CAREER MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES OF

HYDROGEN GROUP
(A GLOBAL SPECIALIST RECRUITMENT GROUP)

SHARIFAH SHIBRAH BT SYED HUSSEIN

Matriculation No. CGS00838119

An Assignment submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the subject of

Career Development (BMCD5103)
[Programme: Master of Human Resource Management]

Centre for Graduate Studies

Open University Malaysia

January 2014

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OBJECTIVES:__________________________________________________________________ 1
INSTRUCTIONS: _______________________________________________________________ 1
PART 1: Introduction ____________________________________________________________ 1
Career Concept _______________________________________________________________________1
Important Terms in career planning _____________________________________________________3
Why Career planning is important? ______________________________________________________4
Career Planning Guide to Individual (Personal Development) ________________________________4
Career Planning in an Organization (Succession Planning) ___________________________________6
PART 2: Background of the company _______________________________________________ 8
About Hydrogen Group ________________________________________________________________8
Hydrogen Businesses ________________________________________________________________ 10
Organization Chart__________________________________________________________________ 11
Awards and accolades________________________________________________________________ 12
PART 3: Contents ______________________________________________________________ 14
A. Current Conception of Career at Hydrogen Group _____________________________________ 14
B. Career choices and career development at Hydrogen Group _____________________________ 15
C. Career Planning Process at Hydrogen Group__________________________________________ 16
D. Activities or Tools used for Career Development in Hydrogen Group______________________ 23
E. Issues /Problems with Career Planning and Development in Hydrogen Group ______________ 26
PART 4: Conclusions____________________________________________________________ 28
PART 5: References_____________________________________________________________ 29
APPENDICES _________________________________________________________________ 30
Interview Questions _________________________________________________________________ 30

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 “The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don’t define them, or ever seriously

consider them as believable or achievable. Winners can tell you where they are going, what they

plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure with them.” - Denis Watley

OBJECTIVES:

a) To identify the concepts of career, career development and career management as well

the theories related to career development.

b) To assess the development tools and activities.

c) To assess on conception of career planning process, succession planning and the various

development and activities being practiced

INSTRUCTIONS:

Interview 3-5 of your colleagues/employees their views on career, career choices, career planning and

development in your organization. The data you have collected should be used to answer the following

questions in the “Contents” section of your report

PART 1: Introduction

Career Concept

A Career is a sequence of positions held by a person during the course of a life time. It comprises of a series of

work related activities that provide continuity, order, and meaning in a person’s life. This is an objective view

of a person’s career. There is also a subjective element in the concept of career. A career consists of the changes

in values, attitudes and a motivation that occurs as a person grows older.

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In both the perception the primary focus is on the individual. The underlying assumption is that a person can

shape his destiny through a series of well-planned and well-timed positive moves. However, it must be stated

here as a word of caution, mere planning does not ensure career success. A person’s career is shaped by many

complex factors e.g. performance, education, experience, influential parents, caste links and a certain amount

of luck. As Davis stated when people rely largely on luck, however, they seldom are prepared for the career

opportunities that arise. Successful people identify their career goals, plan and then take action. For them luck

occurs when opportunity meets are proportional.

Some of the important features of the term career may be stated thus:

1. A career develops over time: It covers objective conditions (such as jobs, duties,

responsibilities) and also includes subjective reactions (such as enthusiasm, boredom)

2. It is the individual who ultimately must judge the success of his career. He must set his own

criteria for success, and such criteria can be far ranging (e.g. pay, adventure, working with new

people in new environment, helping others, etc.)

3. The important element in one’s career is experiencing psychological success which basically

is, feeling a sense of personal accomplishment and fulfillment. Psychological success energizes

our efforts and impels us to undertake new challenges and scale new heights that foster our

growth over time

4. The typical career of a person today would probably include many different positions,

transitions and organizations more so than is in the past when employees were less mobile and

organizations more stable as employers.

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Important Terms in career planning

The terms that are commonly used in career planning:

1. Career: a career is all the jobs that one does during one’s working life.

2. Career goals: Future positions one tries to reach as part of a career.

3. Career cycle: The stages through which a person’s career evolves

4. Career paths: These are flexible lines of progression through which employees typically move.

5. Career anchors: They are distinct patterns of self-perceived attitudes motives and values that

guide and stabilize a person’s career after several real world experiences and feedback.

6. Career progression: Making progress in one’s career through a series of right moves.

7. Career planning: The process by which one selects career goals and the path of those goals.

8. Career development: The personal actions one undertakes to achieve a career plan.

9. Career planning and development: Extending help to employees to form realistic career goals

and the opportunities to realize them.

10. Career counseling: The process of advising employees on setting career goals and assisting

them to find suitable career paths.

11. Career management: It is the continuing process of setting career goals, formulating and

implementing strategies for reaching the goals and monitoring the results

12. Mid-career crisis: The period occurring between the mid-thirties and mid-forties during which

people often make a major reassessment of their progress relative to their original career goals

and ambitions. Reality shock: A period that may occur at the initial career entry stage when

the new employee’s high job expectation confronts the reality of a boring unchallenging job.

13. Plateauing: A condition of stagnating in one’s current job.

14. Mentor: someone who extends informal career advice and assistance.

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Why Career planning is important?

Career planning is essential for people who are just starting out in their career or thinking about

changing careers. To me, career planning is important in order for me to decide on my financial future

and do what I like to accomplish in life. In my humble opinion, career planning is simple, if you plan

what career you want, you can take the steps necessary to succeed at that career. Then you will

definitely enjoy what you are doing.

According to Annette Miller & Robert C. Marvin in The Importance of Career Planning (Marvin,

2014), good goals have some things in common: they are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic,

and timely. In order to come up with these common elements in a career plan, information is clearly

needed. There are literally thousands of careers to choose from. A good career development

professional can help narrow down the occupational choices most suited to the individual.

Career Planning Guide to Individual (Personal Development)

There is more to getting the job of our choice than having a degree. Our degree will open many doors,

but it is up to us to obtain the employment that is desirable to us. Advance preparation is critical.

First, we must recognize and search for the position that we desire. Then we must do some analysis in

our career and life goals like our values, interests, and expertise—in order to determine what we want,

what we can do, where would we like to do it, and what (if any) our second choice might be. Next, we

must accept the fact that obtaining the position we desire requires a sales campaign on our part. As a

salesperson, we must seek potential customers of our product and learn how they could use our

product. Also, we must be aware of our competitors and know the product we are selling.

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In summary, choosing our career direction calls for a close look at our product—US. In doing this

self-analysis, we must:

• Know our self. Make an honest appraisal of our interests, abilities/disabilities, personality, and

values.

• Determine our Interests. Analyze what activities interest us most (outdoors, helping people,

mechanical, clerical, etc.).

• Recognize our Aptitudes. Identify the special abilities we have at present, understanding that

skills develop with experience and time.

• Evaluate our Work Experience and Education. Determine what knowledge and skills we have

acquired through our academic training and work experiences, and how these assets will

transfer to our desired career path.

• Recognize our Personal Qualities. Evaluate those traits that will make us an outstanding

candidate and be able to clearly discuss them.

• Identify our Leisure Time Activities. Evaluate our personal interests and hobbies. Determine

how these can be an asset to us in accomplishing our goals.

• Determine our Vocational Goals. It is important to establish goals. However, goals are only

short-lived. They are either attained, at which time new goals are set, or they are not attained,

for whatever reason, and then alternative goals are established. In any case, at the very outset

it is important to establish short-term as well as long-term goals. Doing so provides a target

and help keep us on the proper path.

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Career Planning in an Organization (Succession Planning)

A long-term focus of career planning and development will increase the effectiveness of human

resource management. More specifically, the advantages of career planning and development for an

organization include:

1. Efficient career planning and development ensures the availability of human resources with

required skill, knowledge and talent.

2. The efficient policies and practices improve the organization’s ability to attract and retain

highly skilled and talent employees.

3. The proper career planning ensures that the women and people belong to backward

communities get opportunities for growth and development.

4. The career plan continuously tries to satisfy the employee expectations and as such minimizes

employee frustration.

5. By attracting and retaining the people from different cultures, enhances cultural diversity.

6. Protecting employees’ interest results in promoting organizational goodwill

Best-practice organizations are willing to invest in the career development process: to back up their

vision of a career-resilient workforce that is committed to the organization’s success with actual

commitment in financial, human and technical resources. IBM, for example, was willing to invest $1

million to get the Career Vitality Centre (now called CareerNet) in operation in January 1997 to bring

together almost all of the vital services and information that employees need for assistance in career

management (e.g., self-assessment tools; career counselling; workshops; library of books, audios,

videos, job news, competency profiles, etc.). In the same year, IBM invested $22 million in employee

development (with $12 million on training alone).

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There are other examples:

• Xerox Canada has a $10-million training budget; an additional $500,000 is allocated to self-directed

learning;

• Bank of Montreal, with 40 000 employees, spent $65 million on their training and development in

1997;

• In 1998, Royal Bank invested $132 million in employee development, averaging approximately

$2,245 per employee. In its Systems and Technology Unit with only 2 300 employees, $4.3 million

was invested in their non-technical training, $3.8 million of which was spent on career enrichment.

(Natalie Lam)

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PART 2: Background of the company

About Hydrogen Group

Hydrogen Group is a global specialist recruitment group focused on mid- to senior-level roles across

the disciplines of Technology, Finance, Professional and Engineering. Hydrogen Group finds and

builds relationship with the high quality, in demand specialist candidates that its clients cannot source

themselves. Established in 1997 and listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2006, Hydrogen has 360

employees working globally from offices in London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and

Sydney.

Hydrogen has been placing highly sought after candidates into the Asia Pacific region for over seven

years (for over sixteen years globally), constantly evolving its offering in line with its clients

requirements. Its sector expertise allows them to track the latest changes in the marketplace and build

pools of specialist candidates even before any noted trends become significant.

Across the region, Hydrogen expert practice led consultants and researchers focus on clients within

the financial services sector to gain an in depth knowledge of the market place. Although Hydrogen

Asia Pacific offices are based in Singapore, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Sydney, their consultants

and researchers are encouraged to be mobile, travelling to gain insight into the region and what clients

and candidates really want.

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Vision

In 2008 we set out our 2012 vision to transform the business from a UK-centric, professional support

services recruiter to a global recruitment group, structured around nine specialist practices. During this

time we created a balanced, more diverse business, agile enough to take advantage of opportunities in

markets where significant demand for specialist candidates exists.

Values

We are proud of our brand. It's why clients, candidates and employees choose us and stay with us.

Our people are:

• Expert

• Credible

• Confident

But what really makes us different is we’re:

• Joined up

• Vibrant

• Fresh

These are the values we believe in.:

Together, they’re what makes our business special and we’re mindful of our values in everything we

do.(Our_story_and_vision, 2014)

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Hydrogen Businesses

On Thursday March 7th 2013, the final three Hydrogen brands – Project Partners, Law Professionals

and Finance Professionals – moved over to Hydrogen, signifying the final stage in the transition to

become a single-branded, joined-up global recruiter operating in nine specialist areas.

Darwin Park, its Oil & Gas, Power and Mining business successfully rebranded to Hydrogen in

September 2012.

Moving to one single brand allows Hydrogen to continue to evolve and strengthen its specialist

recruitment offering by joining up Hydrogen globally. Some of its candidates and clients are already

seeing the benefits of this as they combine international reach with local expertise and specialist

knowledge; Hydrogen clients have access to a larger, global pool of talent whilst its candidates have

access to wider opportunities worldwide.

Centralizing its business under the Hydrogen name, instead of individual brands, allows Hydrogen

Group to operate nine specialist practices across its network of global offices:

o Professional Support Services: Business Transformation, Finance, Legal, Technology,

Trading & Advisory

o Technical & Scientific: Life Sciences, Mining, Oil & Gas, Power

Hydrogen valued clients and candidates will also benefit from its recent investment in a state of the

art, cloud-based CRM system which allows Hydrogen global teams to communicate in real time, share

valuable information and provide a highly efficient, customised global service. As 2014 continues,

Hydrogen has six offices globally, one brand, single-platform cloud based technology and exceptional

levels of operational expertise. Hydrogen Group has never been in better shape to provide a joined up

service for its candidates and clients operating in its specialist practice areas and Hydrogen has the

foundations necessary to enable this.

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Organization Chart

Ian Temple - Chairman

As one of the founders of Hydrogen Group, Ian has held the position of Chairman since 2005

Tim Smeaton - Chief Executive Officer John Glover - Finance Director

Martyn Phillips - Non-Executive Director Barbara Anderson - Non-Executive Director

Stephen Puckett - Non-Executive Director Anne Baldock - Non-Executive Director

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Awards and accolades

2013

• Sunday Times ‘Best Companies to Work For’ 2013

• Britain’s Top Employers 2013

2012

• Sunday Times ‘Best Companies to Work For’ 2012

• Britain’s Top Employers 2012

• Best In-house Training - The Global Recruiter Industry Awards

• MarCom Awards - platinum winner for our Global Professionals on the Move report 2012

• Best Performing plc - Recruitment International Awards

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2011

• Sunday Times ‘ Best Companies to Work for’ 2011

• Britain’s Top Employers 2011

• Best Company ‘Two Star Status’

• Best In-house Training - The Recruitment Consultant Industry Awards

• MarCom Awards - platinum winner for our Global Professionals on the Move report 2011

2010

• Britain’s Top Employers 2010 - No. 2

• Best Company Accreditation - ‘One to Watch’ 2010

2009

• Britain’s Top Employers 2009 - No. 2

• Sunday Times ‘Best Companies to Work For’ 2009

Awards – not just UK now

• Best in house training & client services for Global recruiter in Asia Pacific

• Best companies 2014 & Sunday Times top 100

• Marcomms award for Global Mobility report.

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PART 3: Contents

A. Current Conception of Career at Hydrogen Group

The current conception of career in Hydrogen Group is being recognize as a new emerging nature of

career paths, as being multidirectional, dynamic and fluid whereby it is contrasted with the traditional

view of careers, which is more linear, static and rigid. This change suggests a broadened definition of

career development from a traditional notion of moving up the ladder toward creating an atmosphere

that fosters growth, challenges and job enrichment. Consultants must have the ability to "take charge"

(ownership) of their own development, and the management will provide the resources to facilitate

this process.

Hydrogen has a very energetic culture where managers constantly motivate their teams to perform to

the best of their abilities – and they have lots of fun along the way. They work in an open plan

environment with direct reporting lines. Managers and their teams are clear about what the

management expected from them, and they are kept informed of their progress towards set objectives.

Performance information is streamed in real-time directly to screens throughout their offices,

providing everyone with up-to-date reporting.

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B. Career choices and career development at Hydrogen Group

At Hydrogen they invest heavily in learning and development. Hydrogen offers training at all levels

of their Consultants ‘career to ensure they continue to develop and progress.

New starters

New starters can expect a structured training programme delivered by the in-house learning and

development team. This includes a wide range of courses, in particular candidate and client induction,

systems training and an on-boarding performance enhancement programme.

Experienced hire

For an experienced hire or have worked with Hydrogen Group for some time, the management will

develop their career further and offer a variety of training initiatives, most notably:

• Team leader fast track – for those who have the potential to be a Hydrogen leader

• Assessment Centres – an opportunity to identify key development areas

• Sales workshops – on topics such as lead generation, time management, exclusivity

Recruiters

Hydrogen recruiters receive quarterly performance reviews, personal development plans, coaching,

mentoring and off-site external supplier training so they can get the best out of their people.

Business operations teams

The business operations teams are offered study support to drive their career forward, and their

performance related objectives are directly linked to an annual bonus scheme.

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C. Career Planning Process at Hydrogen Group

1. Consultant and Leadership Frameworks

Hydrogen ethos to ‘promote from within’ has long been a strategic objective for the Group and

drives their programmes in supporting employees throughout their career lifecycle, from

induction to senior sales roles and management. Hydrogen continually research and invest in

initiatives to help advance their Consultant’s career. As such, the management have developed

transparent Consultant and Leadership Frameworks which outline ‘what good looks like’

in each role, from Consultant to Director, and provide a clear career path for all. The

Frameworks are used to; provide clarity on responsibilities, behaviours and skills required to

succeed, assess performance in manager review meetings, and form the basis of award winning

training and development programmes. The management will guide and make the consultants

understand exactly what’s expected of them in order to progress in either a sales or leadership

position. The frameworks will also assist the consultant on getting what they want and provide

them a clearer picture on the progress by which to fulfil their potential.

Starting a career as a Consultant within Hydrogen provides with two career routes:

 Sales: become a Principal Consultant and continue to earn commission

 Leadership: become a leader and progress your way up the leadership ladder

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Consultant- ‘What good looks like’

Consultant Framework
Proposition  Understands Hydrogen’s proposition and consistently communicates it to clients
and candidates
 Has in-depth knowledge of segment and does not work outside it
 Consistently achieves green on RAG report
Staff  Builds relationships in local team and with global counterparts
 Regularly seeks and acts upon feedback
 Role model attitude, behaviour and activity
 Highlights issues to manager and asks for input and support
Clients  Wins new clients (measure tbc per team)
 Grows existing clients (measure tbc per team)
 Delivers high quality client experience, always meeting expectations and
challenging to secure the best outcome
 Agrees rates / fees in-line with Hydrogen policy. Takes clients own terms to
internal legal teams
Candidates  Finds and builds relationships with top candidates in segment, always seeking
exclusivity
 Knows how to maximise a candidate’s chances of success and consistently applies
this understanding
 Delivers high quality candidate experience, always meeting expectations and
challenging to secure the best outcome
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Process  Uses database and systems correctly
 Does not invent own processes
 Placements are compliant to local processes
Culture  Positive energy giver
 Understands Hydrogen Vision and what it means for them, their clients and their
candidates
 Believes future is in own hands
Time  Prioritises time effectively
 Works with Finance to provide accurate billing details for prompt and accurate
billing of all deals

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Senior Consultant Framework
‘What good looks like’
Senior Consultant Framework
Proposition  Understands Hydrogen’s proposition and consistently communicates it to
clients and candidates
 Has in-depth knowledge of segment and does not work outside it
 Consistently achieves green on RAG report
Staff  Builds relationships in local team and with global counterparts
 Regularly seeks and acts upon feedback
 Role model attitude, behaviour and activity
 Highlights issues to manager and asks for input and support
 Plays active role in the recruitment, on-boarding and training of new starters
on team
 Coaches and supports less experienced consultants when TL is away from
desk
Clients  Wins new clients (measure tbc per team)
 Grows existing clients (measure tbc per team)
 Delivers high quality client experience, always meeting expectations and
challenging to secure the best outcome
 Agrees rates / fees in-line with Hydrogen policy. Takes clients own terms to
internal legal teams
 Wins exclusivity with clients / secures significant project wins
 Proactively introduces perm / contract counterparts to clients
Candidates  Finds and builds relationships with top candidates in segment, always seeking
exclusivity
 Knows how to maximise a candidate’s chances of success and consistently
applies this understanding
 Delivers high quality candidate experience, always meeting expectations and
challenging to secure the best outcome
Process  Is a database super-user, helping others to use it correctly
 Does not invent own processes
 Placements are compliant to local processes
Culture  Positive energy giver
 Understands Hydrogen Vision and what it means for them, their clients and
their candidates
 Believes future is in own hands
Time  Prioritises time effectively
 Works with Finance to provide accurate billing details for prompt and
accurate billing of all deals
* Difference in roles i.e. Consultant to Senior Consultant highlighted
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Principal Consultant Framework ‘What good looks like’
Principal Consultant Framework
Proposition  Understands Hydrogen’s proposition and consistently communicates it to
clients and candidates
 Has in-depth knowledge of segment and does not work outside it
 Consistently achieves green on RAG report
 Writes copy for the communications team to use in literature, the website, news
stories, etc.
Staff  Builds relationships in local team and with global counterparts
 Regularly seeks and acts upon feedback
 Role model attitude, behaviour and activity
 Highlights issues to manager and asks for input and support
 Expert in segment & is seen as a role model in terms of expertise for consultants
Clients  Wins new senior clients and develops long term relationships (measure tbc per
team)
 Grows existing senior clients, building long term relationships (measure tbc
per team)
 Delivers high quality client experience, always meeting expectations and
challenging to secure the best outcome
 Agrees rates / fees in-line with Hydrogen policy. Takes clients own terms to
internal legal teams
 Wins exclusivity with clients / secures significant project wins
 Sets own 3 month client development plan
 Proactively introduces other Hydrogen teams to clients
 Leads client project specific to division
Candidates  Finds and builds relationships with top candidates in segment, always seeking
exclusivity
 Knows how to maximise a candidate’s chances of success and consistently
applies this understanding
 Delivers high quality candidate experience, always meeting expectations and
challenging to secure the best outcome
Process  Is a database super-user, helping others to use it correctly
 Does not invent own processes
 Placements are compliant to local processes
Culture  Positive energy giver
 Understands Hydrogen Vision and what it means for them, their clients and
their candidates
 Believes future is in own hands
Time  Prioritises time effectively
 Works with Finance to provide accurate billing details for prompt and accurate
billing of all deals

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* Difference in roles i.e. Senior Consultant to Principal Consultant highlighted

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Sales Competencies
Competencies What good looks like

Communication  Actively listens and asks questions to clarify understanding

 Is clear, compelling and concise
 Gives regular progress reports
Influencing  Focuses on understanding alternative viewpoints and reasons behind them
 Establishes trust and builds rapport
 Is confident, but never bullish or arrogant
Relationship  Invests time in building strong relationships
building  Seeks to understand the drivers and motivators of others
 Understands impact of self on others
Intelligence &  Uses initiative to gather information required to make good decisions
problem solving  Does not procrastinate or defer decision making to others when not appropriate
to do so
Resilience  Copes under pressure, persevering and staying positive to succeed
 Focuses on learning from mistakes and set backs
 Responds positively to change
Planning and  Forward plans and organises activity to hit objectives
organising  Meets deadlines and follows through on commitments
Drive and self-  Takes high levels of personal accountability
motivation  Demonstrates consistently high energy and activity levels
Commercial  Considers wider impact on others and on business before making commercial
awareness decisions
 Ensures behaviours are in line with Hydrogen’s Vision and Proposition
 Focuses time on where return will be greatest

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D. Activities or Tools used for Career Development in Hydrogen Group

Performance Enhancement Process (PEP) is a great initiative to aid employee development. It

positively support all employees in maximising their performance and provide leaders with the right

tools to create a high performing culture

• To identify and facilitate career development moves, where relevant

• To successfully deliver against the 2016 vision

• These programs teach employees how to work toward their own goals while continuing to do

productive work for the organization.

• Performance Enhancement Process – ‘New Consultant PEP’

This plan should be used to assist in on-boarding new consultants, enhancing their performance as

quickly as possible. Line managers should work with new consultants to ensure they understand ‘what

good looks like’ and the skills and behaviours within their roles, in-line with the sales framework.

Employee: Line Manager:

Job title: Brand:

PEP start date: Expected PEP

completion date:

(6 week process)

• Goal: To understand the sales framework, quickly enhancing performance

What is the performance expected? (I.e. objectives, targets, measures, behaviours) - To be

completed by the Line Manager prior to the meeting

• Reality

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 What is the performance currently being delivered / behaviors being displayed? (Line manager

to provide evidence based on time in role) (To be completed by the Line Manager prior to the

meeting). Key areas of focus in-line with the sales framework (clarify exactly what needs to

be achieved in-line with ‘what good looks like’ and ‘skills & behaviors’ in order to reach the

goal as quickly as possible)- To be completed by the Line Manager prior to the meeting

• Options

Options available (Outline all of the options available, in order to achieve the areas of focus

and subsequently the goal set)

• SMART objectives (Consultant need to choose the top 3 – 5 options from the Options above,

and formulate into SMART objectives, outlining exactly what needs to be achieved in order to

reach the goal set)

OBJECTIVE 1:

Specific Specify the objective

Measured How will you assess

by achievement?

Line manager will

Agreed
Employee will

Relevant Confirm the relevance

Time bound Date of achievement

OBJECTIVE 2:

Specific Specify the objective

Measured How will you assess

by achievement?

Line manager will

Agreed
Employee will

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Relevant Confirm the relevance

Time bound Date of achievement

OBJECTIVE 3:

Specific Specify the objective

Measured How will you assess

by achievement?

Line manager will

Agreed
Employee will

Relevant Confirm the relevance

Time bound Date of achievement

OBJECTIVE 4:

Specific Specify the objective

Measured How will you assess

by achievement?

Line manager will

Agreed
Employee will

Relevant Confirm the relevance

Time bound Date of achievement

OBJECTIVE 5:

Specific Specify the objective

Measured How will you assess

by achievement?

Line manager will

Agreed
Employee will

Relevant Confirm the relevance

Time bound Date of achievement

25
 • Willingness

How committed are you to achieving these objectives on a scale of 1 – 10? What barriers

could potentially stop you from achieving these objectives and hence your goals?

• Review Meetings

Process will last for 6 weeks. Diarised catch up’s shall occur as per the below, where

Consultant and the Immediate Superior will discuss the incremental steps taken to achieve the

goals.

Date of Review meetings Key Milestones

Week 1 review:

Week 2 review:

Week 3 review:

Week 4 review:

Week 5 review:

Week 6 review:

E. Issues /Problems with Career Planning and Development in Hydrogen Group

• The shortage of top recruiters will become evident – as recruiting ramps up, firms will begin

to realize that there is a significant shortage of talented and currently up-to-date recruiters.

After poaching from the rapidly shrinking executive search world, leaders will begin bidding

over top corporate recruiters. A lack of quality internal and external recruiter training capability

will make the recruiter shortage even worse.

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• Dramatic fluctuations in employee turnover and retention problems will increasingly impact

recruiting – as more employees become comfortable shifting away from security needs and

toward more exciting job opportunities, turnover rates will increase by over 25 percent. This

dramatic increase in turnover will create many new “sudden openings” which will put an added

strain on already stressed recruiting systems. In order to help reduce future turnover, the

“potential for early turnover” will have to be included in the assessment criteria for all finalists.

(Sullivan, 2013)

• Business volatility makes workforce planning more necessary but more difficult – as

continuous business volatility in a “VUCA” world becomes the “new normal,” executives will

increase their demand for data-driven workforce planning. Unfortunately, most talent functions

simply do not currently have staff with the capability to conduct sophisticated workforce

forecasting and planning. V.U.C.A. (pronounced voo – ka) is an acronym for an environment

that is dominated by:

i. Volatility – where things change fast but not in a predictable trend or repeatable

pattern.

ii. Uncertainty – where major “disruptive” changes occur frequently. In this

environment, the past is not an accurate predictor of the future, and identifying and

preparing for “what will come next” is extremely difficult.

iii. Complexity — where there are numerous difficult-to-understand causes and mitigating

factors involved in a problem.

iv. Ambiguity – where the causes and the “who, what, where, when, how, and why”

behind the things that are happening are unclear and hard to ascertain. (Sullivan, 2013)

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PART 4: Conclusions

After understanding the career planning, career management and career development in detail, we

have understood the importance of these three things in the current scenario where the employees are

very selective and sensitive about their work, working environment, and career path and career

development opportunities. Earlier, it was the employee who was competing to get into the industry

but now, it is the industry competing to get the talent.

And after researching the topic of Career Planning and Development Programs, I strongly believe that:

• Any organization, especially the Hydrogen Group, would benefit from such a program. A

visible Career Development Program with support mechanisms in place will greatly assist

them in retaining their most valued resource, their Consultants, especially, these Consultants

with less than four (4) years of experience. If HR are able to assist all Consultants in meeting

their needs, then both the Consultants and company will benefit in the long run.

• The success of a Career Development Program for the Hydrogen Group can be measured

through employee satisfaction, development of promotable employees and lower turnover. In

order to properly assess "why" Consultants leave, it is necessary that HR department conduct

timely exit interviews. This would enable the department to further evaluate the success of

their Career Development Program; that is PEP.

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PART 5: References

INGHAM, J. (2012, April). career-development-challenges-and.html. Retrieved from

http://strategic-hcm.blogspot.com: http://strategic-hcm.blogspot.com/2012/04/career-
development-challenges-and.html

Marvin, A. M. (2014, March 21).

http://www.ourfactsyourfuture.org/admin/uploadedpublications/3931_career_plan.pdf. The
Importance of Career Planning. Retrieved from http://www.ourfactsyourfuture.org/.

Natalie Lam, L. D. (n.d.). Optimum, The Journal of Public Sector Management. The Journal of
Public Sector Management, Vol. 29(No. 4), 24. Retrieved from
http://www.optimumonline.ca/pdf/29-4/career_development_3.pdf

Our_story_and_vision. (2014, March 15). Retrieved from http://www.hydrogengroup.com:

http://www.hydrogengroup.com/Our_story_and_vision

Sullivan, D. J. (2013, December 16). the-top-25-recruiting-trends-problems-and-opportunities-for-

2014. Retrieved from http://www.ere.net: http://www.ere.net/2013/12/16/the-top-25-
recruiting-trends-problems-and-opportunities-for-2014-part-2-of-2/

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APPENDICES

Interview Questions

1. Is the sales framework to achieve consistency across Group?

Yes. The framework is effectively a job description ensuring all employees know what is

expected of them, and what good looks like. This ensures we are aligned with the company

Vision of providing one global employee, candidate and client experience.

2. When will it apply?

Transition arrangements was placed during Q3’10, and from Q4’10, the framework becoming

‘business as usual’. The key objectives are for all employees to understand the framework i.e.

what good looks like for their current grade and what they need to do get promoted. Also, the

framework will enable employees to have honest conversations during which constructive

feedback will be provided by their line manager.

3. When does the framework start i.e. day joined or following probation?

On day one all employees should receive a briefing from their line manager telling them about

the company, setting clear expectations on performance and explaining how we measure

individuals for career progression opportunities.

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4. Are promotion targets realistically achievable in all areas of the business?

The promotion matrix that has been presented as part of the framework will apply across the

company for all sales staff. Directors will review and agree any deviations from the matrix in

line with varying market conditions.

5. What’s the minimum criteria to hit? What’s the most important?

Line managers will need to make a judgement call giving clear evidence of all performance

criteria i.e. performance against ‘what good looks like’ for relevant framework, competencies

and promotion matrix, which are all of equal importance to support promotion requests.

6. Why is the promotion matrix different for Asia and Australia in comparison to UK?

The criteria has been set to align with market conditions and trends dependent upon

geographical locations. What may be determined as true success in Australia may not apply

for Singapore or the UK. Following a full assessment of the markets with Country Directors,

the criteria have been set at realistically achievable levels for all sales staff.

7. Will it affect the consultant’s current promotion objectives that he/she is working

towards?

During the transition, if an individual is found to be near to the agreed promotion objectives

then these will be honoured by the company. Later, there has to be a cutoff point to ensure

fairness and consistency.

8. Does it work both ways – can a consultant demoted if his/her performance drops?
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 One of the key purposes of the framework is to ensure employees can successfully progress

their careers within the company in line with our Vision. If any employee demonstrates skill

gaps against the sales framework, they will be supported by their line manager to fill these

gaps.

9. Are pay increases standard?

At present pay is reviewed by relevant line managers on a quarterly basis as part of the review

process. We will review the total reward structure to ensure it is aligned to the sales framework

and provide greater clarity and guidance on how pay awards should be determined based on

performance levels.

10. What’s after principal consultant?

The principal consultant framework has been developed to provide career progression to for

those who do not wish to take on people management roles. There is an opportunity for

principal consultants to grow and develop their skills and role in line with business needs, for

which they will be remunerated.

11. Are seasonal factors taken into account e.g. £95k in Q3, £88k in Q4 when assessing

employees for promotion in line with the promotion matrix?

Line managers will make a judgment call on this, however, there should not be too much

variation from the promotion matrix if not supported by market variation. The business

requirement for promotions is more around employees demonstrating consistent performance

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12. The promotion matrix states you must hit the billing criteria over 2 consecutive quarters

to achieve promotion. Can this be achieved any quicker?

No. As mentioned above, the business requirement for promotions is more around employees

demonstrating consistent performance, which is why billings over 2 quarters is necessary.

13. What does ‘consistently achieve’ green on RAG mean in the sales framework?

This will be average activity on a monthly and quarterly basis

14. What is the definition of ‘senior’ clients in the Principal consultant framework?

This is about having relationships with senior stakeholders. Line managers will determine this

measurement per team.

15. How is the value of contract deals differentiated?

Directors will make the decision at their discretion for the Major Accounts and Interim team.

The value of contract deals will be higher for Major Accounts as they are volume based, and

lower for Interim as they are of higher value. What constitutes a contract deal is a minimum of

£2K value and the length of the deal has to be greater than four weeks.

16. Would the matrix change if a consultant changed between New Business & MA?

No, a consultants criteria is in line with the team in which they work. Should they change

teams, the criteria would change from that of the existing team to the new.

17. Is there an appeal process for promotions? Who makes the final decision?
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All promotions within the sales framework will be in line with the promotion assessment

process. Line managers will provide constructive feedback to reach a final decision on

promotion.

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