Software Engineering Management Framework

:person_in_tuxedo: Talent Acquisition

Although Talent Acquisition refers to a strategic long-term process of identifying, selecting and retaining highly qualified employees in most cases own by HR or the Talent Team, Engineering Management plays a critical role in the employee journey for discovering the right people.

To ensure that the candidates that align with both the role and the company are retained, the Engineering team is responsible on contributing to the hiring process with:

Hiring Justification Form – to kick-off the hiring scene for a candidate, a job requisition approval is required and this is the formal procedure to request a hire. The hiring justification usually comes in the form of a document describing:

  • Job Title
  • Department (if applicable)
  • Salary Band
  • Start Date (if known)
  • Line Manager
  • Direct Reports
  • New or Existing Position
  • Justification for the role

Having this information, the direct manager and the director or VP can formally approve the job request.

Job Specification – the job specification outlines the essential responsibilities and requirements for a vacant position and it comes in the form of a document often having the following headlines:

  • Job Title
  • About The Company
  • Job Summary
  • Responsibilities
  • Minimum Requirements

Interview Stages and Format – to give the candidates a clear understanding of the interview process, the engineering team should determine the right interview format for each role. Depending on the seniority of the role, the interview stages might differ in number and complexity. For example, for a Lead Software Engineer role, the interview process might include Leadership and Line Management stages. However, for a junior role, a much simpler process may suffice, involving a technical assessment and a take-home test. The interview stages can be documented using the following structure:

  • Stage Title
  • Description
  • Duration
  • Interviewers names and roles

:scroll: Job Description

This section outlines the job description documents that the department is hiring.

:mag_right: Candidate Discovery

:timer: Interview Process

Preparation

  • Know the role you are hiring for. Brush up on the skills needed, skills that can be developed, helpful prior experience, and behavioural expectations
  • Read the candidate’s CV. Make notes of what you’d like to know more about
  • Choose your questions from each area. Asking the same questions to everyone interviewing will help you compare answers
  • Decide whether you or your interview partner will take notes
  • Block out time in your diary to gather feedback and add to the candidate’s profile
  • Set up the right environment to interview (virtually or in person)
  • Think about some key selling points for the role. Why would someone want to be in your team?
  • Why would they want to work for the same company? We’re selling why us, as much as they’re selling their skills to us.

Introduction

  • Start by introducing yourself, the company, your team, and your department
  • Kick off the interview asking the motivational questions
  • Next move on to Behavioural (remember that you can always ask more in the second interview)
  • Then ask your technical questions that are role or skill-specific. Focus on transferrable skills at entry level
  • Finish by asking your candidate if they have any questions. Let them know that the recruitment team will be in touch to follow up

Scorecard

To ensure that we evaluate candidates in a fair, consistent manner and that interviewers rate each candidate using an objective measurement tool, the interviewers or the hiring managers should use a scorecard. An interview scorecard is a tool that interviewers use to score a candidate’s qualifications for a position.

:pen_fountain: Interview Feedback

Candidates can use the feedback to improve their performance in future interviews, and may even improve upon skills they lacked so they can re-apply for the same role in the future. Interview feedback is information about he candidate’s impact that helps them improve.

Practices to consider when giving feedback:

  • Write up the feedback as soon as the interview finishes. Don’t delay, as important aspects might be forgotten
  • Keep it professional, honest, kind, related to the role, with specific examples
  • To help the candidate understand the feedback and improve, make your feedback concise and actionable
  • Always include the positives, so they know what they did well, which also helps in boosting their confidence
  • Cover multiple areas when giving feedback
  • To give consistent and accurate feedback to all candidates, consider using a structured framework

:speaking_head: One to Ones

To build trust and psychological safety, and improve employee’s experiences, motivation, and engagement line managers should book time with their reports. These types of meetings involves discussing growth, performance, development and motivation and should reduce uncertainty by making both parties feel more connected to the rest of the team while clarifying intent.

The one to one meetings are the most important thing a line manager does and are not optional. They should have a regular cadence, scheduled either once a week or biweekly and only canceled for pressing circumstances. And if they have to be canceled, it’s a good practice to let the other person know why rather than simply removing it from the calendar.

The SORT Feedback Framework

SituationObservationReactionTogether
Wha happened? Describe the facts and observable behaviours.

e.g. “I noticed that …”,
“It appeared to me that you were”
What do you see? Describe the effect, the impact

e.g. “It affected me/us/them by …”
Describe how you feel as a result

e.g. “I feel …”,
“That made me feel like …”
Ask them what they (with your help) can do about it.

e.g. “How might change this i the future?”,
“How do you think we should go forward from here?”

The One to One Framework

DateNotesManager Actions
10/1/2024
???? Overall feeling
⚙️ Current initiatives / work
???????? Current challenges (work, people, conflicts)
???? Feedback
???? Other notes
24/1/2024???? Overall feeling
⚙️ Current initiatives / work
???????? Current challenges (work, people, conflicts)
????️ Feedback
???? Other notes

???? Learning and Development

:chart_with_upwards_trend: Performance Tracking

:clock1: Performance Review

:clock1: Performance Improvement Plan

:judge: Developer Progression Path

:money_with_wings: Promotions Management

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