Thinking beyond the ladder – How TomTom is giving its people more career options

Christian Lynn

Staff Writer

Aug 28, 2024 · 4 min read

How TomTom is giving its people more career options | TomTom Newsroom

The way we think about career progression is changing. People have tended to look up. Now, looks can go side-to-side, diagonally, or even inwards, reflecting on what could be changed about existing ways of working. TomTom wants to support all of that – to give TomTom’ers complete freedom and transparency in the way they can grow across their career.

TomTom’s answer to this is their career framework, a carefully orchestrated project that took a team of dedicated HR experts – Georgia Vlachou, Chiara Giusti, Francois Potel, Lukasz Twardowski and Joe Burton – time to research, develop and deliver. I spoke to Georgia and Francois, People Product Managers, about how this framework came about, what it entails and what it means for TomTom’ers going forward.

From the beginning...

The HR team started by speaking to both TomTom’ers and external interviewees about their experiences with career development. These conversations underlined some key issues: “The career ladder needs updating,” “it’s unclear what is expected of me,” as well as a need for “transparency and standardized processes.”Georgia, adds that “different teams have been using different methodologies, which resulted in an inconsistent experience and an inability for us to support people to develop in the best way possible.”

TomTom has already introduced new and exciting avenues through which TomTom'ers can grow in their careers: the Accelerated Leadership Program, for example, as well as TomTom's Sponsorship Program for women.

However, as Francois admits, there was a “clear, urgent need to address issues around role clarity, job titles and career opportunities." And so, the career framework was born.The team started with the foundations, built from three key ingredients:

A job architecture – this covers everything from the job titles to role expectations, and the layout of roles within a company, including how positions relate to one another across teams.
Competencies – these combine abilities, knowledge and attitudes demonstrated by a person’s behavior. This could be leadership, or the ability to work in a team: the things that make you who you are within a company.
Then there’s IT. Applications like Workday come to mind. Anything that helps bring a career framework to life, and makes career development accessible at all times.

While these terms may read jargon-y on screen, the interviews revealed how much they capture what people are looking for. One TomTom’er claimed that “People’s ambitions are more than their skills.” Another preferred to see development as “an experience increase,” adding that “It’s about feeling competent, and having the right knowledge and abilities.” And an outside source shared their frustrations: “We have no competency model. We have job descriptions, but not in terms of success factors.”

TomTom'er working on Macbook So, the evidence was there. A career framework can open hundreds of doors for TomTom’ers. Because it’s not just about a title on a sheet: it’s about growing as a person, sharpening your competencies, learning new ones and feeling capable of moving in any direction because of these positive changes.

As Georgia underlines, “We realized there was a gap that we needed to close.” And so, the team went to work.

Creating more transparency for TomTom'ers

The first action was to “establish higher levels of transparency,” as Georgia recalls. So, job roles and descriptions were updated across the company and are accessible to all. Now, TomTom’ers can check what a dream future role involves, and what competencies are needed for it, making the path to it even clearer.There was also a need to simplify the complex. So, all of this information is now stored in the same place on Workday. Not only can TomTom’ers view roles and descriptions, but they can ask for feedback from colleagues, finding out what they can do to maximize their impact, and where they can improve to increase their chances of reaching that dream target.Lastly, the emphasis on competencies was massive. By including these for every role, TomTom’ers can show what they’re all about, emphasizing their strengths in relationship-building, or their ability to negotiate, as examples. Being a TomTom’er is not a case of “what you can do” but is more a reflection of “who you are.”

But why? And what’s next?

Francois reminds us of what’s happening at the moment: “People no longer see their careers as a straight line, but a journey with various avenues to take. They can grow and learn, but also adapt and stay motivated as the possibilities are endless.”

TomTom'er working on PC monitor That’s not to say that TomTom’ers are being drawn away from simply moving up on the career ladder. If that’s the long-term ambition, the information is available to TomTom’ers to know what competencies they need. But as Georgia summarizes, “While the traditional vertical career progression is still the objective of many TomTom’ers, we have noticed the increasing importance of broadening the scope.”

TomTom’ers have already recognized the benefit of having “much-needed clarity to roles and the outlines of potential career paths,” says Francois. But this is just the start. Georgia highlights that “the real work starts now, to keep the career framework relevant for TomTom’ers, constantly releasing improved features if and when needed.” The first port of call? Seeing how the career framework can positively impact the entire TomTom’er journey, TomTom’ers see the path clearly from day one and feel able to reroute if they want to try something new within TomTom. Because careers are not just about applying for a job and then acting on it. A career is a summary of the entirety of you in the workplace, from your behavior to your competencies, the direction you are going in and where you want to go next.Don’t feel shoehorned into a particular role. See the potential ahead, and feel empowered to take a detour if you want to try something new. Everything is possible as a TomTom’er.

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