Career Launchpad

Cisco completed a Career Study that helped identify what's needed to have a successful career at Cisco. Using this extensive research, as well as a constant request for a more hands-on way to guide employees as they navigate their careers, the Career Launchpad was born. I started with really diving into the research that was done, and working with leaders and stakeholders we identified the key insights from the Career Study we wanted to focus on. Then I researched successful platforms that help people learn every day, such as Khan Academy, Coursera, and Duolingo. This allowed me to identify and understand what drives people there everyday and how they stay engaged when learning on their own, things like Bartle's Taxonomy. 

I then created a mockup in Adobe XD to share, gather feedback, and approval to move forward on the design for what this might look like including the learner's experience and initial branding ideas. Once this happened, I worked with the all the stakeholders, program managers, and content leads to create an outline. Once the content outline was set, a small team was created to help bring this to life. I brought on our visual designer who helped take my initial ideas on branding to the next level. She was able to build out an extensive brand and design system while I worked on working on more experience design, project managing, and managing the team. Now it is officially launched and is an essential part of our Career Portfolio.

Sometimes you are reliant on others, and you need to be flexible. With a solution like this, where it touches and elevates every large program and initiative, like performance and talent management, it's hard to keep up with the latest. You're also very dependent on when they can find time for you meet However, with some patience, perseverance, and influencing, you can make it happen.

Communications and go-to-market is also very important in the success of a program. Having a great relationship as well as insuring they are part of the process is important as well. Timing is also another key factor, then realizing that sometimes a grassroots or "door-to-door" approach is sometimes equally or sometimes more effective.