1. Introduction to Humanitarian Competencies Framework (CHCF)
Purpose of is to introduce the core humanitarian competencies framework; share some ways of using the competencies framework and the benefits of using such framework
Date Organization

2. SESSION OBJECTIVES Describe the purpose and relevance of the CHCF
Identify key features of the CHCF and explain the key terms used in the framework
Recognize and describe the 6 competency domains
Explain the different ways CHCF is implemented in an organisation 1

3. REFLECTION POINTS What competencies does my organization need?
Who is accountable to develop competent staff?
Why do we need competency based HR practices?
Ladies and gentlemen I would like to invite you to reflect on a couple of points as we go through the presentation today. What competencies does your organization need whether its core, technical or leadership competencies?
Who is responsible to develop competent staff? Finally why do we need competency-based HR practices? How different is it with the conventional HR practices? 2

4. WHY DO WE NEED COMPETENT STAFF?
Communities deserve the assistance they require from competent & well-managed staff
Actions of staff are the basis for an effective response
To fulfill the localisation agenda
Staff related costs often the largest proportion of organisation’s cost
The actions of the staff are the foundation and basis for effective response. You and I have heard of cases where staff behaviour was causing more harm than good in the community. As such having competent staff, is not an obligation or a choice – it’s a commitment that we should deliver in order to provide effective service to the affected communities. This is in sync with the localisation agenda where initiatives are underway to enable more local-led responses. Besides, staff related costs are often the largest proportion of an organisation’s costs and of most programme budget, and investments in staff should be carefully nurtured if they are to yield the best outcomes for communities affected by crisis. 3

5. BRAINSTORM: 5 MINUTES Competencies Core Competencies
Technical Competencies
Leadership Competencies
Ladies and gentlemen I would like to invite you to reflect on a couple of points as we go through the presentation today. What competencies does your organization need whether its core, technical or leadership competencies?
Who is responsible to develop competent staff? Finally why do we need competency-based HR practices? How different is it with the conventional HR practices? 4

6. DEFINITIONS
Core Humanitarian Competencies
Competencies
Functional
Technical Competencies
Leadership Competencies
Behaviour and skills that contribute to performance at leadership level.
e.g. Deakin University’s Leadership Behaviours
Behaviour and skills that contribute to operational performance
Relates to the nature of work that is undertaken
Knowledge and skills in a technical area
Provides guidance on required training in the technical field
e.g Child Protection in Emergencies (CPiE) competency framework
Core behaviours and skills critical to an individual
Promotes a desired culture
e.g. CHCF 5

7. CORE HUMANITARIAN COMPETENCY DOMAINS
“Competencies are the behaviours that employees must have, or must acquire, in order to achieve high levels of performance in their role”
The six domains of core competencies are:
The CHCF describes the core competencies and corresponding behaviours required for effective response. Competencies is described as the behaviours that employees must have, or must acquire, in order to achieve high levels of performance in their role
Understanding Humanitarian Context & Applying Humanitarian Principles & Standards: The outcome of this domain is for aid workers to understand operating contexts, key stakeholders and practices affecting current and future humanitarian interventions while adhering to humanitarian principles & standards.
Achieving results: The outcome of this competency domain is for aid workers to be accountable for their work and use resources effectively to achieve lasting results
Developing & Managing Collaborative Relationships: One of the main challenges during the humanitarian response is coordination & collaboration. Recognizing the need to address this gap, this competency domain aims to develop and maintain collaborative and coordinated relationships with stakeholders and staff
Operating Safely & securely at all times: Operate safely and securely in a pressured environment.
Managing Yourself in a pressured and changing environment: Adapt to pressure and change to operate effectively within humanitarian contexts.
Demonstrating leadership in humanitarian context: Outcome of this competency domain is for the aid worker to demonstrate humanitarian values and principles, and motivate others to achieve results in complex situations, independent of one’s role, function or seniority 1
Understanding Humanitarian Context & Applying Humanitarian Principles & Standards 4
Operating Safely and Securely at all Times 2
Achieving Results 5
Managing Yourself in a Pressured and Changing Environment 3
Developing and Maintaining Collaborative Relationships 6
Demonstrating Leadership in Humanitarian Context 6

10. EXERCISE – MIX & MATCH Read the statement given to you.
Using Blu-Tack or tape, walk around the room and identify which competency domain the behaviour statement supports.
Stick the statement on the flip chart which most strongly relates to their statement 9

11. OPTIONAL EXERCISE: DEBATE
“Technical qualifications alone are not enough. It is a person’s behaviours that will determine his or her effectiveness on the job” 10

12. COMPETENCY-BASED HR PRACTICES
Planning and organisational design
Recruitment and selection
Performance development
Learning and development
Competency Framework
Lets look at some of the competency-based HR practice. We shall focus on four areas namely; planning & organizational design; recruitment & selection; performance development; learning & development. I will briefly describe how each practice incorporates the competencies and the benefits of doing so. 11

13. PLANNING & ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN
Supports an organisation’s strategic plan with a staffing plan
Analyses where there are competence gaps & allows creation of a plan to rectify this gap
Helps identify the core competencies relevant in a particular context in addition to technical & leadership competencies
TOOLS:
Organisational Assessment
Talent Management / Succession Plans
Learning & Development Plan
Job Description
HR planning is a crucial step, however its often done in an ad-hoc manner; or at times HR is hardly involved in the planning stage. A competency based approach to HR planning would include the typical steps of planning however with the focus of analysing where there are competencies gaps. For example by conducting a A situation review-what are the key staffing needs? Or Current staffing profile-considering your existing staff, what is their competency profile?
Identify your future staffing needs: what competencies you will need for the future?
Gap analysis: what gaps exist between your future workforce needs and the current staffing profile? What competencies are missing? Create the plan- what actions do you need to take to close the gaps?
We have developed some tools to support the planning & org design stage. These tools include org assessment tool, talent mgt/succession plan templates, L&D plan, and sample competency based JD. 12

14. Interview Questionnaire
COMPETENCY-BASED RECRUITMENT & SELECTION
Save time and money by minimizing failed recruitments by ensuring the candidates match the organisational needs
Hiring decisions are made objectively, with behaviour-based short- listing and interviewing
TOOLS:
Interview Questionnaire
Reference Questions
Competency Based approach could make recruitment systems fairer and more open and differences between levels, job titles and grades more transparent. Competency frameworks have also been shown to play a major role in both attracting and retaining staff, particularly when linked to career progression and pay. Hiring decisions are made more objectively, with behaviour-based short listing & interviewing. Under this area we offer the behaviorial interview questionnaire. The interview questions directly correspond to the behaviours listed in the core competencies framework. 13

15. COMPETENCY-BASED PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
Focuses on the HOW (behaviours) in addition to the WHAT (objectives)
Helps to identify the competencies for effective performance in a specific role
Considers the level of individual performance vis-à-vis the behavioral indicators.
TOOLS:
Self-Assessment Tool
Competency-Based Objectives
Personal Development Plan
How do we know if the managers and staff are performing; are they demonstrating the core & technical competencies as desired?
Tools and Techniques
1.Competency-based objective setting
2.Self-assessment and development plan that corresponds to the core competencies 14

16. Competency-Based Coaching
COMPETENCY-BASED LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT
Supports the strategic direction of the organisation by developing the skills & competencies needed for the future
Staff develop & use the necessary core competencies, technical & leadership competencies to fulfill their role
Competencies can inform training curriculum with an aim to improve specific competencies
TOOLS:
Competency-Based Coaching
Staff develop & use the necessary core competencies, technical & leadership competencies to fulfill their role & understand how organization can support them to do this. It addresses challenges of having to randomly send staff for trainings. Example: One staff who had a wish list to attend series of trainings. Staff development is approved by manager & second line manager! Forms and formats are just formalities – no conscious and conscientious decision to identify competency gap & build competencies accordingly. The competencies can be used to identify areas for personal and professional development. The
identification of strengths and development needs can be done by reflecting upon whether the
indicators at each respective level of competency are met or not. Tools for self-assessment which
prompt an individual to reflect on their own behaviour can be designed from these competencies to
support the development of learning and development plans.
The competencies can also contribute to learning and development by informing training curricula.
Trainings can be tailored around specific competencies or groups of competencies with the aim of
raising performance and skill levels. 15

17. ADDITIONAL TOOLS Limiting Behaviours Communication plan Business Case
List of Trainings to Build the Core Competencies
Other References
Like any tool, CHCF has its advantages and disadvantages. One of the major gaps in having tools include the lack of ‘socialisation’ or communicating about the tool. As HR practitioners or managers you may have encountered instances where you share certain tool and yet staff will claim they don’t know how to use the tool, or reject the tool. In the review of the effectiveness of the CHCF, the findings clearly suggested that the tool is fine however there is a big gap in the ‘how to’ – how to use this competency framework. As such we have included some additional tools for you to keep in mind when introducing or reinforcing the use of competencies.
The tools have been developed for practical use by employees and managers and are centred on the CHCF however they can be easily adapted for use with different competency frameworks. 16

18. GROUP EXERCISE: SQUID BEHAVIOUR CHANGE:
What behaviour change(s) are we looking for?
How to make it happen?
How do we measure behaviour change? 17

19. BENEFITS OF THE CHCF
A free tool to support the professionalization of the sector
Organisations can adapt & apply CHCF in their own context
Organisations can start small by selecting the HR practices to improve
Identify and nurture staff behavioural attributes needed for high level of performance
Assist individuals and organisation to track their performance in measurable ways
Identify training interventions to bridge gaps in capacity
Sharpen organisation’s ability to deliver against its goals
Foster a strong feedback and development culture on staff behaviours
Personally I have seen some positive changes with those who have used competency framework effectively. I do believe when used effectively the benefits outweigh the limitations. Building a competency framework from scratch can be a daunting task. It is also costly. Some organizations use consulting firms or consultants to develop their competency framework, some develop them in-house. CHCF is a free tool that you can use as it is if you see all the competencies relevant to your organization’s needs or you can use it like a reference point like many organizations do. Basically, you can adapt and apply CHCF to suit your own context. The CHCF resources allows organization to start small especially if there are unfamiliar with the use of competency framework. You can select an area that perhaps is easier to start with such as the recruitment & selection. 18

20. CHCF ONLINE RESOURCES
The following resources are available on the CHS Alliance website:
CHCF (available in English, French, Bengali, Tagalog, Swahili & Arabic)
‘How to’ Guide for users including self assessment (available in English)
Shortened ‘How to’ Guide (available in French, Bengali, Tagalog, Swahili & Arabic)
CHCF Training Modules (available in English)
Introductory Video (available in English, French, Bengali, Tagalog, Swahili & Arabic)
All in all, let me recap the list of CHCF resources that will soon be made available – for free. As I mentioned earlier these tools have been developed for practical use by employees and managers and are centred on the CHCF however they can be easily adapted for use with different competency frameworks. 19

21. WHAT THE CHCF AIMS TO ACHIEVE?
Recognize and understand behaviours that needs to be demonstrated by staff for high standard of performance
Clarify expectations of staff on behaviours related to their performance in a consistent and objective way
Create a shared language across agencies about what is expected of staff and organisational performance
Strengthen professionalism among humanitarian staff and organisations to better support crisis affected people
In conclusion the CHCF aims to … 20