2010 Employee Career Development Guidance FlipBook

2010 Employee
Career Development Guidance
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General Guidance Tab

In today’s intensely competitive global marketplace, the skills and expertise of IBMers are the
true differentiators– for the company, for our clients, and for the world. We want you to be able
to grow your skills and expertise, gain new experiences that align with your passions and
interests, and develop in ways that will energize you and make you proud of your IBM career.

You own your career: There are infinite ways to build a career in IBM and for each of you the
path you chose will be different. Some of you will want to focus on promotion in your current job
category, some of you will plan to pursue a new career path and others of you will be happy
doing what you are doing today but will want to continue to improve your expertise and
performance.

You own the responsibility for working with your manager to create a worthwhile development
plan and to set goals for your development. You must take ownership of finding learning
opportunities and gaining skills and experience to meet your goals. And you must continually
track and share your progress against your plan and goals. Your manager's support and
guidance will also be critical to your plan, especially when you face many competing priorities
for your time and your resources.

Plan your career carefully: Your career is a very significant and relevant part of your life, and
what you do in IBM has and impact on all aspects of your life. It is, therefore, important that you
take time for career planning and identifying career development activities that help you achieve
your goals
Your Manager can help: Your manager can support you in achieving your career goals by
providing guidance and helping you leverage your interests and enthusiasm to achieve personal
and organizational goals. However, your manager can only do this if they understand your goals.
You must discuss your career development plans for both:
 Short term plans… what you and your manager agree that you need to accomplish
this year to build the skills needed to support your annual business plans and goals for
your Personal Business Commitments (PBC).
 Long term plans… what you aspire to achieve and attain over a period of more than
one year and perhaps through your entire career. Your long term focus will be on
growing your capabilities through the IBM CareerSmart Framework. You may need to
schedule additional discussions with your manager to be sure he or she fully
understands what you want, and you can use the Career Planning Workbook as a guide
to arrive at those documented goals.

Ensure that you have a meaningful career development discussion with your manager at the
time you discuss your Personal Business Commitments (PBC) for 2010. The Career
Development Discussion Checklist will help you to plan for and participate in the discussion with
your manager.

You must prepare: Some employees will find value in discussing their long term goals before
they focus in on the annual development plan and the PBC process, while some may find value
in including both short and long term goals in the annual PBC discussion. The critical success
factor is for you to take ample time to prepare for each discussion so that each session will be
as productive and meaningful as possible. The careful preparation is your responsibility…and
that is part of what it means to own your career.

Finding a Mentor can help: A good mentor can also help you achieve your career goals and
aspirations. Seek out mentors that have the expertise you need to develop or that have a solid
reputation for effectively managing their own careers.

Career Advisors are available to help: Career Advisors are a volunteer community of real-
time, “go-to” people trained to answer questions about career development resources, including
the IBM CareerSmart Framework.
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Plan Tab

New in 2010 - Consolidated PBC and Development Goals: In 2010, we are combining
aspects of our longstanding Individual Development Plan (IDP) process with Personal Business
Commitments (PBC) goal-setting so that you spend more time on meaningful dialog and action
and less time on filling out multiple forms. This more closely aligns your plan to build your skills,
competencies, and capabilities with your business goals.

Key points about this new process are:-

 At the time of discussing your PBC goals you will also discuss your development plans.
 As in the past, your development goals will not be part of your PBC rating. However,
identifying development goals that support your business goals and objectives and
meeting those goals will support you in growing your skills, competencies, and
capabilities and better enable you to meet your PBC goals.
 During your mid-year PBC review with your manager, also discuss progress against your
development goals

Short term and Long Term Career Goals: You must be certain that your manager fully
understand your career development goals. So be prepared to discuss your
 Short term plans: what you and your manager agree that you need to accomplish this
year to build the skills needed to support your annual business plans and goals for your
PBC.
 Long term plans: what you aspire to achieve and attain over a period of more than one
year and perhaps through your entire career. You will use the IBM CareerSmart
Framework to grow your capabilities and in turn to grow your career. You may need to
schedule additional discussions with your manager to be sure he or she fully
understands what you want, and you can use the Career Planning Workbook as a guide
to arrive at those documented goals, and you can document your goals in Section 3 of
the Workbook.

How do I include career development goals and activities in my 2010 PBC?

In your 2010 PBC, under the Development goals and activities section, you will be able to
document your one or two near-term development goals and activities to achieve them (e.g.,
work experience, support from your manager/mentor, on line self-study, classroom). These
goals and activities help you meet your business goals and/or people management goals in
your current job and, in turn, help you reach your long term career aspirations.

How do I develop my 2010 Development Goals and Activities?

An effective development plan identifies the 1-2 key areas that will help you achieve your career
aspirations while contributing to your Business Units goals
There are three key actions you can take:-

 Determine the long term career aspirations. Document what you want to be and what
you want to do in your career using the Career Planning Workbook. List what you like
and what types of tasks and activities give you the most satisfaction. The Career
Planning Workbook and Career Development Discussion Checklist provide guidance to
help you prepare for your development discussion with your manager. Decide what
capabilities and levels you want to attain through the IBM CareerSmart Framework. Also
explore the resources available on the Plan tab of the IBM CareerSmart web site.

 Have a clear understanding of IBM’s business strategy and goals. Here is where you
and your manager need to really connect. You will be most motivated and challenged
when your goals align with what your organization, business unit, and ultimately IBM are
trying to accomplish.

 When you know what you want to do and want to become, and when you see how you
can align your goals to IBM’s goals, then you can explore the many development
opportunities available in IBM. There are many learning and development resources
available to you to build your career in IBM which can be explored further in the Gain
phase of IBM CareerSmart. Include your short term learning actions in your annual PBC
along with a high level statement of your long term career goals and aspirations.
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Gain Tab

Career growth is about continually growing your skills, competencies, and capabilities through
both formal, and more often than not, informal on-the-job learning opportunities.

Formal training such as e-learning, workshops, and Books24x7 can be located through
Learning@IBM Explorer.

Mentoring is one of the best ways to learn, and to get feedback to help you grow your career.
Acting as a mentor allows you to share your skills, knowledge and experience with others and
being mentored provides you with an opportunity to learn from a more experienced person. You
may find that you need to have more than one mentor to help with different aspects of your
development.

While a formal mentoring relationship has its advantages, you can always turn to colleagues for
informal advice. Building your networks can help you grow your career.

Most of what you do on the job you have, in fact, learned on the job. So look for opportunities to
learn while you work. If you are unable to get the experience you need to grow your career in
your current job role, you can look for experience-based learning opportunities in Blue
Opportunities. These learning activities can be as valuable and as productive as formal leaning
offerings.

You can also search for jobs in Global Opportunity Marketplace that fit your career goals, and
you can often find projects in Professional Marketplace that broaden your skills and experience
(available for those business units that use Professional Marketplace).
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Track Tab

It is important to continually track your progress against your personal commitments and
development goals

Make time to periodically review your goals to ensure you are on track and/or make adjustments
to your plan as business needs and/or client requirements change.

Track the development of your competencies, skills, and capabilities (new! capabilities available
for those who are using the new IBM CareerSmart Framework and are described further in the
Framework Tab of this FlipBook.).

 You grow competencies…those individual, personal characteristics that are core,

common, and critical behaviors for delivering top performance across IBM

 You develop your skills…the specific knowledge and abilities that enable you to perform
your job effectively and efficiently

 You demonstrate capabilities…the experience that our clients most value and what IBM
needs its workforce to deliver to be the premier globally integrated enterprise

An important focus for all IBMers is living our Values:

 Dedication to every client’s success
• Innovation that matters - for our company and to the world
• Trust and personal responsibility in all relationships

Everything we do in IBM is based on our Values, e.g., out of those values, come the
Foundational and Leadership competencies…the behaviors that are seen demonstrated more
often in top IBM performers

In addition to demonstrating these competencies, it's important that you develop the skills
required to perform effectively in your current role. In today's world the skills required in the
marketplace change frequently as technology and business needs change. Therefore, it is
important you assess your skills on a regular basis using the Expertise Assessment Tool to be
sure your skills and knowledge are up to date.

The IBM CareerSmart Framework identifies the capabilities you must develop and demonstrate
to grow your career and deliver value to clients As you will develop these capabilities over the
long term, you will not assess them on a regular basis, but rather work toward growing these
throughout your career.

It is your responsibility to update CV Wizard and to ensure that relevant data and experience is
recorded. This information is used to help match you to open positions and projects. With
visibility to current CVs/resumes and professional profile information, Managers/Resource
Managers are able to take advantage of a more granular level of information about employee
experiences and skills. This will better position IBM to grow its business, and create more value
for clients, by providing the right skilled resources for internal and external project assignments
and permanent positions.
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IBM CareerSmart Framework Tab

The new IBM CareerSmart Framework helps you to build and develop capabilities that are
important to our clients, and that will ultimately enable you to achieve your career goals. The
Framework is a feature of IBM CareerSmart, and is designed to help you identify and acquire
the capabilities required to enable client success.

Framework Deployment
In 2009 the IBM CareerSmart Framework was deployed in phases starting with employees in
several Job Categories; Consulting, Sales, IT Architect, IT Specialist, Project Management and
Product Services in all BUs/Geos except GBS and Japan. The framework will be deployed to
employees in the above job categories in GBS and Japan during 2010 and will also be
expanded to other Job Categories. You will receive communications about the IBM
CareerSmart Framework when you are part of these deployments.

Capabilities are important to you and to IBM

A key part of your development plan will be how to build your capabilities. Capabilities are
characteristics or areas of expertise that IBMers must demonstrate to drive client value, and to
grow their careers. Guidance in the Framework points you to specific and concrete experiences
That can enable you to best leverage competencies and skills that matter most to both external
and internal clients. You will grow your career in IBM by developing and increasing your
capability levels and/or by developing and demonstrating new capabilities.

Starting in the Framework

When you receive an invitation to participate in the Framework, you will be asked to complete
the appropriate training to help navigate through the Framework, review your capability levels
with your manager, and discuss your plans for growing you career by focusing on specific
capabilities. Although the main way to grow your capabilities is through on the job experience,
there are also many learning activities available in the IBM CareerSmart Framework
Development tab to help you grow/build your capabilities.

Growing in the Framework

To apply for a higher level in your current capabilities or to apply for a level in a new capability
you must be consistently and successfully demonstrating the activities defined in the capability
statements required for that level.

To apply for a new level you must prepare an on-line validation request and submit this to your
manager to review/approval. At the higher levels in the framework, this validation process
replaces existing profession certification processes and tools.

View your approved capabilities

You will start on the Career Development Guidance web site, and navigate to Your capabilities
using the left hand navigation bar.
 .
Read the Overview tab information, and then click View your capabilities to get started. You can
view any capability that your manager has approved for you. Please note that most employees
will have only one capability level, and typically it will be at the Entry or Foundation level. You
can view details for your approved capability, and you can explore learning offerings to develop
your capability to a higher level by clicking the Action button.
To request a level move, from Entry to Foundation, or perhaps from Experience to Expert,
select Request a new level to start the process.

Framework Web and Notes Application

The IBM CareerSmart Framework tool has a web component and a Lotus Notes component
that allow you to work offline. The complexity of your validation request, which the Framework
Tool refers to as a “package”, depends on the capability and the level you are requesting. Apply
for a move from one level of a capability to the next level, or add a capability to become more
versatile, and delight your clients in many different ways. The current professions certification
process will be streamlined and incorporated in the new validation process. For more detailed
information on the validation process, go to the IBM CareerSmart Framework website or view
the IBM CareerSmart Framework QuickPoint .

Request approval process

At the lower Entry and Foundational levels, you will submit your evidence for the move, your
manager will review that evidence and validate it, and typically, upon approval, you will be
moved up a level in your capability. To move to the Experienced, Expert, or Thought Leader
levels, additional reviews are required, and may vary by capability. A second-line manager or
Subject Matter Expert (SME) approval, or even a board review, might be required to review your
on-line request to approve the level move. The Professions that manage certification processes
today have worked closely with the IBM CareerSmart Framework team on the new validation
process.

Your Call to Action:

 Take personal responsibility for your career today.

 Document your career development plan

 Discuss your plan in detail with your manager

 Identify your desired capability and level to work toward

 Take any detailed IBM CareerSmart Framework training that you may need to prepare
and submit your on-line request.
  Visit the Training & Guidance page of the IBM CareerSmart Framework website and link
to the employee training page for more details.

You own your career and have the opportunity to grow it the way you want.

Did you find this Flipbook helpful?

Please take a moment and send your comments to lstrong@us.ibm.com.