Online self-assessment is one way that members can chart their own career progress against the CIPD HR profession map. We asked two practitioners to share their experiences of it. Nia Prendergast, head of administrative services and company secretary at Cyf Anheddau (a non-profit social care provider) is working towards full CIPD membership, and Sonya Dougherty is a strategic HR assistant at Carmarthenshire County Council, studying on the professional development scheme.

Did using My HR Map give you any new insights?
Nia: Yes –on a personal level it has given me focus in certain areas such as effective delegation and feedback. For the company it’s useful to chart my progress and see that the way I am developing the function is in line with the HR profession map.

Sonya: I’d expected it would simply provide structure and guidance to my CPD, but in practice, it’s helped me focus on how to make strategic contributions, even from a HR assistant role. Perhaps the most valuable and unexpected aspect is the differentiation that the map makes between behaviours and actions; you may have the right attitude (motivated, committed, decisive and collaborative), but are you able to translate this into measurable outcomes that are of value to the business?

Was it easy to understand and use?
Nia: It can feel quite repetitive if you are completing it – as I did – all in one go! The graphics are user friendly and you can chart your progress on a wheel, and I saved it on my desktop. All the recommendations for further reading and courses have links, so they are easy to follow up. There are a lot of pages – but the last part especially feels quite bespoke.

Sonya: There’s a facility to save current progress, so it’s easy to dip in and out of it, even if you only have 10 minutes to spare. I completed mine over a couple of weeks whenever I had a few minutes available. I did the entire map but it would be just as useful to complete particular sections of interest. It contains a range of suggestions, from ‘make time in your day to read major business publications’ to ‘write a critique of recent organisation restructuring’.

Did the content you explored capture the key issues?
Nia: It covered all the issues in sufficient depth – and felt very current. It reminded me of just how diverse in scope our profession is.

Sonya: I work in a highly specialised area – job evaluation and equal pay – and was surprised at how well the section on reward covered the current debates, as well as the strategic and operational issues. It would be as relevant to the private sector too.

Can you imagine using the tool in development reviews?
Nia: I had completed it, by chance, a few days before my performance review, so I was able to incorporate some parts into my action plan. The report is very much focused on CPD and can be used for reflection; when you read it you will find your action plan in an organic form contained in the text.

Sonya: I will discuss with my manager key recommendations from My HR Map in my next review – particularly the suggestion of spending time with other departments to learn about the business.

Do you plan to use it in the future?
Nia: I intend to use it for group 180 degree feedback with other managers. Some of my developmental points linked very closely to my Belbin descriptors, so it will be interesting to see what the team have to say! This tool will help me focus on tracking my skills. As I am working towards full CIPD membership I think it will assist me in developing in line with the profession.

Sonya: I’ll use My HR Map as a basis for my CPD objectives and as a revision tool. Most important is the area of career development: I plan to use it to help make the next step from an HR assistant role into an HR officer position.