Technologists want a clear career path like any other professional, but can often feel neglected by internal career development processes. Until we launched the Catalyst Total Career Framework (TCF), that is.
The challenge
The technology and operations function of a major bank wanted to build an attractive career path for their technologists, which supported existing development processes and would integrate into the company’s HR framework.
The level of technological expertise within the business was considerable and the client saw it as a driver of change within the business.
But the client embarked upon this initiative at a time when technology functions within banks were already under tremendous pressure. Due in part to the emergence of fintech businesses and the attraction of the global web giants, the client fast realised they faced serious difficulties attracting, developing and retaining their top tech talent.
Our approach
Our people development projects always start with understanding the people, so we engaged with key stakeholders to listen and learn about the client’s vision for developing talent.
We ensured both technologists and HR were involved, as their buy-in for our process was vital and their skills would be important to the design of our proposed platform.
We carried out workshops with technologists to better understand their skills and behaviours, and used these insights to inform the design of a Technology Career Framework (TCF).
The TCF was used to facilitate global training sessions, outlining the benefits and support available. TCF provided an online assessment that both employees and their line managers could use, and which line managers could utilise in their own development conversations with staff.
Crucially, we designed TCF to integrate with existing learning and development resources to provide a defined career path for technologists.
Our impact
With the introduction of TCF, we helped the client really value technology, creating a magnet for both existing and future technologists. More specifically, TCF gave technologists a clear career path to the top by outlining what it took to reach highest positions within the organisation.
By integrating TCF into the client’s own HR frameworks, every member of staff had access to the tools and guidance to build their own career path. Line managers could also use TCF to support their interactions.
Just as importantly, our work helped shift culture. Today, employees realise that specialist expertise and the contribution of technologists is as vital and equalled valued as any other business function.
Note: This case study was first published by Catalyst prior to the Sionic merger
