ROLE ADVICE PROCESS (RAP)

Practice stewards: Kelsey DeGraaf, Edwin Jansen, Ted Clarke

Ideally, we all want our work to be in the “center of the Venn” diagram of:

  • What you are good at
  • What you love doing
  • What is beneficial to the business 

 

The Role Advice Process (RAP) was created for those times when you’re curious about how a role change could increase your impact, engagement, or meaningful work. Your goal with the RAP is to find your way to the center of this Venn diagram.                                  

In doing a RAP, you’ll look for ways to change your responsibilities, team alignment, or behaviour. Whether there is a specific business opportunity that you want to address, or if you are uncertain as to what kind of shift you are looking to make, this practice is designed to help you engage in self-reflection, seek valuable advice, and then make a comprehensive proposal.

Please note that although this is called an ”advice process” it is technically a ”consent process”, as your proposal will require the ”thumbs-up” consent of your advisors before you can implement the role change. This is because everyone’s roles are interdependent with others and should always be aligned with what your key stakeholders can live with.

DOWNLOAD THE PDF HERE

Required steps of the RAP:

  1. Choose a Peer Mentor (PM)
  2. Announce your RAP
  3. Write & Post Your Self Assessment
  4. Gather Advice
  5. Make a proposal & Get Consent
  6. Share Your Decision & Take Action

Bonus Material: FAQs on the RAP 

Detailed steps:

Team Change RAP Options:

This does not need to be a long & extensive process! This can be completed in a day or two if this is a simple move, and all parties are on board. If you feel like this is the right route for you to take, please speak to one of the designated RAP Peer Mentors: Sagar Chatterjee, Haroon Alvi, Edwin Jansen, Kelsey DeGraaf, Ted Clarke.

If there needs to be more discussions, such as exploratory team changes, team fit discussions or performance and financial considerations needing to be made, proceed with the full process. In this, you may select any of the Peer Mentors listed: https://inside.raiserecruiting.com/peer-mentors/

1. Choose a peer mentor (PM)

The role of the Peer Mentor (PM) is to provide guidance and encouragement through your process. They will help you choose advisors, process the advice you get, and help with the writing of both your self-assessment, and your proposal. You should choose someone who knows the steps, and ideally has done a RAP themselves or has been a PM before. Look for someone you trust to be insightful, candid, and supportive. It’s ideal if your PM is not also an advisor, since then they can provide more objective guidance. If they are an advisor as well, remember to separate their RAP process and practice advice, from their role and proposal advice.

How to Engage with your Peer Mentor (PM)

  1. Ask and get agreement for someone to be your PM. Make sure they know what they’re agreeing to, which is to work with you through each of the six steps, give you guidance and advice on the process, and proactively make sure that you’re set up for success.
  2. Have an initial conversation about what type of RAP you’re doing, how you’re feeling about it, how you’re going to tackle your self-assessment, and what advisors you’re thinking of asking.
  3. Work together on the self-assessment and announcement. You might want to write a first draft and then send it to them for feedback. It’s totally ok if they help you craft and refine the writing.
  4. If you anticipate a tricky advisor, prepare for the conversation together. If you get difficult advice, debrief the conversation, and discuss how to incorporate it into your proposal.
  5. Debrief all your advice and discuss your plan for the proposal before you start crafting it. Before posting your proposal get advice from your peer mentor, who will help you anticipate reactions.

2. Announce your RAP

First, ask 3-7 of your closest co-workers (and those who have advice you’re looking for) to be advisors for your RAP. The RAP can take a lot of your time, so you may also want to ask for help in re-allocating your workload during the process.

Then announce your RAP in a MS Teams channel ‘All Company – Announcements’ so that you are working out loud and getting as much exposure to advice and opportunities as possible. Posting to All Company will also help people know that you are changing your role and will help your exposure and connections with others.

In your announcement, include the following information:

  • A high-level description of why you are doing a RAP, including your current job title and CCT.
  •  Your chosen advisors and an invitation to any co-worker who wishes to be an advisor. 
  • Example “I’m doing a RAP. I’m currently part of the ABC CCT as a JOB TITLE. My advisors are X Y Z. If you have material advice for me, please let me know and I’ll include you. I’d like to have everything finalized by DATE.” 
  • The date you plan to finish your RAP (recommended not more than a month from your announcement). 
  • Create an invite only loomio thread, inviting only chosen advisors and anyone who indicated they have material advice. 

Here’s a sample announcement:

Hi team,

I’m doing a RAP. I’ve been thinking that I’m ready for a new challenge and so I’d like to investigate what’s out there for me. My chosen advisors are Isabella, Mo, and Mia If you have material advice for me, please let me know and I’ll include you.”

Mo and Mia will be helping cover some of my duties during my RAP process. My deadline to make a decision is May 30th.

3. Write & Post Your Self Assessment

Writing a thorough self-assessment for your advisors is helpful for getting quality advice, and it will also help you gain clarity. You can structure your self-assessment however you’d like, and here are links to self-assessment questions you can use for each of the three types of RAPs:

  • Role Change RAP: for when you will likely make a change to your role.
  • Team Change RAP: for when you will likely change your team, but not your role.
  • Feedback RAP: for when you primarily want feedback on how you’re doing your role.

Once you’ve written the first draft of your self-assessment, please send it to your peer mentor for feedback and advice. It’s their job to help you post a self-assessment that will maximize your RAP experience.

Role Change RAP Self-Assessment Questions:

Current State:

  • Why am I doing this advice process? What steps led to this?
  • What contribution am I currently making to the team? What does success look like in my current role? What’s working well? What could be better?
  • What can I share in relation to the meaningful work Venn diagram:
    • What am I good at? (strengths, skills, knowledge, experience, competencies)
    • What do I love to do? (passion, purpose, play, engagement, learning)
    • What could the business need from me? (requests for my help, business needs, problems, opportunities, or inklings that I have noticed, potential impact I’m interested in making)
  • What questions do I have for my advisors about my current role?

Future State:

  • Could I increase my impact by shifting or changing my role? In what ways specifically?
  • Does the role currently exist, or am I looking to create a new role? What would success look like in this new role?
  • How do I feel about this potential change? What am I worried about? Excited about?
  • What questions do I have for my advisors about my future role? What do I want to explore or know? (Note: they can be specific questions for specific people)

Team Change RAP Self-Assessment Questions:

  • Why am I doing this advice process? What steps led to this?
  • What is the other team I am considering, and how would this change get me closer to the center of the Venn diagram? (What I: Love to Do, Are Good At, Impacting the Business)
  • On my current team, what do I think would be difficult to replace? How could I help the team to fill that gap? What questions or advice do I have for my current team about how to best transition?
  • What questions do I have for my advisors about my future role? What do I want to explore or know? (Note: they can be specific questions for specific people)
  • How do I feel about this potential change? What am I worried about? Excited about?

Feedback RAP Self-Assessment Questions:

  • Why am I doing this advice process?
  • Am I asking for Keep, Stop, Start (KSS) feedback, or custom questions to solicit feedback?
  • What am I most curious to hear about? Do I have any specific questions to ask my advisors?
  • What am I afraid of hearing? How will I promise to respond to that with TIR? How could I be vulnerable and provide advice on how to give me difficult feedback? (Note: your self-assessment can help make it safe for both parties).

If you’re doing a KSS you can include these instructions for your advisors:

What’s Involved in Keep, Stop, Start (KSS)

Please think about and make notes on anything that you’d like me to:

“Keep” doing – because you think it’s valuable.

“Start” doing – that I’m not doing enough of today.

“Stop” doing – because it’s not valuable, or maybe even having a negative impact.

“Stops” are the hardest ones to say and often the most valuable. I promise to receive this feedback with genuine appreciation and inquisitiveness.

After we discuss your KSS feedback for me, please just put your bulleted notes into Loomio. Then I’ll have a record of all the gifts of feedback I’ve received, and can use the notes to make my proposal.

4. Gather Advice

The next step is to create a new thread in Loomio for your RAP (instructions here), post your self-assessment, and start gathering advice via 1:1 meetings, and advice tracking in Loomio.

Tips for Advice Gathering

  • Book a 30-60 minute meeting with your advisors, at least 2-3 days after you have posted your self-assessment to give them time to prepare.
  • If you have specific questions for a specific advisor, email them beforehand. You’ll get more valuable advice if you tell your advisors what you’re looking for.
  • It may be helpful to start with those who likely have the most contrarian advice, to fish out some things that your other advisors can respond afterwards.
  • At the beginning of the meeting, ask your advisor if they have notes and will post them to Loomio, or if they want you to record the notes and send to them for posting on Loomio.
  • Respond to every piece of advice, opinion, or feedback with TIR (thank you, inquire, repeat/record), and nothing else. Seek to understand and receive, not to defend, deflect, or argue.
  • If you receive challenging feedback, or need help processing the information, talk to your peer mentor. Also, if you need to go back to your advisor(s) for clarity, or to dig into things a bit deeper, that’s okay!
  • Remember that it is part of your freedom and responsibility through the Teal OS to make the decision that you believe is best for you, your co-workers, and the company. Your advisors and peer mentor are there to provide perspective and guidance on this.

If You Receive Difficult Advice

It can certainly be hard to hear feedback, get criticism, or receive contradictory advice. Or maybe someone who isn’t close to the action, or seems to you to be poorly informed about what you do, “strongly advises” something. If you have trouble processing the advice, it’s valuable to lean on your peer mentor. If you are worried about going into an advice session, either your peer mentor or a Facilitator can also be present to make sure the space is safe, and the conversation is healthy.

Loomio Posting Instructions

In Loomio, click on the “New Thread +” post option in the top left to start your own ‘invite-only’ RAP thread.

In the new window that comes up, fill out the necessary details of your RAP. Entitle your new thread “PERSONS ROLE ADVICE PROCESS”. Enter the email addresses of the people you want to participate in your RAP and put in the context of your RAP. Then click “Start Tread” to create the thread and send out the notifications. Post your self-assessment in the “content”.

**If you would like to wait to add your invitees to the thread, you can skip this part until after the thread is created, at which time you can go into the “members” tab in the thread to invite participants.

5. Make a proposal & Get Consent

It’s time to review your self-assessment and the advice in your Loomio thread. All things considered, what is your proposal for change?

Things to Keep in Mind

  • Your goal is to make a proposal that gets you closer to the center of your Venn diagram, which balances: what you’re good at, what you love doing, and what is most beneficial for the business.
  • You may receive feedback and advice that is contradictory, or that you don’t agree with. That’s ok, and quite common. You don’t have to follow everyone’s advice, but you should provide your reasoning when you don’t.
  • You’re not looking for everyone’s agreement on your proposal. You just need your advisors’ consent, which means that they can live with your proposal, and don’t have a major objection.
  • This is your RAP, as such, it is part of your freedom and responsibility through the TEAL OS to balance all interests and make a proposal that you believe is best for you, your co-workers, and the company.

These questions are meant to help you with the crafting of your proposal, depending on the type of RAP you have done. Ask your peer mentor to review your proposal before you post it.

Role Change RAP (please address each question in your proposal)

  • How are you proposing to change your role or accountabilities?
  • What is the purpose of the new role? To [do what], so that [certain impact is made]?
  • What are the specific responsibilities for your new role? (bullets please)
  • What are the specific success measures and/or accountabilities for your new role? (bullets please)
  • Is there is confirmed budget/headcount for the role you would be entering?
  • What is your proposed timing and transition plan for your current responsibilities?
  • Are you helping to hire, select, or train your backfill?


Team Change RAP (please address each question in your proposal)

  • What team are you proposing to join? When? How did you get their consent?
  • Are you proposing any change to your role or accountabilities?
  • What are the specific responsibilities and success measures for your new role?
  • What is your proposed timing and transition plan for your current responsibilities?
  • What are committing to do to help propose, select, or train your backfill?
  • Is there anything you’re still unsure of, or worried about?


Feedback RAP (optional guiding questions)

  • What did you learn about what people most value about you? Where do your strengths intersect with their needs? Is there a theme?
  • Is there a clear behaviour change or new skill that would most unlock your potential? How are you going to work on that and be accountable for it?
  • All feedback considered, what are you committing to Keep, Stop, Start?
  • What help would you like with that? How can your advisors support you?
  • How do you want to be held accountable? By who and how?

When you’re ready, go back into your Loomio thread and create a “Proposal” using the decision tools on the top right of the page. Title it “[YOUR NAME’S] RAP PROPOSAL”, write your proposal under details, give a deadline (two business days is typical), and tag all of your advisors.

Advisors can now respond in two ways:

They can ask clarifying questions and/or give reactions in the comments

They should use the collective agreement buttons as follows:REspond

Agree = I agree or can live with it

Abstain = I don’t know enough or am not impacted

Object = I cannot live with this and I’m willing to help your proposal V2 

What happens if someone objects?

An objection just means that there is more work to be done. It is the responsibility of the person who objects to work with you to find a proposal that you both can live with. First talk to your peer mentor to get some advice and guidance, as this can also be a tricky or emotional thing to process. Then talk to the person who objected to search for proposals that you can both live with. If you and the person who objected can’t create a new proposal that works, please seek the help of a trained facilitator who will help you get to a resolution.

6. Share Your Decision & Take Action

Once you reach consent on your proposal, it’s time to make your final decision in Loomio. Click on “close proposal” and then fill  out the new window “Enter an Outcome” to post your final decision details.

Once that’s done, it’s time to take action to implement your new role by making the appropriate announcements, executing transition plans, etc.

Example “I’ve finalized my RAP. I’ll be moving from this ROLE/TEAM to this ROLE/TEAM on XYZ DATE. The following people will cover the role that I am exiting …, and I will be training with …. to learn my new role”

Any decision that involves significant change in responsibility or salary, or a termination of employment, should be documented at least in BambooHR, and written notice of any decrease  

in responsibility or salary, or any termination of employment, will be provided by the company via its HR representatives.

Email a PDF of your Loomio to your HR rep. The easiest way to create the PDF: print the document and instead of sending to printer, chose to save as PDF.

FAQs on the RAP

If you’re wondering whether you should do a RAP, then you might already have your answer! If your work is not currently aligned with all three circles of the Venn diagram (what you’re good at, love doing, what the business needs), then doing a RAP is the best way to address that.

The RAP is the default for any role or team change. If you haven’t changed your role, we see great value in doing a “Feedback RAP”, like the Keep, Stop, Start exercise, at least every two years. If you’re not regularly asking for specific feedback from people, you’re probably not receiving these gifts.

If you have any RAP questions, contact a trained Facilitator, experienced RAP-per, or peer mentor. Some people also find it helpful to speak with potential advisors informally before their RAP, to get some idea of what opportunities, advice, and feedback is out there for them.

Good advisors are those who can help you clarify what you’re good at, love doing, and especially, what might be beneficial to the business. Choose advisors that will both challenge and support you. People who have a different bias from you and/or who sees things differently could be your most helpful advisors.

Sometimes critical feedback, feedback that wasn’t delivered well, or feedback that you weren’t expecting, can be hard to process. But this is still a gift – it’s just trickier to unwrap and appreciate! That sounds a like a job for your peer mentor. Reach out to them and tell them how the feedback made you feel, and try to separate the “facts” of the feedback, from the feelings that you have about it, or the assumptions or “story” you are telling yourself about why the person said what they said. Make a plan to resolve this with the other person, so that it’s not still alive in you – if it’s still something you’re bothered with or thinking about, then you shouldn’t “Let it Rest”.

Yes, that’s what the Team Change RAP is for. Don’t worry it’s not as much work as the Role Change RAP. Click here to see the questions for your self-assessment. If you’re only considering a temporary team change, like helping out with a volume hiring project, then you do not need to do a Team Change RAP.

If you see a role that you are interested in, you should speak with the people who did the hiring consent process to learn about the role, and what their hiring process will look like. If you’re interested in the role you would follow their hiring process and get agreement from them that you’re wanted in that role. So first you would get hired into the new role, then you would do a RAP to get advice from your current co-workers to solidify the transition and/or backfill plan.

No worries! If you’ve decided that you won’t make a proposal, just go back to your announcement and tell everyone what happened, and that your RAP is either on-hold (if you plan to pick it up again) or cancelled.