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Competency Management News-To-Use
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| The 7 Step Competency Model Process |
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The 7 Step Competency Model Development
Process
This week Avilar will release a new skills
dictionary, the Avilar Competency Model. In honor of this
release, Avilar's Director of Workforce Solutions Christine
Hipple shares several of her strategic steps each organization
should consider when developing an effective competency model.
There is no single way to develop a competency model
that will work in all situations. Every organization is unique
- and so are the goals of every competency management program.
There are, however, several strategic steps every organization
should consider in order to develop an effective company
model, says Hipple.
"At Avilar we believe that competency management is
at the heart of workforce optimization and can show fantastic
results when done well," says Hipple. "Unfortunately we hear
from a lot of people who have lost control of competency
management projects due to their complexity. We hear from
others who are too intimidated to even begin."
To help those professionals either interested in
starting a program or in need of getting theirs back on track,
Avilar consultants developed The 7 Step Competency Model
Development Process, which Hipple teaches at workshops around
the country.
Briefly, these steps include:
- Plan. A solid project plan is a requirement for
any project. It should include a statement of purpose,
success evaluation criteria, risk analysis, and a work
breakdown structure that clearly identifies task
accountability and project milestones.
- Communicate. Getting commitment and buy-in from
beginning to end is essential. Rumor and speculation
shouldn't be allowed to derail a project. A plan
communicating the benefits and expected outcomes in clear,
consistent messages to all stakeholders can alleviate
negative gossip.
- Research. There are a many ways to gather
potential competencies for a model and it's essential that
the model "fit" the unique attributes of the organization.
Key skills, knowledge, abilities and other characteristics
may be gathered internally from current jobholders and
supervisors through surveys, focus groups, observation or
interviews. Other organizations may start with a
commercially available model and customize from there.
- Draft. Developing a model is a creative process
and the typical organization goes through several iterations
before settling on content and structure. Typically,
organizations begin by developing an initial skills
dictionary which is further refined as role profiles are
developed.
- Test. Competency models must be validated to
ensure that the right competencies have been identified. A
pilot project or validation study can determine the
competencies most closely related to high performance and
eliminate those that are irrelevant.
- Launch. No matter what the project purpose -
employee selection, skills inventory, employee development,
career or succession planning - it's important to keep lines
of communication open, track progress carefully and ensure
accountability of all project team members.
- Evaluate. When the competency model has been used
to assess employees, the results of the assessment should be
analyzed to determine the appropriate actions. The model
itself should also be analyzed to identify what worked well
and what needs to be changed.
With a solid
competency model, sufficient resources, and contemporary
technology, Hipple says competency management can be leveraged
throughout the entire employment cycle. "People need to
understand the value of competency management and make it part
of their day-to-day organizational life," she says. "Workforce
optimization starts with a sound competency management
program. It is an essential element in staffing, learning,
pandemic planning, project team building, succession planning;
the list goes on."
Hipple says competency management projects require
significant effort, but that shouldn't deter people. "The
projects I've worked on either as an internal or external
consultant have been fun and very professionally rewarding for
all participants. They've also created valuable and lasting
workforce optimization results for the organizations
involved."
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| Competency Management and eLearning
Webinars |
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Complimentary Webinars by Avilar Consultants,
Directors and Developers
Webinar - Success Stories in eLearning
April 24th 2pm EST
Take a tour with Joe Jaynes,
Avilar's Director of Customer Operations, to several different
companies and see how they've leveraged their LMS to solve
unique training issues. From the healthcare training
organization that has served the needs of over 100,000
hospital employees to an industry association that has taken
their conference seminars online. There is no charge
associated with this event. Register
for this presentation.
Webinar - Competency Management Pitfalls: How to
Avoid Detours on the Road to Talent Management
April
26th 2pm EST
Due to the popularity of this webinar,
Avilar's Director of Workforce Solutions and twenty-year
competency management veteran Christine Hipple will present
the webinar done earlier this year. Hipple will discuss some
of the avoidable wrong turns and give over 25 tips to help you
stay the course in your competency management project. There
is no charge associated with this event. Register
for this presentation.
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| Industry News - Using Skills to Evaluate Training,
Using Skills to Close Generation Gap |
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Using Skill Assessments to Evaluate
Training
In this article by Training Magazine's Margery
Weinstein, the need for assessment after learning is evaluated
by organizations and consultancies. At Lockheed Martin in Fort
Worth, the senior manager of learning and development test
more than 8,000 engineers. First they derive the learning
objectives from job performance requirements, next they do a
skills assessment based on which skills were instructed. After
three to six months they assess whether the skills taught were
used and if they were effective.
For
the full article.
Identifying Skills May Help Close Gen X and Baby
Boomer Gap
Personnel Decisions International (PDI)
released a study which surveyed the competencies of almost
24,000 mid-level managers in 20 skill areas. The study, "The
PDI Pulse on Leaders" showed that each generation has
differing skill strengths. For example, baby comers are
stronger in "knowing the business" whereas Gen X managers are
stronger in self- development. To use this data to an
advantage, PDI says companies can "identify the skills crucial
to success and train members of the younger generation in
those areas in which they are weaker." Or, they can "prepare
new management structures and practices based on the Gen X
skills set."
For
the full article.
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