Messages

1966

Training & Development / Efficient Transfer of Learning during Training

« on: April 25, 2012, 11:50:57 AM »

Needless to say, training in an organization is aimed at evolving existing ways and patterns of work. It is aimed at individual development, which cannot happen until there is a transfer of learning from the trainer to the trainee and the same is reflected in their work finally. But how can this learning be maximized considering time, motivation and learning ability constraints?

There are certain practices that have been designed for both the training session and the workplace. An implementation of these will ensure an efficient transfer of the learning’s and subsequent reinforcement. Some of these steps / practices are mentioned below:

    Training should match the Workplace: Most of the training programs tend to be idealist in nature. The trainees leave with a good positive impact but they find a huge disconnect when they try to implement the same at their workplace. For good learning the context of training and the context of job should be the same. For example, at GE training involves action learning tools where real life problems are discussed.


    Labeling: one good way to reinforce the learning or the important aspects of the training program is to name them appropriately such that they have a good recall rate after the training is over.

    Create a Supportive Environment at Work: Managers or senior management people should try and create an environment that reinforces the learning and allows the trainees to apply new skills at their workplace. This may involve giving the employees freedom to be more entrepreneurial, innovative and risk taking.

    Continued Learning: It is the jurisdiction of the management to ensure that learning be taken as a continual process rather than a onetime process. This means that there should be continuous follow-ups after training either by external consulting agencies or through an in house expert. Sometimes retraining may be required for continual skill up gradation and development.

    Practice: Employees should be compelled to practice new skills. One of the better ways is to remove the existing obsolete tools of work, so that people become out of practice of using those.

    Opportunity: In many organizations it was found out that it was the management and the work procedures that acted as a hindrance in implementation of new concepts. For example, in a certain study involving air force pilots it was found out that the trainees were given the opportunity of practicing only 50% of the tasks they learnt in the training! This is also true to midsized corporations that have a centralized functioning requiring approval for even minor changes.

    Train - Practice - Train: This involves supporting the employees to learn new skills, practice them in between various training sessions. University of Michigan’s centre for Learning and Development offers a management development program where employees attend training for one week and practice them for the next three weeks before coming back for the next intervention. These trainees spend the three weeks working on organizational analytics, development and organizational system projects etc.

If the above mentioned steps are implemented both within organizations and inside the training rooms, organizations stand a very good chance of making the training

1967

Training & Development / Preventing Relapse for a Training Program

« on: April 25, 2012, 11:49:30 AM »

‘People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well neither does bathing - that is why we recommend it daily’ said Zig zagler. One of the strong objections to the usefulness of training is that the impact of training programs doesn’t last longer and that employees get back to older ways of doing things sooner. This may be true for motivation which is like an injection, the effect of which soon starts to fade away.

True, that a trainer or training has to ensure that not only does an employee sit for a training program, he or she should be sufficiently motivated to attend the latter and convinced about the usefulness of the same. Not only motivation, changes in behaviour and attitudinal changes also start to wane away when employees face a high risk situation where they may not afford to take chance practising their new skill. Most people therefore face a relapse after a certain period of time, howsoever good the training may have been or howsoever the trainer may have put in his efforts.

Training relapses are experienced in both technical and behavioural trainings. For example anger management may have been one of the interventions for a certain employee training and the trainees may have actually exhibited a good behaviour during the training program. But then when the same trainee faces trouble handling one of his subordinates or does not get some assigned task or job finished in time, he or she may get back to the old behaviour. Such relapses are important to prevent because they dilute the impact of the training program.

The model of relapse prevention should be an essential part of the training programs. This model lays stress on the importance of self control and prevents relapse by informing the trainees about situations that may lead them to switch to existing behaviours. For example in a certain quality management program, it was decided that the materials in a production line will be carried by conveyor belts rather than the traditional method of ferrying by hands. The new method was implemented successfully until the plant faced a problem and it did not know what to do. The belt stopped suddenly and since material output in the preceding step acted as input in the next step, all the production activity was hampered. Panic took over in 10 minutes time before the plant workers began carrying them with hands which led to chaos.

In the above mentioned example, there was a fundamental error in quality management training that did not inform the trainees about situations that may arise and how to act in those! These situations are discussed as part of the relapse prevention in the training. Furthermore it may not be possible for the trainer to pre-empt all the situations that may arise, acting at the spur of the moment with losing self control and being aware to the moment is something that can well be taught / discussed in a training.

1968

Training & Development / Cost Benefit Analysis for Training

« on: April 25, 2012, 11:48:57 AM »

As discussed in previous articles, it is very important to evaluate the benefits of the training and be able to put that in terms of numbers. Training comes at a cost and therefore any organisation would be interested in knowing the return on investment (ROI).

Organisations use different methods to assess the benefits of training in terms of numbers i.e. the profits. Some of the frequently used methods are ROI and Utility analysis. There are many costs that are associated with the training apart from the direct and apparent costs. These costs can be described under two headings:

    There are costs incurred towards the training needs analysis, compensation of the training program designers, procurement of training material and various media like the computers, handouts, props, gifts and prizes, audio visuals etc.
    Then there is another category is costs incidental to the training session itself such as trainers fee / salary, facility costs / rental etc.
    Finally there are costs involved is losing a man day of work (for those who are sent for training), travelling, boarding and lodging and training material that cannot be reused in some other training program.


The various models that are used to estimate the benefits of the training program are as under.

The Return on Investment Model (ROI)

Organisations spend huge amount of money on employee development, it is therefore very important to ascertain the benefits of training. Different studies were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of training programs. In one of the studies it was found out that sales and technical trainings gave better ROI compared to managerial training programs. Ford, for example, evaluates all the training programs against the profitability in a given product line. The basic formula for calculating the ROI for training is as:

ROI (in percent) = Program benefits / Costs × 100

Let’s assume that the total costs incurred towards a certain training is USD. 80,000/- all inclusive and the benefits in terms of overall improvement in productivity and quality are USD. 4,00,000/-. Thus the ROI is 525 %, which means for each rupee invested the return in USD. 5.25 over and above the cost of the program.

This problem however relies upon the assessment of benefits from outside, sometimes which requires that non financial benefits may be converted into financial benefits. This requires precision and the sources have to be credible.

Utility Analysis

This is another way of reflecting upon the usefulness of a training program. Utility itself is a function of the duration up to which the training leaves an impact upon the trainee, the relative importance of the training program, the importance of the position or profile that received training and the cost of conducting the training. For example leadership programs conducted for top and middle management tend to be high on value where as sales training programs for the front line sales staff tends to be low on value scale.

Utility analysis basically derives the effectiveness from analysing the change in the behaviour of the trainee and the positive financial implications of the same. This model is not very famous because the deductions made are essentially subjective in nature.

1969

Training & Development / Training Evaluation - Meaning and its Benefits

« on: April 25, 2012, 11:47:45 AM »

Evaluation involves the assessment of the effectiveness of the training programs. This assessment is done by collecting data on whether the participants were satisfied with the deliverables of the training program, whether they learned something from the training and are able to apply those skills at their workplace. There are different tools for assessment of a training program depending upon the kind of training conducted.

Since organisations spend a large amount of money, it is therefore important for them to understand the usefulness of the same. For example, if a certain technical training was conducted, the organisation would be interested in knowing whether the new skills are being put to use at the workplace or in other words whether the effectiveness of the worker is enhanced. Similarly in case of behavioural training, the same would be evaluated on whether there is change in the behaviour, attitude and learning ability of the participants.

Benefits of Training Evaluation

Evaluation acts as a check to ensure that the training is able to fill the competency gaps within the organisation in a cost effective way. This is specially very important in wake of the fact the organisations are trying to cut costs and increase globally. Some of the benefits of the training evaluation are as under:

    Evaluation ensures accountability - Training evaluation ensures that training programs comply with the competency gaps and that the deliverables are not compromised upon.

    Check the Cost - Evaluation ensures that the training programs are effective in improving the work quality, employee behaviour, attitude and development of new skills within the employee within a certain budget. Since globally companies are trying to cut their costs without compromising upon the quality, evaluation just aims at achieving the same with training.

    Feedback to the Trainer / Training - Evaluation also acts as a feedback to the trainer or the facilitator and the entire training process. Since evaluation accesses individuals at the level of their work, it gets easier to understand the loopholes of the training and the changes required in the training methodology.

Not many organisations believe in the process of evaluation or at least do not have an evaluation system in place. Many organisations conduct training programs year after year only as a matter of faith and not many have a firm evaluation mechanism in place. Organisations like IBM, Motorala only, it was found out, have a firm evaluation mechanism in place.

The Way Forward

There are many methods and tools available for evaluating the effectiveness of training programs. Their usability depends on the kind of training program that is under evaluation. Generally most of the organisations use the Kirk Patrick model for training evaluations which evaluates training at four levels - reactions, learning, behaviour and results.

After it was found out that training costs organisations a lot of money and no evaluation measures the return on investment for training, the fifth level for training evaluation was added to the training evaluation model by Kirk Patrick which is called as the ROI.

Most of the evaluations contain themselves to the reaction data, only few collected the learning data, still lesser measured and analysed the change in behaviour and very few took it to the level of increase in business results. The evaluation tools including the Kirk Patrick model will be discussed in detail in other articles.

1970

Training & Development / Kirkpatrick’s Model of Training Evaluation **

« on: April 25, 2012, 11:46:25 AM »

Organizations spend a huge amount of money for training their employees at various levels and on various competencies, behavioral and technical. Every year new tools are designed to try and cater to individual learning styles and make the training more effective. After all an organization is concerned about its spending and the return on the same!

Donald Kirkpatrick, professor emeritus, university of Wisconsin began working on evaluating the effectiveness of training very early in his life. His early work on the same was published in the year 1959 in a journal of American Society of Training Directors. He laid out four levels for evaluation of any training. This model is arguably the most widespread for evaluation in use. It is simple, very flexible and complete. The four levels as described by Kirkpatrick are as follows:

    Reaction of the Trainee - thoughts and feelings of the participants about the training

    Learning - the increase in knowledge or understanding as a result of the training

    Behavior - extent of change in behavior, attitude or capability

    Results - the effect on the bottom line of the company as a result of the training.

   

The fifth level which is the ROI has been recently added which is not but a part of the original model. The graphic description is as follows:

Level 4 - Results
Was it worth it ?
       
Level 3 - Behaviour
KSA’s being used on the Job ?

Level 2 - Knowledge
Did they learn anything ?

Level 1 - Reaction
Was the environment suitable ?

The beauty of the model is that each level can only be predicted when the lower level prediction is complete. Thus evaluation at the level of behaviour may not be useful unless evaluation at the knowledge has been completed.
Reaction

Reaction implies how favorably the participants have responded to the training. This evaluation is primarily quantitative in nature and is a feedback to the training and the trainer. The most common collection tool is the questionnaire that analyses the content, methodology, facilities and the course content.

Learning

At the level of learning the evaluation is done on the basis of change in the ASK (Attitudes, skills and knowledge) of the trainees. The evaluation involves observation and analysis of the voice, behaviour, text. Other tools used apart from the observation are interviews, surveys, pre and post tests etc.

Behaviour

Behaviour evaluation analyses the transfer of learning from the training session to the work place. Here the primary tool for evaluation is predominantly the observation. Apart from the observation, a combination of questionnaires and 360 feedbacks are also used.

Results

The results stage makes evaluations towards the bottom line of the organization. Here the definition of the results depends upon the goal of the training program. The evaluation is done by using a control group allowing certain time for the results to be achieved.

There are many other models that are unique in their own ways, nut as mentioned earlier Kirkpatrick’s Model is the one that is accepted and used widely across all industries and with wider applications.

1971

Training & Development / Special Training Programs

« on: April 25, 2012, 11:42:46 AM »

Most of training is either technical or behavioural in nature, but there are still other trainings that are neither. These fall under the ambit of special training programs and are conducted with an agenda of smoothening the work process within the organisation.

Workforce diversity can be both positive and negative for the organisation. Positive in that it brings fresh and different perspectives to the latter and negative in that team building may not be that easy. Multinational corporations that employ workforce of all races, creeds and colour face the problem racism. Similarly organisations in the Asian subcontinent more specially, face the problem of sexual harassment of workers. There are other problems also apart from these and these can only be resolved with the help of awareness trainings.

In this article we briefly discuss trainings other than the behavioural and technical ones.

    Diversity Awareness Trainings - handling workforce diversity is one of the emerging challenges for organisations in the 21st century. They face claims on from coloured workers, immigrants, older people, various ethnic groups, gays and lesbians for harassment at the work place. Also there is a need for addressing the values of various employee groups, for example, the older generation lives by a different set of values and does the younger lot. This leads to a conflict which can only be resolved by providing appropriate training intervention. Diversity awareness training is necessary to increase the competitiveness and the general competency of the organisation. Many firms have accepted diversity as a way of surviving and many that have not often face the charge of discrimination.

    Sexual Harassment Training - these trainings are mostly conducted in the developed nations and in multinational corporations that function in various geographical locations. These trainings are not very common in organisations in the developing world. Almost all types of organisations, immaterial of what business they are into, what industry they operate in and what kind of people they have hired receive sexual harassment complaints at the workplace. In developing economies they go unnoticed and unreported but in developed economies where the workforce is empowered severely sexual harassment at the workplace is reported, resulting in penal actions and thus the sexual harassment training. Many organisation shave policies on sexual harassment but often they are not communicated!

    Creativity Training - more and more organisations want innovation and creativity as a way of being and expression which ultimately happens only when its people are creative. Many organisations use experiential learning, brainstorming sessions to compel the employees think ‘out of the box’ and thus bring out the latent creativity in them. There are trainings conducted on the art of creative writing from them to write and express themselves beautifully. Organisations like Frito lay and 3M use creativity training to push their employees harder and make them entrepreneurial. These programs have reported to be successful; Frito Lay for example reported huge profits because of the creativity training!

There are other training types that involve training expatriates and inpatriates. These form however a very small chunk of the entire training programs. These special training programs are also with an intent of organisation and people development, aimed implicitly at organisational effectiveness and profits.

1972

Training & Development / Informational Training Methods

« on: April 25, 2012, 11:41:54 AM »

Informational training methods are basically used to teach facts and figures and for developing a change in attitude. There is a one way communication between the trainer and the trainee that involves the transfer of information without many deliberations. New policies, programs, code of conduct are transferred using informational training methods.

Lectures, audio visuals, self directed learning (SDL) methods, programmed instruction (PI) and independent study are some of the informational training methods that will be briefly described in the article.

    Lectures

    The lecture based methodology is one of the simplest and the perhaps the oldest technique of training. It is generally used to pass on new knowledge and to present some introductory material or an ice breaker. This method is often combined with audio visual, group discussions now days to make it more effective and interesting. One of the most important benefits of this training method is the low cost involved not only in terms of the training content but also that it can used with an audience of large size. The biggest limitation is that the audience becomes passive and the session becomes dull and there is a poor transfer of information.


    Audio / Visuals

    It is the one of the most effective means of conducting training programs and the most used these days. It is used essentially to present new knowledge to the audience and boost the morale. There are lots of tools available in this training method; for example, the trainer has the freedom to use slides, movies, video clips, flip charts, chalkboards etc. Videoconferencing is picking up fast. Lots of training programs also called as webinars are conducted with geographically dispersed populations. The advantage over lecture based training is that it allows for replays and brings in a lot of versatility to the training program.

    Independent Study

    This is a training method that is to transfer knowledge and for updating on information, knowledge and facts on a continuous basis. The trainee is free to complete the course of the training at his own pace. This method saves a lot of cost by minimising the man-day of training and also the cost of development. Since it is more of research and continuous education based, a library or resource department has to be developed for the same. Furthermore the training material has to be customised to individual needs.

    One of the greatest drawbacks is that the trainee cannot be evaluated continually for a longer period of time without the intervention of the trainer and that the level of motivation goes down after a certain period of time. It is therefore not applicable to all types of jobs.

    Programmed Instruction

    Programmed instruction is a training methodology that is often used to prepare individuals for a training program by bringing them at the same level. Like independent study it also allows the trainees to go at their own pace and a quick feedback. It is however expensive to develop and may not necessarily result in an increase in the performance at work.

Most of the training programs combine any or all of these for effective training. In addition, there are lots of other experiential training methods that may be used, which will be discussed in other write ups.

1973

Training & Development / Experiential Training Methods

« on: April 25, 2012, 11:40:51 AM »

Experiential training is a whole body of training methods that are used to develop behavioural skills and physical abilities. Role playing, equipment simulations, games, on the job training (OJT), behaviour modelling, case analysis and computer based training are some of the experiential learning methods that can be used to deliver a training session.

Experiential learning is also called as ‘learning by doing’ and the training involves a two way interaction unlike the informational training methods which are more of one sided. Here the major focus is not just mere transfer of facts and figures but development of skills in the participants, which may or not be the case in informational training.

Let us take the example of sales training. When sales training is imparted to the life insurance marketing people, they are introduced to policies and procedures and later asked to remember the same. These policies and procedures are unquestionable most of the time and the information flow is unidirectional, with the help of informational training methods. Whereas when it comes to developing sales skills in individuals, simulation games and role plays are used when there is two way communication between the facilitator and the participants.
   

A good training is a combination of both the training methods. Some of the the experiential training methods are discussed below:

    On the Job Training (OJT): This training method is used to impart new skills to the employees when they are working on a certain position. Job rotation and apprenticeship training are some ways in which new skills can e developed within the employees.

    Equipment Simulators: These are training methods where in real life situations / conditions are created to enable the employee to experience and prepare for the world of work. This type of training is often used to develop physical, behavioural and team building training. NASA for example uses simulators to train astronauts before they set out for the outer space. This type of training is very effective but the simulators are costly to develop.

    Role Playing: A role play is used essentially to change attitudes and help people see things from the other person’s eyes. It may also be used to practice certain job, behavioural skills or for analysing interpersonal problems. This type of training is more close to reality. The only drawback is that the employees may show hesitation role playing situations or may not even take it seriously.

    Sensitivity Training: Sensitivity training is imparted to essentially increase the self awareness of the employees. It is aimed to help the employees or trainees see how others see them. Such type of training is used to increase the self worth of the trainees and also for changing interpersonal behaviours. More importantly it can wipe out negativity from the organisation; in fact many organisations in the west use this training method for top management.

    Case Study: Case study analysis is perhaps the most frequently used tool for developing interpersonal, decision making and analytical skills within the trainees. It is a very good and cheap tool for developing problem solving skills within the individuals. The basic drawback is non availability of updated case studies. Generally one or two cases are discussed every year and there is no updating subsequently.

These are some of the experiential training methods that can be and are used for imparting training within organisations. Many organisations also use games and computer assisted instruction / training, the use and relevance depends on the kind of competency you are targeting.

1974

Competency Based Assessment / Competency Based Assessment - Meaning and Important Concepts

« on: April 25, 2012, 11:33:23 AM »

With the ever evolving and diversifying business challenges, the approach to the management of human resources has also undergone a paradigm shift. The competitive advantage achieved through technology, new products and information is short lived and vastly evaporating. The only distinguishing feature from the competition which remains, are the skills and contribution from the employees. The organizational leadership therefore plays an important part as they directly influence the performance and the people of the organization. A well-defined and uniform competency framework is the first step towards an organized approach to the human resource management of the organization.

There is a constant need to increase efficiency and create and deliver value in each transaction. Therefore it is imperative that a more scientific approach like competencies be used to define and understand the knowledge, skills and attitude required to perform a job effectively. Evaluating an employee’s performance based on pre-defined competencies and their behavioural indicators, in turn is called competency based assessment.

The preliminary condition for a competency based assessment is a well-defined competency framework of the organization. Ideally, the competency framework needs to be in alignment with the long term organizational goals and its vision and mission. These competencies then need to be interpreted in the context of the tasks performed by employees at different levels, so a competency like fosters teamwork will be defined differently for a senior leader like COO and would further have to be contextualized for a junior manager.

The competencies are like the Pole Star for the organization especially the senior leaders and act as a constant check for the employees to direct and redirect their efforts to yield specific results. Since, competencies can be assessed and analyzed; it gives a fairly objective evaluation of an employee’s performance. The best part about the competencies is that they can be learnt unlike personality traits which are characteristic to an individual. If the organization identifies criteria critical to its success in the form of core competencies, they can be cascaded down to the whole organization.

Having a competency framework and assessments based on it provides a comprehensive picture of the skill map of the organization, the development needs, and potential leaders and thus define the approach to effective talent management. From the perspective of the employees, they get a better understanding of the potential progression of their careers which further augments their engagement with the organization.

Within the competency based assessment approach the organizations can find a structured model to integrate their management practices as well. A systematic approach like this can help define organizational priorities clearly and align the human resource strategies to create and build on key behaviours which are desired and would be rewarded. It also creates individual employees accountable and responsible for their performance and learning and development while creating a culture of transparency. And most importantly competency based assessments go a step further to understand the individual and organizational fit to make correct hiring decisions, the starting point of the employee’s life-cycle in the organization.

1975

Competency Based Assessment / Definition of Competency - What are Competencies ?

« on: April 25, 2012, 11:32:37 AM »

Competence has been long understood as a person’s ability or capacity to do a job. It was devised in the 1970s by the US Company McBer to identify the specific personal characteristics which resulted in effective and/or superior performance.

So, what exactly is the idea behind competencies ?

    Every job has a requirement of specific set of competencies to undertake it efficiently, and the individuals who would perform the job need to be laced with those competencies. One of the interesting and worth mentioning aspect of this term is that it focuses not on what a person can do but on what a person can learn. This forward looking approach makes it quite popular amongst training providers and recruitment experts.

    Competencies with their specific behavioral indicators facilitate the demonstration of appropriate skills and behaviors, it is not a set of tasks performed like a robot neither it is an underlying capacity which is never demonstrated.

    Competency also includes motivation and self-knowledge, a desire and willingness to demonstrate effective performance

   

So, with this information we can proceed to defining Competency:

    A set of individual performance behaviors which are observable, measurable and critical to successful individual and company performance

    Individual characteristics of a person which result in an effective and superior performance in a job

Competency includes the following elements:

There has been a lot of debate on the aspect that whether competencies are unique to a particular job or they are generic in nature. A little example would help the understanding, does ‘Management’ require the same set of behaviors to be demonstrated across the organization, job function, location etc by the managers or they differ across organizations, cultures, functions and settings

According to the MCBer research apart from identifying 12 characteristics related to managerial effectiveness, seven were found to be threshold competencies.

It is worth to spare a few minutes understanding what a threshold competency is:

It is summarized as a quality that a person needs in order to do a job; it might be as simple as being able to speak in the native language. It is different from the competency in a manner that it does not offer any aid in distinguishing superior performance from average and poor performance.

So, every job at any level in the organization would have a threshold competency, the bare minimum required to perform the job.

To gather a better understanding of competencies, it would be interesting to have a look at the work of some of the pioneers of the field. To begin one can always resort to the exemplary work done by McBer and the competency dictionary developed by him. Some of the generic competencies that were included in the list were:

    Achievement Orientation
    Analytical Thinking
    Conceptual Thinking
    Customer Service Orientation
    Developing Others
    Defectiveness
    Flexibility
    Impact and Influence
    Information Seeking
    Initiative Integrity
    Interpersonal Understanding

There are several more, but looking at the above list, one can notice that these competencies are applicable across businesses and functions and hence called generic competencies.

The above leads to an obvious conclusion that there might be specific types of competencies as well, and surely competencies are also categorized into:

Leadership Competencies: Are managerial and cognitive competencies. E.g. analysis and problem solving, managing execution, adapt and learn etc.

Functional Competencies: Are those which are required within specific functions. E.g. knowledge of products, labor laws, inventory distribution systems, local food safety and handling regulations

The development of a competence is quite a comprehensive job involving several steps. It would be interesting to have a look at the basic structure regarding the development of a competence as given by Training Enterprise and Education Directorate of the UK Employment Department

So, with competencies becoming an integral part of Human Resource Management, it has helped the HR practitioners to create and share the understanding of factors leading to superior performance at the workplace. For the job incumbents, it creates a better understanding of their own roles and desired performance which in turn helps them to plan their own learning and growth.

1976

Competency Based Assessment / Competency Ice-Berg Model - Meaning and its Components

« on: April 25, 2012, 11:28:08 AM »

The iceberg model for competencies takes the help of an iceberg to explain the concept of competency. An iceberg which has just one-ninth of its volume above water and the rest remains beneath the surface in the sea. Similarly, a competency has some components which are visible like knowledge and skills but other behavioural components like attitude, traits, thinking styles, self-image, organizational fit etc are hidden or beneath the surface.

Ice-Berg Model

Let us take a look at the different components of the model:

Iceberg Model Components

So, is there a relation between the competencies which are above the surface and those which lie beneath? In the book Competence at Work Models for Superior Performance, the authors Lyle M. Spencer and Signe M. Spencer explain that a behaviour is incompletely defined without intent.

The aspects of competencies which lie below the surface like attitude, traits, thinking styles etc directly influence the usage of knowledge and skills to complete a job effectively.

Let us try to understand it through an example. Suppose an organization is promoting an open door policy which literally means that a manager or supervisor would keep the doors of his/her chamber open to become accessible to their subordinates and encourage sharing of opinions and feedback. A manager sitting at the farthest corner of the office keeps his door open all the time, how does one evaluate whether it is for fresh air, claustrophobia or an indication that his subordinates are invited to reach out to him anytime. Therefore, intent behind a displayed action is necessary to understand the action and its implication fully.

In more complex jobs, these behavioural aspects, motives and traits become more important than the skills and knowledge required to do the job. Think of a soldier at the war front, he knows how to use the weapon he is holding, but thinks that the war is unjust and refuses to fire. In organizations, senior level hiring is therefore a time consuming and elaborate affair as it becomes necessary to establish the alignment between the organizational and individual motivation and aspirations.

Developing the two levels of competencies also takes different routes. The visible competencies like knowledge and skills can be easily developed through training and skill building exercises however the behavioural competencies are rather difficult to assess and develop. It takes more time and effort intensive exercises, like psychotherapy, counseling, coaching and mentoring, developmental experiences etc.

In the traditional method of hiring, most of the organizations looked at just the visible components of competencies; the knowledge and skills, believing that the behavioural aspects can be developed through proper guidance and good management. However, with major shifts in the conventional methods of people management, the hiring process has also undergone a change therefore a lot of emphasis is being put on the hidden behavioural aspects as well to make a sound decision. Hence, a complete picture regarding the competence of a person consists of both visible and hidden aspects and it becomes necessary to understand both to arrive at identifying the best man for a job.

1977

Competency Based Assessment / Overview of Competency Framework and its Benefits

« on: April 25, 2012, 11:25:31 AM »

A competency framework is a comprehensive structure which describes different competencies with its specific set of behavioral indicators and measurement criteria. Most of the organizations have their own distinct set of competency framework which is in alignment to their visions and mission and long and short term organizational goals.

There are certain clear benefits of the competency framework for the organizations:

    A common understanding of critical success factors and desired behaviors within the organization

    Integration of organizational process to competencies helps the interpretation of big picture concerns in day to day working [e.g. Situation of a new product launch and the competency Customer Focus valued by the organization]
    Better management and effective decisions regarding cost intensive processes like selection, hiring and promotions
    Assessment, feedback and communication regarding performance becomes standardized thus facilitating a common culture

   

Generally competencies have behavioral indicators as their building blocks, related behaviors are grouped under a competency and similar theme of competencies are further grouped together to form clusters. Ideally, a cluster of 8-12 competencies are found to be sufficient but one can also come across frameworks containing more than 15 competencies.

Key points to consider while developing a competency framework:

    The description should be as specific as possible to remove any traces of ambiguity

    The language needs to be simple to make it comprehensible by the larger audience

    The structure has to be simple and logical

    The framework should be relevant for all the people using it and being affected by it

    The framework should take into account unexpected changes that might affect organizational transactions, which means that it should clearly outline the behaviors that describe the manner in which the job incumbents are to perform in immediate and midterm future

    There should be no duplication or repetition of behaviors in the framework

    The behaviors should be distinct and describe just one aspect or one behavior, combination of two aspects may lead to a situation where an individual might be good at the first but poor at the second aspect

Let us look at an example of a competency framework for a CEO of an SBU:

Do you observe the rating scale in the above diagram? It transcends from a behavior displayed which is ineffective or needs development to a behavior which is highly effective. The above way of measuring competency is called Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale or BARS.

BARS is nothing but the description of the behaviors for ineffective and effective performance as shown above which when displayed by the participant or the person under observation in exercises like role plays, presentations or structured interview; is then anchored or placed at the appropriate point on the scale. The measures and descriptions of the scales are developed through a comprehensive process of job analysis using methods like critical incident technique, structured interviews etc. The scale usually ranges from 3-5 but in rare cases can go up-to 7 which becomes complex and difficult to use and therefore avoidable.

A competency framework might be developed from the scratch in a place where it does not exist or an existing framework can be expanded to make it more useful. Whatever might be the case but it would be useful to consider the following:

    Involvement of people in developing the framework, which creates a buy-in and an ownership

    Keeping people well informed about the developments while also explaining the objectives and reasons behind them

    Identifying and creating competencies which are relevant to the organization

With a robust competency framework and HR processes in alignment to the framework gives an organization a competitive edge in the dynamic labor market and facilitates the brand of the organization as an employer.

1978

Competency Based Assessment / What is an Assessment: Definition, Objective and Principles

« on: April 25, 2012, 11:24:01 AM »

Assessment itself can be defined and interpreted in several ways like financial, educational or even psychological assessment however, for the sake of the current discussion we shall stick to the context of HR and define assessments within it. Assessments are systematic methods of gathering data under standardized conditions and reaching a conclusion regarding the knowledge, qualification and potential of an employee.

The objective is to further use the data to take certain strategic decisions like selection and hiring, promotions and appraisals and also to give feedback for development. Structured assessments carried out for a well defined and specific objective for e.g. promotion or role change provides crucial information regarding not just the knowledge and skills of a participant but also about his behavioral attitude and motivation.

The history of assessments can be traced back to the German army which after the Second World War adopted methods developed by their psychologists that used tests, simulations and several exercises to evaluate the potential of the officers for hiring and promotion in the army. AT&T was the first company which used this method to select candidates to fill its managerial positions and brought the practice from the army to the corporate world.
   

Since then assessments have become a vital constituent of several HR practices. Understandably, when competencies were introduced by McBer and other behavioral scientists, it was hardly a surprise that assessing these competencies through structured processes became imperative.

So, generally assessments are done using several tools like simulation exercises which include case studies, role plays, in-baskets etc and psychometric tests like MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicator), 16PF, learning style inventories etc and games like team building exercises. These assessments are carried out by trained assessor or assessors who observe the assessee in the simulation exercises or games and rate them on pre-defined criteria.

For the organizations assessments give information regarding the current skills sets of the employees and an understanding of the gaps and the development needs while on the other hand for the employees it becomes an opportunity to understand their own strengths and development areas. It is interesting to note that sometimes it may happen so, that what the assessee considers to be a negative area turns out to be his forte and his assumed strengths may actually be his development area. Assessments in any form, act as an eye opener, for both the organization and the employee giving them an objective and complete picture for both long term and short term planning.

Since, assessments use pre-defined criteria and tools which are based on extensive job analysis their validity turns out to be quite high as well. Ideally the process of tool development for the assessment exercises should be done by individuals [within the organization or external consultants] who spend considerable time in understanding the value chain of the organization, its vision, mission, ethos and operating philosophy. Having contextualized assessment tools like case studies and role plays as per the organization ensures a better buy in by the different stakeholders of the assessment processes.

This in turn appeals to the logic of the people participating in the assessments and help them get a clear understanding of their improvement areas. The feedback provided after assessments help the participants in self-reflection, thus initiating the learning process.

A few principles that should be followed while conducting assessment exercises are:

    Clearly defining the objective of the assessments
    Identifying the criteria and sharing it with the assessee in a transparent manner
    Feedback to the assessee on his/her performance
    The nature of records made and data collected needs to be shared with the assessee
    If the data is to be used for purposes other than what defined before the assessment, the assessee needs to be informed regarding the same

1979

Competency Based Assessment / Evolution of Competency Based Assessment

« on: April 25, 2012, 11:23:23 AM »

Competency based assessment owes its genesis to the traditional method of Job analysis where a detailed description explored how a job is done. It was used as a decision tool for a number of HR processes like hiring, promotions etc. Job Analysis however had minimal or no reference to the knowledge, skills and attitudes required for doing a job. To respond to the changing business needs and to enhance the performance of the Human Resources, the concept of competencies came into existence and over the years encompassed almost all aspects of HR processes. Hence, assessments processes used in organizations to take critical decisions were also influenced and integrated with the competencies. The obvious benefits being, a very specific and objective evaluation of employees for purposes like selection and hiring, performance and potential appraisal, role change and succession planning etc.

Since, job analysis provided very limited and restricted information regarding one particular job, with the changing times its usage for strategic decisions started becoming more and more obsolete. The new trend was to select and hire job incumbents who possessed more than one skill and would be able to flow in the organization both horizontally and vertically as and when required. To achieve it, assessing the competencies identified as critical for the organization, became the preferred choice.
   

Competency based assessment emerged as a tool which streamlined and integrated the HR processes of the organization to yield tangible and long term benefits. Some critical and cost intensive processes like Recruitment benefitted hugely from this approach. Along-with understanding the technical knowhow a job incumbent possessed for a given role, it also provided helpful insights into the organizational fit of the prospective role holder. This in turn goes a long way in managing the attrition level in the organization which emerged as the single biggest problem in certain sectors like IT and Retail.

It also revolutionized the trends in talent management and capability building of the employees. With clearly defined competencies and unanimous understanding of desired behaviors to be displayed within the organizations, the management had a clear perspective regarding the skill gaps and measures to identify and leverage the strengths. For the employees, it provided an opportunity to direct and redirect their self learning appropriately to achieve tangible results desired by the organization. A clear interpretation of organizational goals in one’s day to day working became possible because of the core competencies and frameworks adopted by the organization while competency based assessment paved the road for charting out one’s own career track for the employees in the organization.

The other important role that the competency based assessment has taken up is that of pay based on competencies, replacing the old ladder growth concept which depended on experience gained over long years. The competency based assessment works fine for the labor force which comprises mainly of a generation of workers who have grown up on a diet of instant coffee, noodles and fast food and want quick results. The competency based assessment promises fair evaluation of workers based on their value to the organization. The more competencies one acquires which contribute to the organizational values, the more rewarding is the pay for such an employee. This provides greater flexibility to the employees to plan their growth in the organization at their own pace.

The competency based assessment has found quite an acceptance in the corporate world however it also requires certain careful considerations before it is implemented. While opting for a competency based assessment all the stakeholders of the organization need to be in complete synchrony with the objectives, methods and desired results of such a system. Any method created for competency based assessment has to be relevant to the short and long term organizational goals and business objectives. Like any other change, this also has to follow a path of confusion, reluctance and suspicion from the employees before it is understood and embraced by them to become a high performing organization.

1980

Competency Based Assessment / The Process of Competency Based Assessment

« on: April 25, 2012, 11:22:46 AM »

The increasing competition and changing business needs demand that the HR professionals responsible for the management of human resources of an organization upgrade and modify their roles and become strategic business partner and an important stakeholder in the growth of the organization. This further translates into the fact that, all the HR strategies, processes and policies need to support the interim and future business objectives of an organization. Therefore, competency based human resource management was accepted and implemented by a large number of organizations. It addressed, this need of changing times where the technical know-how and expertise of one job was replaced by competencies which were more flexible, forward looking and developable to be used across the organization for more than one role.

When competency based assessment is adopted as a central strategy it is then further linked to the other HR processes of the organization like selection and hiring, performance management and learning and development. But, before implementing competency based assessment in the organization, it becomes important that the HR department does a comprehensive groundwork. Let us explore what are the critical considerations for the same:
   

    Assessing the feasibility of the process is important as it depends on the buy in and involvement of a large number of people and critical resources

    It is also important to assess the extent of desirability of people to be open and accepting to a new strategy or approach. It becomes all the more important when the organizational culture has not been very performance oriented

    The exact goals to be achieved by the strategy needs to clearly understood and shared with all the people who would be affected by it

    An elaborate plan of how these goals shall be achieved and what role would the competency based assessment would play with a special emphasis on how people would be affected also needs to be shared

While these may be a few important points, however, introducing a new strategy or approach in the organization which has a lasting impact on a large number of people is never easy. Once the premise for competency based assessment is clearly established it becomes comparatively easier to initiate the change in other HR processes.

The next step of the process then becomes identifying critical organization competencies, developing a framework and cascading the framework in the organization. This is to ensure, that the employees are well aware of the competencies for different level with a clear understanding of desired behaviors to be displayed in their specific job roles. The cascading of the competency framework can be done internally by the HR team members or external consultants can be called in to conduct workshops and seminars to introduce and promulgate the competency framework within the organization.

Once the competency framework becomes known and is accepted by the employees, the next step becomes integrating it with the assessment processes used in the organization.

The assessment processes then have to realign to evaluate the specific competencies, some examples will help in understanding how this process happens:

    The interview with the prospective job incumbent will now have to be a competency based structured interview where not just past experiences and technical knowhow will be evaluated but the versatility of the skills, organizational fit and personal motivations will also be explored

    The performance appraisal system of the organization would now rely on ratings received by employees on competencies relevant to their roles making the process transparent and objective for both the managers and employees

    The reward system of the organization would consider competencies to decide compensation and benefits for the employees

    The skill gaps and training need assessment will now refer to competency framework to understand the developmental needs of the employees

Constant review of the process would further help in improving, strengthening and reinforcing the culture of assessments based on competencies.