UPDATE: XFN Latest and Greatest
My goodness, it is hard to believe it has been a month since I have written my last blog, so much has happened.
Cohort One Assignment Round Two
For starters, on August 1, 2019, we held our first ever XFN ‘speed networking’ event for participants to meet potential host managers. Each one-on-one conversation was 30 minutes and participants selected in advance the hosts they wanted to meet with. There were possible questions on the table, but I don’t think anyone needed or used them.
At the end of the event, participants/hosts were asked to send their rankings in order of preference, with the option of indicating if a match was not suitable. For me, this was perhaps the most exciting part. It was so satisfying to see that not only had hosts/participants picked each-other as their top choices, meaning they had a genuine connection, but that participants weren’t all leaning towards the same assignments, as their needs are different.
In our first round of matching, we learnt a lot and you can read about it here. I am glad to report that this approach addressed all previous concerns and allowed for a much more time-efficient and consistent setting for hosts/participants to discuss fit for the opportunity.
One of my biggest takeaways from the iteration of this element of the program, is that providing structure does not equal taking away autonomy.
During our first round of matching, we thought that by minimizing structure we were empowering participants/hosts, but in the end we were just creating extra work. Our new approach allowed for the same level of autonomy and an overall easy/pleasant experience for hosts/participants. The proof is in the pudding as they say, and we will be continuing with improving this new approach for assignment matching in the future.
Taking Stock
Now that participants have been in their first assignments for well over four months, it was the perfect time to take stock on key elements of the program with them and hosts. I asked them a series of questions trying to learn the answer to the following questions:
- What are you getting out of the program? Why is it worthwhile to keep participating/hosting?
- What are we doing well that we should keep doing? What should we change?
- Is the developmental mindset frame of edge, home, groove useful? Why or why not?
What we heard was:
- Participants are satisfied with the support they receive from the program, with a strong emphasis placed on what they learn/receive from each-other as a cohort.
- Hosts benefit from having a highly skilled resource that is motivated to learn, eager to contribute and brings a fresh perspective. It was also noted how quickly participants were able to jump in and start working.
- Participants/hosts agreed that the ongoing one-on-one check-ins with the Talent Manager are extremely useful in enabling/supporting participants learning, and the flexible/personalized approach is essential.
- Participants found the developmental mindset frame useful at the beginning of their assignments to frame their learning with hosts, but not as they progressed and are interested in trying other learning models.
- Hosts are unsure of the usefulness of the developmental mindset frame and struggled to put it into practice in the assignment after a small amount of exposure to the concept at onboarding.
- In regards to the overall learning and onboarding for the program, participants expressed a need for more pragmatic tools at the start and for there to be clearer linkages made between theory and application. Want to know what we tried the first time? Read about it here.
I have not included everything here, but all this to say, that we are continuing to learn a ton. As we continue with cohort one and prepare to welcome cohort two, we will be putting these learnings and more into practice.
Cohort Two
Speaking of cohort two, we just announced last week that applications will be opening on September 9, surprise! If you are interested in applying, keep an eye on our website for the link to applications.
