Developing and Validating Competency Frameworks

This is an overview of our approach to helping organisations create valid competency models using our bank of staged competencies as a starting point. At the core of our approach lies the Four Stages™ of Contribution model which describes how high performers behave through their careers, irrespective of their position in the organisational hierarchy.

This offers organisations and their employees many benefits beyond the typical position based approach to competency development. A key benefit is that it enables individuals to establish how they will continue to grow the contribution they make to meeting organisational goals and avoid "contribution plateauing". In support of the Four Stages model we have a bank of competencies and staged descriptions, thus enabling you and us working together to rapidly and cost-effectively build a unique competency framework that meets your current and future business needs.

Our approach is as follows;

Step One: Identify a steering team to perform the following functions

• Identify preliminary competencies
• Ensure competencies/processes are consistent with business needs
• Monitor implementation progress
• Allocate resources
• Determine and resolve key decision points
• Serve as a sounding board for ideas/solutions
  

The establishment of a steering team, composed of key HR and business leaders fosters ownership and ensures that the resulting process is aligned with essential business goals and strategies. Members of the steering team typically meet with us in a strategy workshop to ensure we understand the firm's strategies, clarify the underlying assumptions of those strategies, and begin to translate those strategies into competencies. In addition, we would review all current strategy documents and HR processes that are relevant to the initiative.

Step Two: Gather Competency Data

Our experience in competency development over the past ten years convinces us that the most sound and valid behavioural competency frameworks are built with input from high performing associates throughout the organisation. In the aforementioned strategy session, we will determine the most efficient approach to gathering that input.

Typical approaches to competency identification include either individual interviews or focus groups of high performers via telephone or face-to-face sessions.

The competency development process includes the following basic steps:

• Understanding the intended uses of the competency framework to ensure that the competency building process is content valid and comprehensive
• Gathering of critical incident data and behavioral demonstrations of high performance; and
• Analysis of data to derive competency definitions and to "stage" behavioral descriptors.

The information gathering process includes interviews with senior leadership to ensure that competencies required for success in the future have not been overlooked. The steering committee oversees and supports the competency development process and approves the use of the competency model after development, to ensure that what is developed meets your organisation's needs.

Step 3: Validate and Finalise Competencies

Once the framework is in a well-drafted form, it must be validated to ensure that it is as relevant and applicable as possible. Specifically, the validation process provides:

• Applicability to all staff to which the framework applies
• Consistency with culture and language
• Clear distinctions between competencies and stages of competencies
• Complete coverage of the current and future state, and
• Assurance that a representative sample of desired behaviors is included in the framework.

The deliverable at the end of Stage 3 is a valid and staged competency framework that can be used as the foundation for performance management initiatives and other Human Resource processes.

Step 4: Implementation

The key to effective implementation is communication. Introducing new and/or improved competencies is a stressful moment in an organisation's life. People will be nervous and concerned about the impact on their roles, responsibilities and status. Communication and involvement plans must be robust and developed within core psychological principles. We are happy to work with our clients to develop and implement these plans.