Mid-Career Change

How has your experience prepared you for your current role?
My new secondment role links together my background in HR with my roles in Service.  In HR you advise managers on policies and processes, while in the business you have to turn those policies and practices into actions.  I believe that my HR background helped to prepare me to be a manager.  Other managers often ask me for advice on HR issues, and my background and experience gives me a more natural understanding of employee development, the different possibilities and opportunities that Canon offers. 

As I have made lateral moves in my careers, I know how important this is and encourage everyone to do the same.  This gives you and Canon a much deeper pool of knowledge and experience.  For example, when we had the Oracle rollout, we could pick people from around the business with transferable and relevant skills to head up important teams.

Along with my experience with the Oracle rollout I am gaining further European experience through working on the Functional Advisory Group in the CBS Academy for Service and Support.  As a group member I have been assisting with the development of our new CBS Service and Support training and development programmes, which I will also get the opportunity to implement and deliver in my new secondment role. 

What were the turning points in your career?
The biggest was changing from Human Resources to service.  It changed my perception from guiding and advising to being involved in and managing part of the business.  There is a large difference between creating and implementing policy, seeing this in practice is a great benefit to anyone in a support function. 

How has Canon supported you in your career?
The most important support Canon gives is the range of opportunities we offer.  We tend not to restrict our thinking.  If you express an interest in working in a different part of the business, Canon will allow you to follow that interest through development and performance plans.  That openness is important.

How could we improve employee development in Canon?
What concerns me most is a consequence of having a flatter structure.  There are not always enough ways to bridge the gaps in your experience.  For example, the gap between being a team leader and a manager can sometimes be quite big, and how you bridge this gap is not always obvious.  I also think we could improve our succession planning.

A lot of our development courses for management roles, such as our local ‘So you want to be a Canon manager?’ answer the question ‘what will you do when you get the role?’  We need to look at how we support that with hands on opportunities so that we make the transition easier for the individual.

Do you have any advice to people looking to progress in their career?
Try not to restrict your thinking about what is possible, be committed and engage with your manager.  Having a productive relationship with your manager is an instrumental part of career development, as they can provide a lot of opportunities to get experience and exposure to the business. 

Networking is useful.  I had a lot of connections from my time in Human Resources that helped when I moved to service.  I did not have to start from scratch, the connections were already there.  Relationships help you perform and achieve your objectives, about knowing the people you can get help and support from but also making sure you do this in return as well – remember we are a team!

What is your own approach to career development?
When I started out I did plan my career.  During my time at university I took courses aimed at a career in human resources, and wanted to go as far as I could in that career path.  Because of my experience in Canon, I am less concerned with always moving up the ladder and see the value in moving laterally.  Your monetary benefits and rewards might not increase as much, but your prospects for career development are greatly improved.

It comes down to recognizing what is right for you, not what the traditional view of career development is.  Both the individual and the organisation change over time, so being flexible is important.

Why have you stayed with Canon?
Canon has treated me as an individual with potential, not as just another number.  I’ve had support throughout my time in the company, and it’s fair to say that Canon has helped me achieve what I want to do.

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