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Juniper Networks’ CTO On Combating The IT Talent Shortage And Creating A Diverse Pipeline Through Mentorship
Gina Narcisi
‘I have always argued for this whenever I have to review somebody’s promotion to vice president. I always ask, who have they mentored? I use it in the evaluation of a person [because] they should be paying it forward,’ Juniper Networks’ Chief Technology Officer Raj Yavatkar tells CRN.
What’s your advice to channel companies that want to launch career development programs for their employees?
The first thing is, every manager and leader should be required to spend some time being a mentor. That should be one of the characteristics we expect. And then to start the program, you can start small. You can use the career template, which I’ve used at four companies now. It’s a great way to create structure and retain talent. But that’s where we start — it doesn’t have to be formal HR program. You can make it formal in the HR program later. I have always argued for this whenever I have to review somebody’s promotion to vice president. I always ask, who have they mentored? I use it in the evaluation of a person [because] they should be paying it forward.
[Mentorship] and creating a diverse pipeline — I do believe that every company, every manager, every leader, should consider these things that can give you a competitive advantage. Especially in today’s world.
