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What is job shadowing?

Job shadowing is a short ‘placement’ where you spend time with, and observe the work of, another member of staff. It is an opportunity to gain insight into a specific role, or a particular area of work in another department. It can also be an opportunity to work alongside more experienced colleagues (including colleagues within your own department) so that you can learn and develop within your current role.

Our job shadowing placement scheme is available to all Professional Services and Technical Staff who have successfully completed their probation and/or have been employed by the University for a minimum of 12 months. Nominees must have also been performing satisfactorily in their substantive role.

Benefits

• Offers insights into the roles and responsibilities of other members of staff and departments, improves the effectiveness of inter-departmental communication, and encourages collaboration. 
• Enables you to take ownership of your own self-development – widening your experience and skillset. It also provides opportunities for the host to develop their own coaching  and mentoring skills.
• Provides opportunities for you to ‘test out’ possible career options.
• Provides excellent networking opportunities, bringing people together who might not normally have contact. 

Duration

Typically a job shadowing placement will range from one morning session to two/three days. In exceptional circumstances, this may be extended. The length of the placement will be influenced by the type of job shadowing arrangement agreed and how long will be needed in order for the learning objectives to be met. For example, an observation job shadowing may take place in one day. Whereas a job trial placement may take place for a few hours over a 4–6 week period. It is important that the schedule for the placement is agreed by both parties before the job shadowing arrangement begins.

The different types of job shadowing

There are three main different types of job shadowing:

Observation

As a guest you will spend an agreed period of time observing the day-to-day work of the host, gaining a deeper understanding as to what they do on a daily basis. For example, attending meetings or observing interactions with students and other staff teams. This type of job shadowing provides an opportunity to gain a real insight and understanding of a host’s job role. It is ideal for those who would like to see how they could develop or improve their working processes with another department or for someone considering a career change who wants to see what the role actually consists of.

At the end of the experience, the host will provide an opportunity for debriefing to ensure that both parties benefit from the shadowing experience. When deciding which particular job shadowing opportunity would be most suitable, the guest should take into consideration that observation is a passive interaction and limited to improving knowledge and awareness. There is little opportunity for you to learn or develop any particular skills.

Regular focused activity

This involves shadowing the host for specific activities over a period of time. This should be preceded by a mini briefing and a thorough de-brief at the end. This type of shadowing provides short periods of focused activity rather than passive ongoing observation. It provides a real targeted focus on the guest’s learning objectives. However, it needs careful timing and planning if it is not to become disruptive and time consuming for the host and relies on setting realistic learning objectives.

Hands on - Job trial

This is an extension of the observation model, where the guest undertakes tasks for the host which they have earlier observed. It provides you with hands-on experience in the role whilst under the supervision of the host.

This type of job shadowing provides first-hand experience of the role, together with a meaningful task to undertake whilst under the supervision of the host. It is a more involved processes for both parties requiring detailed explanation, discussion and interaction. This type of job shadowing might not always be possible, as it can be time consuming for the host, and needs to be discussed and agreed between the host and the guest.

Applying for a job shadowing placement

If you are interested in undertaking a job shadowing arrangement, you should discuss this with your line manager. It’s helpful to think about the following to aid that discussion:

• why you would like to participate and what you hope to get out of the experience
• The type of job shadowing that would be most appropriate to achieve your objectives.
• The period of time and type of activity to be shadowed.
• Relevance of the shadowing on your current and/or future role/s.
• Consideration of any staffing issues that may arise as a result of the shadowing arrangement.
• How the knowledge/experience gained will be cascaded and shared with your team/department
• If there is someone you have in mind that you would like to job shadow.

You should then complete an application form; your line manager will then support you to identify a suitable contact within the division/school for you to discuss a job shadowing opportunity.

It should be noted that whilst every effort will be made to find a suitable match they cannot always guarantee to do so. Once agreed, it is the responsibility of the guest to make arrangements for the job shadowing to take place and agree to the code of practice.

At the end of the placement, all parties will complete an evaluation no more than two weeks after the visit. You should then arrange to meet with the host to evaluate the job shadowing experience. A copy of the evaluation form should be sent to Organisational Development od@sussex.ac.uk. Following this, you should meet with your line manager for further discussion as part of your ongoing performance management cycle.

The Job Shadowing Guidelines have more information.

Code of practice

All parties must agree to the code of practice and will be required to confirm their commitment on the application form. The code of practice comprises of five key principles:

Mutuality

Job shadowing is for the mutual benefit of both the guest and the host.

Trust and openness

Job shadowing relies on the sharing of personal knowledge and experience and therefore relies on a degree of trust and openness which will be reciprocated by all those participating.

Confidentiality

Organisational knowledge and information gained during the job shadowing arrangement which is deemed to be confidential will remain confidential between the parties.

Partnership

The job shadowing scheme is aimed at creating and developing partnerships between Schools, Departments and Divisions. Those parties participating in the scheme will be acting as ambassadors and will agree to the continuous development of partnerships throughout the University.

Engagement

All staff participating will agree to adhere to the guidelines of the ÑÇÖÞÇéÉ«’s job shadowing scheme.