Performance Management

Thinking Through Your Career Interests

About this guide

This document is a supplement to the Performance Management at AECOM Program Employee Guide. Its intended to help you:
Recognize different career development options Gain insight about where you are now in your career vs. where

you want to be
Determine development priorities Understand your responsibilities for taking action on your career

development and your managers role to guide you Your career development is a partnership between you and the organization. The company needs to set clear expectations with you, and provide appropriate resources and support to help you be successful. But ultimately, you need to take the initiative with your career. You need to identify and commit to relevant development goals, then invest the time and effort to achieve your goals.

Career development options

Do you know what you want to do for your career, both short-term (1-2 years) and longer-term (2 years or more)? As you think through what your short and longer-term goals should be, recognize that there are different ways to develop your career. Its important to consider different alternatives and the best fit for you and the company; here are three different options to think about:
Vertical path Lattice path Job enrichment or realignment

Vertical path
One option is a vertical career path in which you would progress upward through different levels of a particular job family as you gain more experience, develop your skills and knowledge, and take on work with greater scope and complexity. Each AECOM job family includes specific positions that reflect the organizations needs for that type of work. Each position within the job family has defined performance requirements in terms of scope, complexity, job skills and knowledge, work direction, etc. With each change and move upward within a job family, you take on increasing levels of responsibility, work more independently and assume a greater leadership role with increased impact on the companys objectives. Figure 1 on the next page illustrates this upward movement and changes in roles and responsibilities as a general overview*.

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Performance Management

Thinking Through Your Career Interests

Responsibility Shapes organizational direction

Primary Role Director Strategist Key Account Leader

Relationship Assumes responsibility for the organization

Level III

Level II

Develops others Interfaces

Manager Integrator Mentor Business developer

Assumes responsibility for others

Level I

Performs tasks under supervision Establishes distinctive competence

Assistant Mentee Individual contributor

Assume responsibility for yourself

Figure 1 - Vertical Movement

* This figure is meant to be illustrative of how the responsibilities and roles will shift within a vertical path. These are not defined AECOM job levels. For more information about job families and profiles, please contact your HR representative.

For example, a Staff Engineer could move into a Project Engineer position and later become an Engineering Manager. Its important to note that in any organization, based on the business needs, there will be a certain number of roles and positions required, and vertical progression options may be limited. Depending on your interests, skills and the available opportunities, the vertical path may not be the best fit for you; it may be more advantageous to pursue a lattice path or job enrichment.

Lattice path
In todays job market and in AECOM, having a broad and diversified skill set is valuable, and often increases your career options. Many people also find that a broader skill set is more interesting on a professional level. Your interest may not be to move up the ladder, but rather to learn or apply your skills in a different job or discipline moving across the lattice. This may involve changing job families, working within a different technical discipline or function, or moving to another business line. Depending on your skills and experience, you might be able to move laterally, but you might also need time and training in order to develop specific competencies and perform according to requirements in a new role. Figure 2 below illustrates an example of career movements across the lattice within a business line.
Functions (e.g. Finance, HR, Marketing/Comm. SH&E)

Program/Project Management

Operations

Technical Professional

Business/Account Development

Business Line*
Figure 2: Lattice Path Movement across Job Families
* Job families may vary among business lines and geographies. Please refer to your manager or local Human Resources representative for more information about job families and opportunities.

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Performance Management

Thinking Through Your Career Interests

For instance, a Project Manager may have a goal to move into a business development/sales position. To make that move in his career, if he has the key skills and knowledge needed, he may be able to move into a lateral position and shift his focus. If he currently doesnt have all of the skills and knowledge needed to perform, he may be willing to move into a lower-level position in order to build the skills and experience for a new career in business development.

Job enrichment or realignment

Another option is to enrich your current job. You may take on different or additional responsibilities, such as challenging projects or assignments that benefit the company while also helping you develop or enhance your competencies. You may also look for ways to bring greater variety to your job. This option is for those who want to grow in their present position, stay engaged, and diversify their work assignments. For instance, an Administrative Assistant may take on a new assignment/role as an intranet coordinator to update site content for a particular group/department. A technical professional employee may participate on a task team to plan the training and implementation of a new system. In working with your manager, you might also consider adjusting or realigning your current job to accommodate life changes or increase your job satisfaction. An example is a line manager who changes his position to a technical role because he determines that he is happier in an individual contributor position. As you can see, there are several options for career development. Your career may not necessarily proceed in a straight line but perhaps go up, down, or sideways to reach your desired goal. Its important for you to discuss your interests, goals and different options with your manager, identify possible opportunities, and also assess your readiness to take on new or different positions, roles, or assignments.

Gaining insight
To determine your career direction, you need a good understanding about where you are today and where you want to be in the future. Personal reflection and gaining insight is the starting point. You may start this process of 1 discovery by looking at your G.A.P.S : Goals (and values) What you want to do: This includes specifying the key goals you have for your career, and understanding the motives and values that drive your behavior. You will need to think about whats important to you in your work and in the rest of your life, and why its important. You will also want to think about what you like and dislike about previous jobs and the work youve done. Abilities What you can do: This includes identifying your current competency portfolio including your strengths and areas for improvement. Look objectively to determine where youve been successful and not so successful, and which skills would have led to success. Perceptions How others see you: To get a full picture of your strengths/improvement areas, ask for feedback from multiple sources. Start with your manager. Another idea is to ask peers, co-workers, and direct reports for their perceptions of your skills. Success Factors What others expect from you: These are the standards or criteria you must meet to succeed in a particular position or role. The standards will vary depending on the organization, cultures, and sometimes within a company.

Development First, Personnel Decisions International

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Performance Management

Thinking Through Your Career Interests

Where Kris is Now

Abilities: Bright, motivated, hard-working. Strong project management, communication, and problem-solving skills Solid in strategic thinking and people skills Needs better business acumen, experience leading teams, and influencing peers and senior mgmt Perceptions: Talented project manager with reasonable understanding of business and competitive forces shaping the industry Not yet a powerful leader; tends to let management set direction vs. articulating and supporting her own point of view Modest impact and lack of cross functional experience have previously kept out of consideration for a section manager position

Where Kris Wants to Go

Goals: Become a section manager. Longer-term, become a department manager Have more autonomy and decisionmaking authority Use people skills and experience to foster a thriving, creative atmosphere within the team

Kriss View

Success Factors: Managers need to: Be independent thinkers who can make good business decisions in the face of ambiguity Understand and address the issues facing the business Provide strong leadership, especially in terms of building teams, engaging staff, and working through others to achieve goals

Others Views

Figure 3 - G.A.P.S. example Figure 3 shows an example of a G.A.P.S analysis that an employee, Kris, completed with her managers help. In this example, Kris is a Project Manager with a short-term goal of becoming a section manager, and a long-term goal of becoming a department manager. She has identified the areas she values within a job, evaluated both her present and needed abilities, solicited feedback from others about how they perceive her, and identified the key requirements to be a successful manager. Your manager can help you discover information about your abilities by asking you some key questions to complete a self-assessment of your abilities. Additionally, he/she can provide valuable, objective feedback and help you gather information about others perceptions of your abilities to get a full picture of your strengths and improvement areas. To prioritize your development areas, you will need to confirm your goals and values, and the success factors required for the particular jobs that you are interested in within the company. Determining your goals and values will require personal reflection. You can find out what the success factors are by talking to your manager, Human Resources, and various people who perform in those positions. Your goals and abilities will evolve over time, so it is important to keep your perspective current. Work with your manager to periodically revisit and assess your G.A.P.S. and to update your development plan.

Determine development priorities

The next step is to partner with your manager to determine your development priorities. Focus on 1-2 key goals that will deliver the biggest impact and help you get closer to achieving your short- and/or long-term career aspirations. If you select development goals that are important to both you and the company, you should have ample opportunity to work on them, find support, and stay motivated to achieve them. Also, be sure that your goals are specific enough to translate into action.

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Performance Management

Thinking Through Your Career Interests

Continuing with the previous example, Kris and her manager agreed that she will focus on developing her leadership and influence capabilities, which will help her to develop required skills she would need to reach her short-term career goal to become a section manager.
Development Area: Leadership and Influence Development Goal Details: Lead the X task team a high visibility, global project requiring leadership of peers and influencing senior stakeholders to adopt your recommendations Work with Joe as a mentor on these skills; observe him in various meetings and other situations, and get feedback from him on your influence skills and impact Participate in the next Leadership Forum, share knowledge back through a brown bag for our department, and share how youve applied these skills in ongoing coaching sessions with your manager

Kris and her manager identified different activities to develop her leadership and influence skills. This area is a key requirement for operations management positions, and also an AECOM core competency that is important for her current job as well. Development is more than just taking training classes; Kris goal is a good example of using a multi-dimensional strategy for your professional and career development. The ExTRA model below in Figure 4 outlines the various ways that we learn and develop, with some examples of each.

Experiences
Develop by doing Stretch assignments Special projects and task forces Cross-functional assignments Change job role, scale, scope and/or complexity Fixing/turning around a business problem Job shadowing Volunteer work

Training
Develop by learning Classroom training e-learning Blended learning Cross-training Websites, books and periodicals Seminars and conferences

Relationships
Develop with others

Accountability
Develop yourself with others and apply your skills Teach others Coach others Share your expertise with others Create contingency plans Apply learnings on the job Keep your development promises

Manager Mentors and coaches Subject matter experts Learning buddies Role models Employee resource groups Communities of practice Professional associations and networks

Figure 4 ExTRA Model As you think about what development activities to pursue, consider which will best help you develop the targeted competency. Often, it is most effective when you can integrate the activities as a regular part of your work, such as taking on new assignments relevant to your priorities. Also, note that you will develop the most when you are stretching outside of your comfort zone.

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Performance Management

Thinking Through Your Career Interests

Taking action on your career development

Your career development requires a partnership between you and the organization. Your manager plays a pivotal role in your career development. Here are a few ways that he/she can support you:
Expand your insights about your G.A.P.S. Ask questions and actively listen to understand your

goals and values

Give you feedback on your strengths and improvement

areas, and which competencies are most important for your continued development
Offer honest and realistic views of your career goals, and

your readiness to take on new responsibilities or positions

Help you (or gain access to people who can) identify the success factors for different jobs/job families within

AECOM
Partner to confirm your development plan priorities and activities (ExTRA strategies) Link you to people who can provide information, feedback, mentoring or other support Work with executive management and Human Resources to examine current and future staffing requirements,

identify opportunities at AECOM and ensure your career goals are realistic with the business needs. You are responsible for:
Identifying your career interests and development path. Completing a G.A.P.S. analysis is a great way to gain

insight about where you are vs. where you want to go both from your own perspective, and that of others
Confirming priority developmental goals with your manager Documenting your development plan and career interests as part of the Performance Management at AECOM

program. During the Planning stage, you will enter these in the online system or use the paper form
Taking action to complete development activities, monitoring your progress, and seeking guidance from your

manager Ultimately, you have the accountability to drive your career development. It is up to you to manage and take ownership of the process. Your manager should provide coaching, access to resources, and permission to engage in certain activities, but you are essentially responsible for your continued growth in the company. Be opportunistic and take advantage of opportunities to learn and develop that are part of your job. And, dont wait for great opportunities to come knocking on your door. Go after what you want: ask for new assignments, introduce and expose yourself to a network of people who are doing what you want to learn, and be willing to take some risks and experiment with something new.

Resources
Help with your career development can come from many sources. Here are a few of the primary resources to assist you:
Your manager Your HR representative MyAECOM Performance Management Site Your primary source for guidance and coaching on career interests and your priority development areas Guidance on the process, career paths, available opportunities and development options Information on the Performance Management at AECOM program, such as reference guides, help cards and online training modules that provide guidance on process and how to use the online system to document your development plan and career interests