E-Competency Framework 2.0 And The Employee Engagement Challenge
THE PROBLEM
Competitiveness and excellence is everybody???s business.
Satisfying stakeholder needs is what keeps the doors open.
Yet, Deloitte surveys have indicated that 2 out of every 3 employees are not actively engaged.
Deloitte has a must-read article: From employee experience to human experience: Putting meaning back into work linked to their 2019 Global Human Capital Trends survey.
??My gross oversimplification of one take-away from the article is that organizations should establish a collaboration between employer and team member to add ???Why??? and ???How??? to their ???What??? for a breakthrough in the battle against low employee engagement!
??BUT HOW?
For sure, the WHY is one key to bringing the human experience to the fore. People want meaning in their lives. We want to know that we matter and that what we do adds value.
Organizations have traditionally sought to communicate this through the posting of Mission and Vision statements on walls.
How many of you actually identify with (or even recall without prompting) the carefully crafted statements?
Results dominate the conversations and the real life experience on the job. There is the imperative that targets must be met ??? no matter what!
Yet, Values are essential for sustainable success.
For example, short-term goals might be achieved by short-changing customers and intimidating employees. That is not sustainable.
??A VIABLE SUPPORT SOLUTION
e-Competency Framework 2.0 removes the vision and values off the walls and brings them into the heart of daily activities. More critically, it replaces top-down direction of how to engage employees with a transparent, collaborative movement towards creating an environment that celebrates the human experience.
e-Competency Framework 2.0 (ECF 2.0) identifies the skills, aptitude, attitude and work environment required to complete each job effectively at the various levels of the hierarchy.
ECF 2.0 translates Values, Vision and Mission into the Why, How and What that guides daily activities. The role-related descriptors of what is required at each level are the product of patient and transparent focus group discussions with stakeholders.
Buy-in is a necessary component of the sought-after human experience.
??OUTCOMES
e-Competency Framework 2.0 facilitates the provision of critical information in readily digestible form:
Individuals at all levels fully appreciate what to do and how to do it and why they do it.
Those responsible for supervising and managing performance match observable behaviour to established standards and provide the required leadership.
Training and Development professionals identify performance gaps and design appropriate strategies to address the outcome of Training Needs Assessments.
Talent Management and other Leadership professionals align Recruitment and Selection to the Vision, Values and Mission.
Leadership professionals drive Career Development, Succession Planning and establish Performance Appraisal and Reward Systems.
??NOTE
We would be happy to have a no-commitment conversation with you as to how ECF 2.0 can move you on the path to creating an environment in which the human experience becomes an attainable goal.
Performance Appraisal Shocks, Source And Solutions
These ratings are unfair! This is truly demotivating.
Performance Appraisals are not always smooth sailing. The parties often fail to see things through the same lens.
I once had what I thought was an encouraging performance appraisal discussion with a valued team member.?? She tendered her resignation.
There was an even more shocking experience that was recounted in an HBR July 1976 article.
A senior executive successfully carried out his mandate of turning around a failing unit, generating millions of profit. His aspiration for a higher-level position was frustrated by the President???s view of his performance.?? The executive was deemed to have used his authoritarian personality to get the results. However, that involved the loss of valued employees, thereby weakening the organization. Until the executive changed his authoritarian manner, his boss said, it was unlikely that he would be promoted further.
WHY IS PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL SO CHALLENGING?
Performance appraisal has three basic functions: (1) to provide adequate feedback to each person on his or her performance; (2) to serve as a basis for modifying or changing behaviour toward more effective working habits; and (3) to provide data to managers with which they may judge future job assignments and compensation. (HBR July 1976)
The crux of the matter relates to my expansion of the second objective in the light of current workplace realities:
Providing clear and actionable feedback such as to guide the modification of behaviour in a manner that results in more effective and culturally desirable working habits and inter-personal relationships.
??THE ROOT CAUSE: UNBRIDLED ASSESSOR BIAS
It is amazing the extent to which ???Assessor bias??? is allowed to negatively impact the credibility of appraisal processes, even in highly developed environments!
Many organizations have invested large sums in systems and have allocated a great deal of their human resources to the process.
In the final analysis, almost invariably, they place too much reliance on the assessors to interpret the performance criteria at different levels and in different contexts.
The missing component are carefully developed, role-specific behavioural descriptors that provide assessors and the individuals being addressed with easily understood and observable behaviours that underpin the overarching performance criteria. Spell out the desired actions in simple terms!
??THE E-C0MPETENCY FRAMEWORK 2.0 (ECF 2.0) DIFFERENCE
Let us use a snippet from an ECF 2.0-generated Internal Audit Framework.
Performance Criterion/Core Competence: Communication
Communicates orally and in writing in a manner which is clear, accurate and readily understood by others.
At the Clerical Level observable descriptors include:
Is able to document basic facts and simple ideas clearly
Prepares letters, correspondence and reports in established formats
Creates correspondence that is free from spelling or grammatical errors
At the Chief Internal Auditor level, the bar is raised and additional behaviours are spelled out in the ECF 2.0 dynamic online framework.
Sticks to agreed scripts, ideas and strategies in communication
Facilitates the composition of Vision, Mission and Policy Statements
Coaches team in the effective management of client interviews
Under ECF 2.0, performance criteria/competences, as well as the observable behavioural descriptors, are pre-approved by the impacted stakeholders. This provides buy-in. Also, with the clarity and specificity that the descriptors add, the credibility, transparency and objectivity of the appraisal process is enhanced.
??EXAMINE ECF 2.0
We are happy to offer a no-cost consultation on how E-Competency Framework 2.0 could add value in your organization.
A customized e-Competency Framework 2.0 will identify the skills, knowledge and abilities that are needed as you communicate your values, vision and objectives and cascade them throughout your talent management processes.
It will guide HR policies and processes from recruitment and selection through learning and development, career development and succession planning to ensure their relevance to current realities and future requirements.
The validated, transparent and dynamic E-Competency Framework 2.0 will also be integral in adding credibility to your Performance Management processes while guiding daily operations to enhance efficiency and productivity.
E- Competency Framework 2.0 has a fully developed electronic template that will be customized to address your unique circumstances and needs. This shaves months off traditional approaches to competency framework development while adding flexibility, transparency and buy-in to the process.
How Competency Framework 2.0 Can Guide You Out Of Covid-19
There are compelling reasons for the implementation of your customised Competency Framework 2.0 (ECF2.0) to make sense of the new norm across your organization. These include:
Demystifying the transformation process that is required to deal with the new norm. This requires new ways of operating as well as adjusted mind-sets. A comprehensive e-platform that guides all stakeholders into appreciating the big picture, details and nuances is an essential requirement.
??The management of transformation and the quest for excellence require a coordinated form of leadership at all levels and keeping the disparate parts in alignment is best achieved by a carefully crafted ECF2.0 framework.
??The transformation process must necessarily incorporate significant investment in Learning and Development (L & D). L & D in turn must be supported by effective and purpose-driven training needs assessment (Gap Analysis). That should then feed into the design and development of training and coaching initiatives which address mission relevant competencies. ECF2.0 benefits both learners and L & D/Talent Management Units in guiding workforce development during the critical transformation process that is now required.
??The ECF 2.0 directed transformation initiative will introduce more structure and rigour in amended performance appraisal within the organization. The changing face of the workforce in favour of increased numbers of younger members require higher levels of transparency and fairness. ECF 2.0 provides logical and detailed information on competencies and their descriptors and offer appraisal systems added credibility.
??Coming out of the pandemic in relatively good shape requires greater levels of adaptability and responsiveness to stakeholder needs. This has implications for increased collaboration, enhanced teamwork, cross-functional skills development and continuous learning. ECF 2.0 is the best structure for pulling these diverse pieces together as a cohesive whole.
??Human Resource Management practices will undergo significant change from the preparation of job descriptions through recruitment, selection & placement, to career development and succession planning. ECF 2.0 acts as a blueprint that stakeholders can use to ensure that their actions are aligned to the overall master plan.
ECF 2.0 supports team members by:
Providing a concise presentation of what the organization does and how it does it.
Placing your role in the context of the overall structure and showing its relationship with other positions.
Outlining the key skills, knowledge, abilities and attitude that are required to effectively perform your role.
Providing you with concrete insights into the knowledge, skills and attitude that are required to perform other roles for your career planning and personal development considerations.
Providing objective guidelines for appraising personal or group performance.
Providing the platform for effective identification and analysis of skill gaps.
Laying out learning objectives related to acquiring the knowledge and skills to perform roles effectively.
Providing a structure for meaningful evaluation of existing practices and charting the way forward.
Acting as a vehicle for risk analysis and the identification of threats and opportunities.
Contact me: trevor.smith@infoservonline.com
Trevor E S Smith ??? Success with People Academy
High Performance Team Behavioural Coach| Executive Team & CEO Advisor| Team Dynamics & Engagement Expert | Sales Team Activator | Technology Solutions Provider | Behavioural Assessments Facilitator
E-mail: info@successwithpeople.org