People
Excellence
Introduction
At VA, People Excellence means investing in our teams and empowering them to succeed.
We create an environment where everyone can contribute, grow, and lead by ensuring our people have the resources and capacity to excel in their roles.
Read the attributes below to access the detailed guidance, tools, and resources for each.
People Excellence Attributes:
4.1 We have clearly defined career paths using common role names and descriptions
Job progression is a core component of OIT’s fulfilling and rewarding work experience. Newly clarified career paths, which are available via the career path portal, will help VA continue attracting high-quality talent, support retention of current employees, and enable rapid employee growth. Knowing future career paths also gives employees more ownership over career progression by providing visibility into potential roles and insight into the skills needed to get there.
Best Practices
- Periodically review updates to position descriptions as refined role requirements are rolled out (through FY2025 and beyond)
- Visit the career path portal to view the latest information for a given role
- Learn about other roles within the same job function and understand expectations for any roles that seem interesting
- Take advantage of opportunities as they arise
- Schedule time to connect leadership outside of regularly scheduled performance reviews to discuss career ambitions
Guiding Questions
- What roles within your job function would you be interested in exploring further?
- What qualifications might you need to prepare for your next career step? How might you acquire the skills needed to execute effectively in your next role?
- Are there any opportunities that would be helpful to discuss with your supervisor? Another individual in a leadership position?
Useful Links:
Key Contacts:
- Contact 1
- Contact 2
- Contact 3
4.2We invest in our teams, creating space and capacity for learning and development
OIT is committed to providing substantial structured and unstructured learning and development opportunities to its employees:
- Structured learning: OIT provides a substantial library of video trainings across all job functions via the Talent Management System (TMS) as well as optional live trainings on an ad hoc basis. Some of this training is organized for specific portfolios or product lines.
- Unstructured learning: OIT is establishing several Communities of Practice within key job functions that will serve as a forum for employees to share best practices; employees are also highly encouraged to reserve time for mentorship and on-the-job training, both formal and informal.
Best Practices
- Leverage online resources to satisfy learning needs on demand (e.g., by visiting the TMS or other portfolio specific resources)
- Attend live trainings as relevant to your role or upskilling ambitions
- Consider joiningaformalupskillingprogram
- Join the Community of Practice associated with your role, ask questions, share best practices, and partake in discussions with your peers
- Consider opportunities to engage in on-the-job training on a daily basis
- Reserve time to mentor other members of your team
Guiding Questions
- Which areas would it be helpful for you to upskill in? Are there any formal trainings offered by OIT or your portfolio / product line?
- Is there an OIT-wide Community of Practice for your job function (or relevant to your job function)?
- Are there any formal upskilling programs that you might be interested in engaging with?
- How can you make more room for on-the-job training and mentoring within your product team?
- How can you share your knowledge and expertise with your colleagues and the wider OIT community?
Key Contacts:
- Contact 1
- Contact 2
- Contact 3
4.3We ensure training materials that reflect the VA Way and show staff how to apply these principles in the VA context
To ensure we enable a consistent approach and culture, OIT is committed to updating existing trainings and rolling out new trainings to reflect the VA Way. Teams are expected to incorporate VA Way priorities and Attributes into on-the-job learning materials, including technical and product documentation, as relevant.
Best Practices
- Review the VA Way Playbook in its entirety
- ReviewRunbooksforeachVAWayAttribute
- Update portfolio, product line, or product-specific trainings, documentation, and other materials to reflect the VA Way priorities
Guiding Questions
- How can you encourage team members to review the VA Way Playbook?
- How can you help improve existing training materials?
- Where might there be opportunities for you to integrate the VA Way into your product’s existing on-the-job training materials?
Runbooks
- Writing a learning objective – A guide for anyone creating training or documentation to help develop their materials with the learning objective in mind
Useful Links:
Key Contacts:
- Contact 1
- Contact 2
- Contact 3
4.4We intentionally build cross-functional teams with a variety of skills and experiences
By ensuring our teams have the skills and resources they need to be successful, VA can create an organization that offers higher job satisfaction, lower turnover rates, higher productivity, and higher morale.
Best Practices
- Team leads should periodically review the skill sets and positions on their team to avoid major gaps
- All team members should feel comfortable speaking up and providing their input and experience
Guiding Questions
- Are there gaps in your team’s skills and experience?
- Do you have redundancy build into your team?
- If someone left your team, would it reduce the overall team’s capabilities?
- Are there additional opportunities to incorporate this attribute into your day-to-day activities?
Key Contacts:
- Contact 1
- Contact 2
- Contact 3
4.5We seek to grow future leaders through succession planning, leadership development, and stretch assignments
Continuity of leadership is a critical component of healthy organizations. OIT regularly engages in long-term succession planning, particularly in highly specialized areas or complex leadership roles. That being said, demand for experienced, talented employees typically outstrips supply, and there is an increasing need to develop a robust pipeline of leadership candidates. OIT is encouraging individuals to seek out leadership development opportunities and stretch assignments.
Best Practices
- Consider opportunities to engage in leadership development activities
- Engage with current leadership regarding additional opportunities to develop as a leader
- Work with other team members and team leads to proactively set up stretch assignments
Guiding Questions
- What types of leadership roles might you be interested in doing?
- What is your current capacity to take on leadership development opportunities or stretch assignments?
- Have you scheduled regular check-ins with individuals in leadership roles to identify opportunities to progress your career?
Useful Links:
Key Contacts:
- Contact 1
- Contact 2
- Contact 3
4.6We enable mobility opportunities within VA, including rotational programs
VA recognizes that exposing employees to different parts of the organization can unlock substantial personal growth. To that end, OIT encourages individuals to take advantage of the various mobility opportunities that are available to them. Additional programs are in the process of being rolled out, including more options to move between product teams and portfolios.
Best Practices
- Identify which types of mobility programs are the best fit in advance
- Determine when a mobility opportunity within OIT makes the most sense
- Proactively engage with rotational opportunities as they arise
- Work with a team, product line, or portfolio leadership to create a custom mobility opportunity if the right program doesn’t exist yet
Guiding Questions
- What types of mobility opportunities will be the best fit for your career?
- When would be the best time for you to pursue a mobility program?
- Are there any existing mobility opportunities that fit your preferences? If not, who would you need to connect with to set up a custom arrangement?
- As a leader, are you creating mobility programs or supporting your team to seek out these opportunities?
Useful Links:
Key Contacts:
- Contact 1
- Contact 2
- Contact 3
4.7 We create communities of expertise that transcend organizational silos and contract boundaries
Communities of Practice are a place for employees performing similar functions to:
- Create a unified community: Develop a space for functional groups to share “what works well,” ask questions, and facilitate a sense of shared culture and affiliation
- Provide resources: Gather expertise in one place to educate and train functional groups in new ways of working
- Share best practices: Establish a powerful and direct line of communication to functional group across a variety of information-sharing format
These communities of expertise are intended span OIT and will also be inclusive of all employees (including contractors). Expect communities to launch throughout FY2025.
Best Practices
- Engage with the Community of Practice around the most relevant functional area
- Contribute back to the community by sharing best practices, proposing topics for discussion, and inviting other individuals to join
- Share best practices with your community
- Provide feedback to community leadership to shape future direction
- Consider taking on a leadership role in the community
Guiding Questions
- What experiences might be helpful to share with other members of your Community of Practice?
- Who might you encourage to join your Community of Practice?
- What suggestions might you make to community leadership to make meetings more effective?
- Would it make sense for you to take on a leadership position in the community?
Useful Links:
Key Contacts:
- Contact 1
- Contact 2
- Contact 3
