OGL 482 Pro-Seminar II

Unit 3 Assignment:
Networking Plan Template
Section 1: The Career Decision Matrix
As you move through the data-gathering phase and begin to generate options for potential jobs
and potential employers, this is when you can build and use a Career Decision Matrix. Following
the information from Harrington & Hall text, Career Management & Worklife Integration,
Chapter 4, pages 92-94, you will research, gather, and analyze information from your self-
assessments (i.e. the Kuder assessments in Unit 1, in particular), thematic analysis (themes),
career resources and more to create your Career Decision Matrix.

Career options are broader than jobs. They are paths you can take to get to where you want to be.
Here is a resource that can assist you in determing:
https://careerwise.minnstate.edu/careers/pathways.html

Answer the following:

1) As you have gathered your data take the time to share and fully describe your top
four (4) possible career options. You want to be specific, as this creates a more
meaningful matrix. Describe each career with as much detail as possible. Consider
the following to be used in your 2-3 paragraph response per career option: career
field / organization / job-related responsibilities / opportunities for advancement /
future outlook of the career field. These responses need to demonstrate that you
have gathered your research and analyzed it, so there should be citations referencing
where you got your information, using APA standards. Remember to include why you
are choosing each career option.

Hi Dr. B,

Losing internet this weekend really set me behind, and with my work schedule and not having
childcare in the evenings, I was not able to complete this fully. This is not reflective of something
I wanted to turn in, but I also don’t see a reason to ask for an extension because this week is too
tight for me, and it would push back other work I need to complete. So, I’m just turning in what I
have and will work to stay ahead of the remainder of our deadlines.

a. Partner Resources Manager (PRM)

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 This is a role that exists within my current organization (Starbucks) and I have
familiarity with. This role is basically the human resource manager role within
Starbucks. I have 15 years of experience at Starbucks and would prefer to gain my next
opportunity here, although, I am open to exploring the right opportunity elsewhere if I
can’t find what I’m looking for within.

This role is dedicated to a geography when supporting retail operations, it also comes
with the flexibility to largely work remote. This is considered a business critical role at
Starbucks and in all my years of experience here, I have never seen these roles laid off.
This job requires 6+ years of human resources experience, 3+ years of consulting to
identify business needs and solutions, and 3 or more years of supervisory experience
(Starbucks, 2023). Some human resources manager openings would require an advanced
degree, Starbucks does not specifically request that but I think getting my masters in
human resources or studying and testing to gain human resources certificates and
credentials could boost my opportunities here.

b. Regional Director (RD)

The regional director role at Starbucks is the role my boss has, so if I chose to promote up in
retail operations (the umbrella I fall under now), this would be my next step. This role is
responsible for leading a portfolio of 10-12 district managers who each lead a portfolio of stores,
so roughly 100-150 stores fall under the director. The director’s role is to focus on leading a team
of district managers to execute company priorities and initiatives, they “develop strategic and
operational plans for the region, lead execution, and measure results” (Starbucks, 2023).

This role is also business critical, I’ve never seen layoffs here, and it too covers a geography with
the flexibility to have in-store and remote work. Outside of Starbucks, I’ve seen director roles
similar to this in a variety of brands, both retail and non-retail. I’ve sometimes seen these listed
as operations directors or area directors. The pay range for this role is $149,000-$233,000, and
for the level of travel time, and stress involved with this role, I’m not sure I feel the extra pay
would be worth sacrificing time with my family.

c. Partner Resources Director

The partner (human) resources director role is the leader to the partner resources managers. The
PRD partners with the regional vice president to consult and offer guidance while “serving our
critical support team functions and will work with business leaders who place our partners and
the talent agenda front and center and who embrace modern and innovative people practices yet
also realize the importance of foundational people practices being practiced and role modelled”
(Starbucks, 2023).This role is actually a pay grade above the regional director with a range of
$147,800-$261,000.

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Again, this is another business critical role that does not seem to suffer layoffs. This role also
covers a broad geography with moderate travel required and the ability to work mostly remote.
This role would likely need a masters or advanced HR degree or certification for me to be a
competitive candidate given my current lack of working in a HR specific function. This role is
also relevant across businesses and different industries, providing ample opportunity for growth.

d. Regional Operations Coach

In Starbucks, this role is seen as a natural stepping stone between the district manager role (my
current role) and the regional director role (the role of my boss). There is one regional operations
coach (ROC) per regional vice president, and they report to the RVP, just like a director would.
This role “Manages US and regional priorities by utilizing project management skills and
leveraging cross functional teams to support the assigned regional directors and regional vice
president” (Starbucks, 2023).

This role is tied to a very large geography, usually several states, and it requires extensive travel.
Of note, the pay range for this role is just $94,000-141,300 compared to what I’m already
making, it would not be a very large increase in pay for me as I’m already well within that range.
These roles are a little less plentiful and I’m not sure I consistently see a counterpart to this role
outside Starbucks, other than being perhaps a higher level business leader or director role.

Now that you have determined these four options, take a step back and share a fifth
UNTHINKABLE (UT) career option, that you would never do, but are trained for
by what you have learned by earning your degree. Think about skills you have
acquired while earning your degree, which would be transferable to something
completely different.

e. Regional Vice President

While I am perhaps lacking an advanced degree, I do have almost 20 years of experience in

retail operations. Not all RVP roles, inside or outside Starbucks, rely on a specific degree,
although a MBA is helpful. I don’t know that I will pursue an MBA anytime soon, I’m leaning
more towards a masters or advanced degree in human resources which could also boost my
odds at landing a RVP role.

2) Using the information you have gathered and shared above it is time to fill in your
Career Decision Matrix. You can find an example in Table 4.2 on page 93 of our
text. When you complete the matrix below, be sure to remove any unnecessary
labels.

a. Down the left hand side of the matrix, you will list your ten (10) life themes
from your thematic analysis. You can also add more that were not part of your
presentation as Theme 11 and so on.

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 b. Across the top of the page, you will list the five (5) career options you are
considering.

c. Next, fill in each cell with a high (h), medium (m), or low indication of the
match between that theme and the alternative under consideration.

d. Calculate your Career to Theme Consistency Points (CTCP) aka Summary, by

assigning high = 5, medium = 3, and low = 1, and then adding them up to
determine the ranking of your career choices to your themes. Not all themes
can have high designation (if everything is important, nothing is important).
The goal is to identify how your career options align with your life themes, so
you have better information to determine which aspects are most important
to you in your next career step.

Partner Regional Human Regional Regional

Resources Director Resources Operations Vice
Manager Director Coach President

Family 4 3 4 3 2

Security/ 5 5 5 3 3
Stability

Freedom 3 3 3 4 3

Respect 5 4 5 3 3

Accountability 5 5 5 4 5

Working Class 4 3 4 3 3
Values

Empathy 5 4 5 4 4

Love 5 4 5 4 4

Ethics and 5 5 5 5 5
Integrity

Service 5 5 5 5 5

CTCP 46 41 46 38 37
(Summary)

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 3) Now that you have determined these career options in relation to your life themes:
a. Reflect to what extent your Career Decision Matrix development process has
helped your career development decisions.

Based on the career decision matrix, I feel that the partner (human) resources
manager or director role are where I’d like to lean. I was already feeling that way, but
looking at the scores here has helped solidify that for me.

b. Share which career option(s) you feel would be worth researching more and
pursuing as you begin to think about your networking plan.

Since the human resources options seem to align more closely with my matrix, I’d
like to explore these options further.

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Section 2: Networking Plan
Now that you have completed your Career Decision Matrix we now need to move forward and
develop a networking plan that you can use to help you reach your career goals. Review
Harrington & Hall text, Career Management & Worklife Integration, Chapter 4, pages 77-83.
Developing and managing your network of people who can help you is an important ongoing
process whether or not you are currently happy in your career.

The purpose of this activity is to:

• Help you assess and enhance (extend or strengthen) your developmental network relative
to major challenges you will face in the next 1-3 years
• Help you develop a networking strategy that will work for you
• Help you develop a specific plan to pursue over the next 6 months to 1 year
• Create an accountability mechanism

Research on leadership development has demonstrated that people benefit from a variety of
developmental relationships, including short-term and long-term alliances with bosses, peers,
senior executives, coaches, subordinates, and family members, the more diversity and depth
there is in your developmental network, the better. Depending on our dominant learning tactics,
we are more or less likely to pay attention to the quality of our developmental network.
This assignment was adapted by Professor Kathy E. Kram from a worksheet developed by
Professor Deborah Kolb, Simmons Graduate School of Management. Adapted by permission.

Answer the following:

1) As you think about the major changes that are likely to take place at your place of
work in the next few years, what major challenges and opportunities do you foresee
that you will need to deal with in the next 1-3 years?

Describe and explain why these are your top three (3) of Challenges here:
a. Starbucks Labor Relations- unionization efforts.
b. Starbucks anticipated growth and need to hire over the next 5 years
c. Starbucks elevated turnover coming out of pandemic

Describe and explain why these are your top three (3) of Opportunities here:
d. Many labor relations openings and opening within HR
e. Increased openings within the recruiting wing of HR
f. Opportunity to develop solid strategies aimed at reducing turnover

2) Given these challenges and opportunities, what type of help are you most likely to
need? Check one and explain why.
a. Help in getting the job done ______
b. Help in advancing my career ___X___

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 c. Emotional support ___X___
d. All of the above ______

(Insert Explanation Why Here)

3) If your major challenge or opportunity is related to your work, how well positioned
are you to get information, advice, and resources about new opportunities and
possibilities? Check one and explain who can help you and why.
Very Well __X____ Okay ______ Need to Expand My Network ______

I have a solid network that is well-positioned to support me. My boss, my peers, and my
mentors in human resources.

4) If your major challenge or opportunity means making a move into a leadership

position, do you have relationships with people who can give you advice and
effectively advocate or champion you for important assignments or other
developmental activities? Check one and explain who can help you and why.
Yes ___X___ No ______

I do, my boss and my connections within partner relations at Starbucks.

5) If your challenge or opportunity means that you will need emotional support, to
what extent do you have people who can give you support? Check one and explain
who can help you and why.

a. I have a strong support network to help me. __X___

b. I don’t have people to help me through changes I will have to make. ____
i. Yes, my peers, family, and mentors.

6) If your challenge or opportunity means that you will need help getting the job done,
advancing your career, or getting emotional support, do you have people in your
network who can fulfill these functions? Check one and explain who can help you
and why.
Yes _____ No __X____

Yes, my peers, family, and mentors.

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 7) What is your approach to building relationships? How are you at initiating
relationships? In what settings are you most comfortable meeting people?

a. Joint or shared work, projects, and committees __X____

b. One-on-one appointments, with specific agendas ____X__
c. Informal “no agenda” social settings ______
d. Going for coffee, lunch, or drinks ______
e. Leisure activities such as golf, tennis, or theater ______
f. Other ______

I like when there is a defined purpose in work and professional settings.

8) What is your preferred style?

a. Occasional phone calls or e-mails just to ask “how are you?” ___X___
b. Phone calls, e-mails, or visits with specific requests or questions __X____
c. Holiday cards and letters ______
d. Dropping in or calling when you’re in the neighborhood ______
e. Arranging in advance to get together at professional meetings __X____
f. Relying on the chance that your paths will cross ______
g. Inviting people to join you for lunch, coffee, golf, and so on ______
h. Contacting people when you find some information, an article, or an opportunity that
might interest them __X____
i. Other ______

Primarily, I prefer calendared time with my busy work schedule. This helps to make sure
I block the time and can come prepared to get the most and give the most. I also like to
informally just check in and connect with people.

9) Now turn your attention to the “Action Planning” part of the exercise (top of page 82).
Respond to the following questions:

a. What are your goals in developing a professional network? Be specific.

To learn what I might be missing out on- feedback, developmental opportunities, advice
and tips for advancing my career.

b. How will a well-developed network of contacts help you achieve your career goals?

My network will be able to advise me on development and career-related opportunities

and decisions.

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 c. What are some of the characteristics of the people you are looking to include in your
network?

I’m looking for people I have a genuine connection with and feel will be straightforward
and honest with me. I want to network specifically with those in a HR related function.

d. Where might you come in contact with these people? How will you grow your network /
initiate contact with new potential networking contacts?

Work, Workplace Facebook, LinkedIn, Retail Networking events, alumni functions

e. Who in your network are you looking to enhance your relationship with? How will you go
about enhancing these relationships?

My current partner resources manager and former partner resources manager. I have great
relationships with both of them and they’ve expressed interest in helping me. I just need to get on
a regular cadence of connecting with them. They both have roles I aspire to and will be able to
advise me on HR-specific development.

f. How can you leverage your existing network? Might some of your existing networking
contacts know others who you should be in contact with?

Yes- my existing network may know of someone else they think I could benefit in
connecting with. I will ask this when we connect to get their ideas and input.

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Section 3: SMART Career and Networkings
Using a SMART goals-based approach, as well as project planning and management skill best
practices, create a detailed project plan for at least two specific goals. At least one must be
related to your Career Plan, and the other related to your Networking Plan. Both of these goals
need to be things that you are passionate about accomplishing.
Your selected goals and SMART plan (see SMART goal information provided in the Unit)
should be structured based on a one to two-year timeline. It should include specific milestones,
action items, sub-tasks as well as task-related interdependencies as applicable. With respect to
each goal, critically think about what specifically are the things you will do in the next one to
two years to achieve these goals.

Develop a clear and detailed SMART plan, with facilitating goals and steps/actions required
to accomplish your selected goals. It should be evident, by looking at the format and structure
of your plan, that you have developed some significant skills respect to project management.
Include Gantt charts or other visual project representations as you see fit, and be sure to address
your approach to tracking/measuring your progress.

1) What is your Career Goal?

My career goal is to get promoted into a human resources role within the next year.

a. Specific I will advance my career by moving into a human resources manager position

b. Measurable I will apply to two positions per month and reach my goal within 1 year

c. Attainable I have the education, qualities, and skills needed to excel in this role.

d. Relevant partner (human) resources aligns best with my values and career decision
matrix.

e. Time-Based by May 1, 2024

2) What is your Networking Goal

(Insert your Networking Goal above and provide short answers below describing your
goal in terms of the SMART model. Finally, provide a Gantt chart using the tools
provided).

a. S – set up connects with 2 different HR leaders within Starbucks

b. M within the two months, conduct both connects

c. A I have the time and space to make this happen

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 d. R I know people within HR at Starbucks willing to help me gain insight and
knowledge in advancing my career in HR.

e. T within two months have both connects to help me set my networking direction

References:

Starbucks Corporation. (2023, April 17). Partner resources manager. Retrieved

https://starbucks.taleo.net/careersection/1000111/jobdetail.ftl?job=230022846&tz=GMT-
04%3A00&tzname=America%2FNew_York

Starbucks Corporation. (2023, April 17). Director regional operations. Retrieved from
https://starbucks.taleo.net/careersection/1000111/jobdetail.ftl?job=220096392&tz=GMT-
04%3A00&tzname=America%2FNew_York

Starbucks Corporation. (2023, April 17). Director partner resources. Retrieved from
https://starbucks.taleo.net/careersection/1000111/jobdetail.ftl?job=230023173&tz=GMT-
04%3A00&tzname=America%2FNew_York

Starbucks Corporation. (2023, April 17). Regional operations coach. Retrieved from
https://starbucks.taleo.net/careersection/1000111/jobdetail.ftl?job=230023329&tz=GMT-
04%3A00&tzname=America%2FNew_York

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