Skills matrix
When I first joined PebblePad its fair to say that not all the designers were happy with their lot. There was a general feeling of neglect on career development and a sense that there was no plan in place to help the team meet their ambitions. So the challenge for me coming in as a design leader was to understand where individuals were on their career journey and then provide them with a framework that could be used to plan a pathway to progression and success.
My aim was to introduce a skills framework that could be used by the team to ascertain where they currently were in their professional development journey, capture strengths and weaknesses, and give a clear indication of expectations when considering next steps and advancement. I wanted to define all the skills that designers employ through the course of their day-to-day work and also set levels of expectation for each skill against levels of seniority. So for example, as a junior designer, you are expected to operate at this level of proficiency when applying this particular skill. If you are senior designer you are expected to operate at this level of proficiency when applying the same skill and so on.
I hoped that by rolling out a common skills matrix, the team would have a definite idea on what they needed to achieve, what training they should undertake, and how they could push themselves in order to realise their career goals.
My goal was to benchmark each designer as soon as possible using several sources of insight and opinion. Firstly, my own observations on application of skills, secondly, self-reflection by each individual as to where they see themselves and finally peer review from team members from across the business who work closely with the designer being assessed. Once all this data was captured, collated and applied to the skills matrix I would have a very clear picture for the individual allowing me to devise a training and development plan tailored for that specific team member.
The results from this exercise have been exceptional. Every team member now has a clear and well defined professional development plan that is bespoke to their individual situation. Job satisfaction has increased and the flight risk for certain team members has been significantly reduced. I have been able to leverage the insights from the skills matrix to support the promotion of a designer to senior designer. I have also been asked by the Director of HR to share the matrix so it can be rolled out in other areas of the business.
