Personal Development Review - A statement of commitment from Professor Sue Ziebland

WHY DO YOU THINK PDRS ARE IMPORTANT?

PDRs are an opportunity to think together about wider aspects of development and ambitions beyond day to day tasks/ delivery of a specific project. PDRs also provide an opportunity to use mentorship/coaching approaches to agree the steps towards an ambition - whether this is promotion, becoming a lead investigator, changing streams to a teaching post, writing a book, running a course, reducing working hours or even building up to retirement. A good PDR can give some latitude for a line manger to get to know their colleague better - I have sometimes been surprised to discover that someone has compelling interests outside work, or that someone who I thought wanted a research career actually wanted to teach.

WHAT BENEFITS HAS IT OFFERED TO YOU?

PDRs allow the space for different sorts of discussions. When they have worked well for me they have been a bit like coaching sessions where I've been encouraged to think about what matters to me and what I enjoy as well as what I am OK at doing. I value another opinion (and queries) about what I want to achieve and the steps needed to get there. It's probably also fair to say that as a group lead you tend to get by without frequent pats on the back, so a PDR can be a welcome opportunity to hear that you're doing quite well.

HOW DO YOU BELIEVE IT WILL BENEFIT MEMBERS OF YOUR GROUP?

• Taking time to think about career options and preferences, including for mentorship
• Reinforcing praise and constructive feedback
• Identifying training opportunities or conferences/ courses to attend
• Setting goals that matter, especially in relation to promotion

For further details and resources on PDRs visit: https://www.phc.ox.ac.uk/intranet/hr-and-personal-development/personal-development-review