Assessing Employee Competencies

Competency Assessment Employee competency assessment is the process of determining the employee’s current skills/knowledge/abilities or behaviors against the defined competencies for a specific job –Employees are compared against the job rather than other employees

When are Assessments done? Competency assessment is initially done when a job class “rolls-over” to a banded class Supervisors review individual employee assessments annually and at the mid- cycle along with the performance evaluation Supervisors assess new hires to determine salary and establish competency level

Who does the assessment? Supervisor/manager conducts an assessment of each employee. These assessments are reviewed by management and by HR.

Factors to Consider? The results of a competency assessment are used for future HR decisions such as salary adjustments. How the competency levels are determined and how the results are communicated impact employee morale.

How Competencies are Assessed Assessment is a measure of actual competency rather than past, potential or future demonstration or the assumption that an employee can demonstrate a competency –Employee regularly demonstrates the competency or key action to perform his/her current job Documentation of past work –Workplan results –STARs, documents, supervisory observation notes

Leveling Competencies An employee is said to have achieved a specific competency level when it has been documented that they are currently demonstrating on a regular basis the majority of competencies at that level. Example: –Employee demonstrates 4 of 7 key actions in the Journey level for the competency Communication and is leveled at the Journey level. –An individual demonstrates the majority of competencies at the Journey level for that job class/job description; s/he is leveled at the Journey for the position. –Some competencies are documented at the Contributing level; the employee concentrates on developing the remaining key actions to move to the Journey level. –Individuals have some key actions at the Advanced level; they consult with their supervisor to determine if they can move to the Advanced level for that position and develop a career plan to achieve that level.

Types of Competencies Functional Behavioral

Functional Competencies Functional competencies define the skills, knowledge or abilities that directly relate to the market value of a position. Example: Sam is required to maintain certification as a Law Enforcement Officer. He completed refresher training in firearm safety. (Technical Knowledge)

Behavioral Competencies Behavioral competencies define the manner or way in which an employee carries out the major duties of the job. While not directly related to pay they should be considered overall in evaluating performance, determining pay or other HR decisions. They are broader and relate to how someone conducts him/herself overall. Example: John lacks planning and organizing skills. His lack of organization impacts his overall ability to achieve his performance goals. Because he is disorganized, this also impacts his ability to respond to s or phone calls (Communication) or maintain his vehicle according to the manufacturers’ timetable (Safety Awareness).

Case Study Individually review the case against the competencies and level this employee Once you have completed your evaluation, as a group discuss and come to consensus on each individual competency level and overall level for the officer.

Initial Competency Assessment Discussion  DDI Initial assessment Outline the discussion (OPEN) Review each competency, level and data (CLARIFY) DISCUSS future ideas for career development AGREE on actions to be taken Summarize the discussion (CLOSE)

Key Principles  DDI Esteem Empathy Involve Share Support

Rater Bias Recency – assessment is based on recent events rather than over a longer period of time Halo/Horns – rater links certain characteristics or behavior to level; can be either over/under estimating Comparison – employees level is based on what other employees levels are

Case Study Follow-up Activities Establish Improvement Plan Establish Career Plan

Next Steps All assessments will be reviewed by management and HR Salaries will be reviewed against market data at roll over Employee will have new Banded workplans