UM Career Policy & Compass

These academic profiles - recognising the differences between faculties - clarify expectations for academic staff and serve as tools for career planning in consultation with their leadership. They are designed not as checklists but as aids for ongoing dialogue on professional growth, helping assessors and staff align on development goals. 

Key developments include: 

• The creation of the UM Career Compass, a guide for development dialogue aligned with the new academic profiles. 

   

• Development and promotion processes, such as annual appraisals, is being aligned with the Recognition & Rewards philosophy. 
• The release of the ‘Recognition & Rewards UM Career Development Policy 2023-2028,’ emphasises continuous feedback and development for all employees, with no distinction between academic and support staff.

In line with the academic profiles, the UM Career Compass has been developed: a format for the development interviews, replacing the existing toolkit for annual development talks. The compass was created to facilitate and support the dialogue on employee development. 

The development talk: 

• Focuses on the employee's work, behaviour and performance.  
• Is about finding a good balance between personal talents and ambitions and organisational needs and strategies. 

In March 2023, the policy memo ‘Recognition & Rewards UM Career Development Policy 2023-2028’ was released. In line with the Recognition & Rewards philosophy, we focus on continuous development and feedback for all UM employees, with no distinction between academic and support staff. A successful career-development policy asks for customisation. The policy memo sets out the framework and goals, on theme such as stimulating internal mobility, traineeships, revision of the CAO Selection Model, transparency of career paths and investment in professional development activities. It is up to the faculties and service centres to implement the policy according to their own needs and wishes.