessons

• Avoid Bollywood Career advice!

– “Follow your dream”, “pursue your passion” is K.G. syllabus

– It is a (casual) look at supply side, completely ignoring the demand • How many Nat Geo photographers are in Brazilian jungle?!

• Mindset change is key – Start with HR

– Don’t wait to convince all before beginning

– Takes time

19


Recap of Journey

Earlier Now

Individual discussion focus

Aspirations Aspirations, capabilities,

opportunities

Manager discussion Vague, assuring Clear, Transparent,

Realistic

Paths and plans Simplistic, fixed up front Customizable, evolving

Mindset (mental model) What’s in it for me What’s in me (strengths

building approach)

20

Copyright © 2014 Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. | 21

Thank You