Tapping into the Knowledge Network

The SEED Program is a Showcase for Nurturing and Developing
Top Engineering Talent

Feb. 18, 2004 - Sun engineers are renowned for their near-obsessive devotion to advancing the power and capabilities of the network. Now there is a program that is equally dedicated to helping engineers advance their careers and job satisfaction by harnessing the power of the "other" network--the network of ideas, knowledge, and human experience available through mentoring.

The Sun Engineering Enrichment and Development (SEED) program pairs up promising new college recruits as well as established employees with senior staff at Sun--including Distinguished Engineers, VPs, Fellows, and Directors--who have volunteered to be mentors. During the mentoring period (one year for Recent College Hires, six months for Established Staff), participants meet one-on-one with their mentors on a regular basis, attend monthly group meetings for all SEED participants, and participate in other SEED events, activities, and informational meetings. To promote better understanding of realworld customer issues, Recent College Hire participants also spend a minimum of ten days at a customer site or working directly with customers.

SEED participants may focus on technical mentoring or specific engineering skills. More often, the program gives mentees a chance to learn more about "soft skills", ranging from how to improve teamwork skills to navigating the complex maze of office politics. "One of my mentees was going to meet her director for the first time and she was very worried about it", said Lisa Pavey, Director of Networking Technology and Sun Labs Europe, a SEED mentor since 2001. "We did some role playing. It's very much about helping them get the best out of where they are."

"We help develop, enrich, and broaden the experience and understanding of senior engineering staff and recent college hires with the goal of making both the mentee and the mentor more valuable to Sun and more satisfied with their careers at Sun", said Katy Dickinson, Sun Sigma Master Black Belt and Process Architect, CTO and Sun Labs. Ms. Dickinson worked with Sun Human Resources in developing and launching SEED as an Engineering Best of the Best (BOB) program in 2001, and she manages the SEED program today. There is also a strong emphasis on reaching out to traditionally marginalized groups and attempting to ensure diverse participation across geographies, genders, and professional areas. Sun's CTO, Dr. Greg Papadopoulos, is the SEED program's executive sponsor.

In all, 200 Sun employees have now participated in the program as mentees, and more than 130 as mentors.

The Results Are In

The results of the program to date are nothing short of remarkable. In the three terms that have been completed so far:

• Many more SEED participants have been promoted than the company average. This trend has continued even in the year after participation.
• About double the number of participants earn Sun's highest performance rating (Superior) than the company average.
• More than one third of the mentors overall have served more than one term. In the last two terms, half of the SEED mentors have mentored for the program before. Several former SEED mentors have recently joined the program as participants.
• SEED includes participants from all Sun engineering professional focus areas and during most terms all of Sun's engineering business units have had participants accepted.
• About a quarter of all participants are women, which is a higher percentage than the pipeline of women graduates with engineering degrees.

According to Ms. Dickinson, constant feedback and progress measurement is absolutely critical to the SEED program's success. All participants, managers, and mentors provide a quarterly report summarizing their participation, their level of satisfaction, suggestions, and professional development activities. The diversity of participants (in terms of professional area, geographic location, and demographics) is also tracked to ensure that the program is effectively reaching out to all potential constituents.

"The SEED program is unique in two ways", said Ms. Dickinson. "How effective it is for the participants, their managers, their mentors, and the company; and how efficient and low-cost SEED is to run." In fact, because of its combination of high effectiveness and low cost, SEED has grown and evolved during an economically challenging period for the company.

It's a fair question to ask who learns more in a mentoring experience the mentor or the mentee. One Sun Distinguished Engineer and mentor had this to say about his experience in the SEED program: "In the two times I've participated as a mentor I've gotten at least as much out of the experience as the mentee. This is a very worthwhile program that I've been pleased to be able to participate in." Another SEED mentor, a Fellow-Vice President who has served in two SEED terms, wrote in his first e-mail to his new mentoring partner, "I look forward to our mentor-mentee relationship. This will be a good experience for both of us. I will learn some and you will learn some; it is up to us to make the most out of it."

Building Knowledge, Perspective... and Loyalty

In an era when recruiting and retaining top-caliber engineering talent can be a difficult proposition, programs such as SEED can provide a tremendous advantage for companies as well as individuals. "Sun has built its reputation on innovation and technical excellence", said Ms. Dickinson. "The SEED program helps Sun build on that reputation by fostering a culture of learning among talented engineering professionals. Participants gain knowledge, perspective, and confidence, and that can translate not only to more insight and innovation but also to greater loyalty to the company."

The SEED program is a featured case study in Bit by Bit: Catalyst's Guide to Advancing Women in High Tech Companies, now available for sale on the Catalyst Web site. In addition, a snapshot of Sun's iWork program is in the "Make Work/Life Effectiveness Work" section of Catalyst's publication. To learn more about the SEED program, please see http://www.sun.com/corp_emp/zone/special.html