Overview of Competencies & Benefits and Uses of a Competency-Based System

July 10, 2008

Patrick ShannonSherry Deng

2

What are Competencies?

What superior performers do more often, more completely and consistently

Observable behaviors that “make a difference”

The “how” side of performance

Definition

COMPETENCIES

BEHAVIORS(actions)

OUTPUTS

ORGANIZATION RESULTS

3

Skills, knowledge, behaviors and other characteristics that are important for:

• Organizational success• Personal performance• Enhanced contribution

Sends the message that “how” matters as much as “what”

Defining Competencies

Visible

Hidden

Skills

Knowledge

Values

Self-Image

Traits

Motives

4

General Behavioral CompetenciesGeneral Behavioral Competencies

Behaviors critical to individual and group performance

Example: Relationship Building – Builds and maintains a wide variety of positive relationships, both formal and informal to meet the needs of external and internal customers

Technical CompetenciesTechnical Competencies

Demonstrated knowledge in a technical or professional area

May or may not require ongoing, continual adaptation, retraining, upgrading or new learning

Example: Knowledge of Employment Law – Demonstrates knowledge of employment law by accurately applying legal guidelines when hiring employees

Types of Competencies

Our Focus:

General Behavioral Competencies for

LEADERS

5

Competencies Provide Prescriptive Language That Can Clarify and Integrate HR Programs

“…all that separates you from your competitors are the skills, knowledge, commitment, and abilities of the people who work for you…

Companies that manage people right will outperform companies that don’t by 30% to 40%… If you don’t believe me, look at the numbers.”

Fast Company “Danger: Toxic Company”

Jeffrey Pfeffer, Stanford University

New hire orientation

Training & development

Compensation & rewards

Recruiting & selection

Assessment

Careerroadmaps

Performancemanagement

Successionplanning

Business process

CompetencyFramework

Uses of a Competency Model

6

Preliminary Guiding Principles for the State of California Leadership Competency Model

Competency Model Development Principles

1. The competency model should be aligned with the State’s objectives and culture, and support the HR Modernization project

2. The competency model should be developed from current research and validated by internal subject matter experts

3. The competency model should lend itself to multiple HR programs including workforce planning, performance management, and training

4. The competency model should be clear and compelling, and easy to communicate

Built and validated with

input from State of CA

Leaders

Aligned with State of CA’s

strategies, culture and

modernization efforts

Integrated into HR processes

State of California Leadership Model

7

GENERIC SAMPLE

1. Competency name and definition

2. Key concepts or dimensions3. Descriptions of sample behavioral indicators at three stages or levels

Competencies Should be Prescriptive and Define the Expected Level of Proficiency

1. Leading ChangeDefinition: Includes facilitating and communicating change across the organization, and overcoming resistance.

Key Concepts ► Facilitates change Communicates change Overcomes resistance

Sample Indicators ▼ Sample Indicators ▼ Sample Indicators ▼

DevelopingStill developing; may show proficiency in

some areas

Performs own work in a way that is consistent with the culture change

Promotes an “I can” culture to various audiences

Identifies and effectively works through resistance to change

ProficientFully proficient without

additional coaching

Translates organization’s new direction into specific steps that enable others to implement change

Tailors culture change messages to win over key stakeholders

Anticipates barriers and resistance to change and achieves successful resolution

ExpertSeen as role model;

teaches others

Actively oversees and champions the new culture change priorities across organization

Creates/delivers a clear and compelling vision to focus key internal/external stakeholders on priorities

Directly confronts significant challenges and leads efforts to convert resistance into strong support

Key Uses and Benefits of a Competency-Based System

9

Drivers for Introducing the Use of Competencies

Sets Clear Expectations

Provides employees with clear direction on how they can contribute

Reinforces behaviors that are consistent with the organization’s mission, culture and priorities

Identifies Training and Development Actions

Provides employees with a roadmap for building strengths and closing development gaps

Ties to career growth and becoming a “learning organization”

Integrates HR Programs

Improves consistency in recruiting and selection, training, performance management and workforce/succession planning

Streamlines and simplifies HR operations

10

GENERIC SAMPLE

Uses of a Competency Model: Example #1Development Actions

Building Negotiation Skills: Development Actions

On the job Prepare for negotiations by conducting a mock/role play session; practice listening and probing skills

Shadow senior colleagues as they prepare for critical negotiating sessions

Debrief after negotiating session; give/accept honest feedback and apply key learnings

Practice identifying and adapting to a range of specific provider negotiating styles; seek input from colleagues on “best practices”

Coaching/ mentoring

“Sit in” (or listen in) with senior colleagues in negotiation meetings; summarize observations and implications for how to improve personal negotiating style

Engage a partner to provide feedback on maintaining composure under pressure

Seek feedback from your manager on how to handle a challenging employee issue (e.g., strong performer who does not collaborate well); take action and follow up

Formal training

Take a negotiation skills course

Take a sales training course (e.g., listening skills, reading body language, asking effective questions, persuasiveness, closing skills)

Training & Development

11

Uses of a Competency Model: Example #2Career Development Maps

GENERIC SAMPLE

Career Roadmaps

Competencies can help define and communicate career opportunities – both lateral and vertical moves

12

GENERIC SAMPLE

Uses of a Competency Model: Example #3 Performance Management Tools

3. Competencies and Values (How was it accomplished?) Planning (Dec/Jan): Discuss how the values and competencies apply to the employee’s position, including the relative importance of each.

A. Competencies Rating (see scale below)

(SE, EE, ME, NI or NM)

Technical Competence – Demonstrates breath and depth of technical skills and capabilities required for position; shares technical knowledge; sets or contributes to company direction within area of technical expertise.

Customer Focus – Provides high quality, proactive service to external and internal customers; seeks feedback and is committed to increase customer satisfaction; builds long-term relationships.

Delivering on Commitments – Meets and strives to exceed all commitments and safety requirements; accepts full accountability; overcomes obstacles; stays focused under pressure; conveys a sense of urgency.

Creating Value – Meets and strives to exceed performance metrics; facilitates and implements value-added changes; challenges the status quo to stimulate innovation.

Managing People and/or Projects – Manages collaboratively and coaches others to achieve optimal performance; delegates effectively; praises/rewards contributions; defines clear roles and responsibilities; sets goals and leads initiatives; adjusts plans as necessary.

Employee Year End Comments on Competencies (Optional)

Manager’s Year End Comments on Competencies (Optional; examples required for SE, NI or NM ratings)

Does Not Meet Minimum

Expectations (NM) Needs

Improvement (NI)

Meets Expectations (Strong Performance)

(ME) Exceeds

Expectations (EE) Significantly Exceeds

Expectations (SE) Year-End

Competency Ratings

. Rarely demonstrates expected behaviors

Usually demonstrates expected behaviors

Consistently demonstrates expected behaviors

Often exceeds expected behaviors

Always exceeds expected behaviors

Performance Management

Many organizations include competencies in their performance management programs to assess “how” employees are performing in their jobs

13

GENERIC SAMPLE

Uses of a Competency Model: Example #4Selection – Structured Interview Guides

1. Developing Market Intelligence Understanding what’s happening out there – society, lifestyles, technology, customers (consumers, dental professionals, retail) and competitors – and turning this intelligence into insights about the market and opportunities for ABC.

Targeted Questions

1. Describe your experience in understanding and predicting needs of your customers.

2. What steps would you (do you) take to stay informed about ABC’s competitive market and what new products will help us stay ahead of the competition? What information is important to understand competitors? Give me an example of a nontraditional competitor you would want to learn more about in this role.

3. Give me an example of how you have addressed customer or partner segmentation. What were some of the more interesting findings? Which dimensions were more or less important? How did you apply the lessons learned to business decisions and what was the result?

Developing Evidence Moderate Evidence Strong Evidence

No direct examples or describes concepts in very abstract terms

Understands some facts about the market but does not take the time to think through a structure or an approach to actually apply the information

Gets sidetracked on irrelevant issues

Sometimes ignores potential issues among customers

Generally modest examples

Shows some initiative to stay informed of the market

Moderate ability to leverage information on customers and competition to anticipate product needs

Actively researches and organizes market research data to understand customer segments

Demonstrates a deep understanding of customer needs

Takes a structured and analytical approach to solving problems

Ability to think creatively about the competitive market and customer needs

Develops recommendations on marketing strategies based on customer/partner segmentation

Recruiting & Selection

Competencies provide content that can be converted into selection tools with scoring guides to assist with more effective hiring

14

Uses of a Competency Model: Example #5Workforce/Succession Planning

Source: The Leadership Pipeline, 2001, by Ram Charan, Stephen Drotter, and James Noel.

Competencies can help define expectations at each level of management, which supports clear and transparent promotion guidelines

Succession Planning

GENERIC SAMPLE

15

Key Takeaways

Competencies set clear behavioral expectations

Competencies can help identify training and development actions

Competencies can help integrate HR programs

16

Thank you!

QQ & A