FARM CREDIT CORPORATION

FEEDBACK REPORT

Career Planning Pilot  ¾  Team Leaders

 

 

 

·        Sugar-coating is disservice to manager and employee. There are ways of approaching difficult employees - who seem to exhibit no aspirations to change.

·        No guarantees - but does this message have to come from management before the course?

·        I’m accountable for my personal career. Things are going to change rapidly. Corporation is engaged to support staff.

·        We need to manage our staff along with managing our workload. Planning and career development are not simply goal setting - it requires the entire five categories/steps to fully and clearly establish career path.

·        Three new guarantees. Help for managers and employees. More control over uncertain future.

·        “Managers” need to be prepared to discuss career development with employees. Employees will demand these discussions.

·        Employee is accountable for own career development, but managers must be able to coach.

·        Staff need to take responsibility for their own careers. Managers need to coach (plus take responsibility for own careers).    Change is a fact of life - need to find tools to manage.

·        There are no guarantees in career planning (for anyone). We are all responsible for our own careers. No one has our answers.

·        Employees are responsible for their career plans. Managers are responsible to coach employees in their career plans.

·        The importance of understanding the underlying issues and the roles which a manager should play in helping employees plan their careers. The importance of planning a balanced life.

·        I am responsible for my future. I must do a current “self-assessment.” Learning never stops. I am better positioned to help staff in the future.

·        Our values make us be us. Many times as managers, you always think of the employee - not your own career development. Change will always happen. This is an opportunity to grow.

·        Career planning is each person’s responsibility. As a manager, I have responsibilities on how to “facilitate” (coach) this process.

·        Employees must take charge of their own career plans. Supervisors must resist taking control. Focus on skills, values, not your job.

·        Career counseling is an important role for managers.

 

 

NOTE: THE THREE GUARANTEES:

 

 

BAD NEWS                                       GOOD NEWS

1.  More Change                  Þ          More Choices

2.  More Problems               Þ          More Opportunities

3.  More Ownership             Þ          More Control

 

 

 

·         Incorporate more career planning into employee discussions. Encourage my staff to take the course. Complete further my own career planning. Discuss more openly with staff - pursue some of these issues.

·        I will make the time available for career planning discussions with my employees. Many employees think of career planning as upward promotion. So when you can’t offer solutions, you tend to avoid the topic.

·        Revisit my personal/professional values. Take more time (if it’s possible) to listen and coach around employees’ careers/development.

·        Begin to apply the “career” aspect in discussions with my staff; beyond the simple assessment of past performance. Help plan their careers and my career as well.

·        Use the tools, complete my plan, tell others, recommend faster implementation.

·        I will start to have some discussions (prior to employee training) with staff, particularly those most likely to be impacted by re-engineering.

·        Encourage employees to attend.

·        Go through book carefully and in more detail. Initiate discussion at staff meeting. Seek coaching/counselling on own career and take people up on offers to help. Talk to individuals about ratings.

·        Network more. Rekindle my contacts. Take total responsibility for my own career. Re-examine my own values and career opportunities.

·        Coach my mangers to use the tools and the learning in this material. I will finish the material.

·        Work out a personal plan. Pursue continued feedback from staff re my effectiveness as a manager in this area. Use the tools in future sessions with staff.

·        Review my skill set.

·        Improve present skills and continually work on new ones in different areas.

·        Incorporate career planning in my discussions with staff, starting now .

·        Allocate time with my employees to discuss career planning. Be more honest/fair in feedback.

·        Initiate discussion, using techniques learned, with staff I know have an interest.

·        I need to make more organized effort at obtaining feedback to improve my effectiveness.

 

 

 

·         Useful - uncertainty created by re-engineering. Not Useful - lack of time to invest in developing the discussions. Lack of buy-in by staff until they see content.

·        The fast track tool because the average years of experience is light.

·        Useful - to have a better idea of the vision for future structure of organization.

·        Useful - many staff are more concerned about their career now because of re-engineering.

·        Useful - to be able to apply it immediately.

·        Useful - Availability - provide extra card guide and cards for managers who have employees who have not attended career development

·        Useful - objective non-threatening was to get people to take first steps (more advanced steps as case may be). Enya is great feel good music.

·        Useful - to offer it to all employees as soon as possible.

·        Train my staff as soon as possible.

·        Useful - The confidence of the need for all staff to do a ‘career/values check’ with re-engineering upon us. More info to staff so that they would buy in to the process.

·        Useful - Through re-engineering right at this time, there are many of the staffs that may have to do a totally different kind of work or a new way of processing the work and these tools will assist in clarifying or confirming what their present skills are.

·        Useful - I think it’s very important that all staff participate in this exercise - very useful given re-engineering.

 

 

             Was competent and knowledgeable                                                           14 out of 14

             Held me accountable for my role in career planning                                   10 out of 14

             Influenced me to start taking some immediate action                                     13 out of 14

                        

Other (please explain)

·           Great presentation skills. Very good examples. I like the links to other companies.

·           Was very frank and did not sugar-coat the realities we are facing in the world of work

·           Good humour. Shared personal stories.

·           Facilitation skills were excellent. Good mix of theory and practical experiences in examples.

 

 

 

 

FOLLOW UP SUPPORT REQUIRED:                                                     FROM:

 

·      Workload implications                                                                     Senior Management

·      Commitment from FCC                                                                     SMT

·     Open information                                                                              FCC

·     Need a second set of cards and card guide

·     Time/location                                                                                   Senior Management

·     I found some weaknesses in terms of linkage to re-engineering

      in FCC. This course will be seen as a direct  link to re-engineering

       and we need to know more about potential structural changes

       in order to be credible rolling this out right now.

·      What is available internally. Competency Development Guide             HR, managers, peer support

·      Second deck of cards                                                                       HR

·      Cards and card booklet for each manager in Western Region

       (13 in total)                                                                                               R. E.

·      Assistance in coaching                                                                     HR

·      My supervisor needs to take interest, encourage me to not forget

       about career planning. I need to find the time to set aside

       for this purpose.

·     Worksheets - Career Action Inventory. Values - Indicators - Surveys

 

 

·      Very worthwhile workshop, highly applicable to environment/changes happening at FCC.

·      Excellent session. Will fill a void in our HR program that’s very much now needed due to rapidly changing world.

·       Could use more time on the coach role. Should talk about how to adapt cards to FCC. The card exercise could actually be done without cards. HR is looking at team leadership and performance management training. Must avoid duplication or contradiction.

·       Very enjoyed session - look forward to implementing.

·       Very good and professional session. Thank you.

·       Good. I had very high expectations. I still feel more can be done to help careers in the corporation. Voluntary demotion with equal $ and dignity could open doors for some who need a chance to move up.

·       Very good and long over due for management and staff to concentrate on. Thank you.

·       Very educational and non-threatening.

·       We should definitely make this course a core training curriculum - NOT voluntary. This is far too important to be seen as voluntary. This was the best course and materials I have ever seen on career management. * Extremely valuable and well-delivered.

·       Well presented. Timely. Useful, both for myself and my staff. THANK YOU!!

·       Excellent. Want to see it implemented.

·       Great; keep up the good work. I look forward to having you work with our staff.

·       I think that much of this info is relative.

·       Very good - very timely.

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