1 SKILLS AUDIT – DRAFT GUIDANCE As pressure increases on local authorities to undertake organisational skills audits, Regional Skills and Capacity Advisors, Employers’ Organisation for local government are exploring the most practical way of doing this. The information below is intended as draft guidance and will be used in a pilot study with some local authorities in this region. We would welcome feedback from any local authority on the effectiveness of the draft guidance outlined below. Please send any comments to Barbara.howarth@lg-employers.gov.uk Local authorities may wish to try out skills audit tools to help identify skills needs. Different methodologies are discussed below including self assessment skills questionnaires, individual /team based activities and assessment centres. What kind of skills audit? Some approaches may be more appropriate for selected groups of people whilst others could be most effectively deployed across teams or the whole workforce. A skills audit is not a simple stock-take of skills within an organisation, although such an exercise would have value. In common with other audit processes, it takes the stated standard as the ideal and measures how far this is being achieved. Initially, the first task to undertake is to ensure that skills standards exist against which to audit practice. Whilst this could be a large undertaking, the activity could be prioritised for key service areas, specialist areas where recruitment is difficult or in areas where turnover is high. What standards are likely to be in place? There is usually more than one option to choose from. Person specifications detailing qualifications and skills levels, National Occupational Standards and competency frameworks can all provide the manager with a breakdown of the actual skills people need both now and in the future. Self assessment vs peer vs manager assessment The various approaches outlined below have different advantages and disadvantages. Skills questionnaires The attached questionnaire tools have been developed in the USA public sector and they will need to be adapted for relevance to a British local authority. However, they provide a suggested template identifying the skills needs of people working in one of three categories i.e. clerical, management and professional. Your Regional Skills and Capacity Advisor would welcome any adaptations that are made in your authority and feedback on the usefulness of these questionnaires. Whilst designed to be a self -assessment tool, the questionnaires could be completed with line manager input. For every method discussed in this paper the key factor is the 2 manager. Managers really need to know their people and the roles they will be required to fulfil both now and in the future. EO workforce planning team based questionnaire (See Appendix 1 p.5 below) This questionnaire has a broader remit than purely skills auditing and is most applicable when used in a workforce planning context. It attempts to capture information across team roles and performance, highlighting capacity issues and future skills needs. Mapping team skills The ‘Can Do’ chart below is a tool recommended in The Human Resources Planning Toolkit for Service Managers developed for the health sector in the West Midlands by Shared Solutions Consulting. The Can Do chart identifies skills gaps in teams, where more training is required. It highlights where teams are over dependent on individuals with a wide range of skills whose loss could be very damaging. This approach can also be used to support Investors in People (IIP) by linking training needs to business objectives. The chart ranks the level of competence of each team member against a core skill. Core skills should be agreed with the team and derived from business objectives, corporate strategy and competency frameworks. Any key can be used to denote competence but a simple colour code can provide an easy to read visual chart. Can Do chart Core Skill Alan (35) John (55) Kate (58) Deepa (24) etc People Management Procurement Project management Team working Business process design etc Key: novice able with basic knowledge proficient expert Skills Audit as part of effective Performance Management An effective Performance Management system will inevitably highlight skills needs in the organisation – and so is crucial for an organisational skills audit. This requires managers to have good management skills – e.g. to be able to have a structured 3 dialogue with their staff during appraisal that leads to specific outcomes including identification of skills needs. One way of capturing the skills needs of the local authority is to ensure that all have appraisals (including elected members and chief and senior officers). One outcome of the appraisal should be an electronic Personal Development Plan (e-PDP) that is completed by the appraisee and counter-signed by the appraiser/manager as a record of the individual’s learning needs, priorities, action and costs agreed to meet priorities. The e-PDP should be designed in a way that enables HR to collate information about the organisation’s skills needs. One approach to skills audit would therefore be to recommend that all individual appraisals are preceded with Team appraisals. Managers/appraisers and Team Leaders/facilitators need to be able to have a structured dialogue with their staff. Parts 1 and 2 below provide a suggested format for this. (NB This is not a script – it merely provides a structure for dialogue). Part 1 -Team Appraisal Leader/facilitator asks the team to consider following: What is the purpose of this team? Why does the Council employ this Team? What is the team's role in helping to deliver service/corporate objectives?). (This should focus the team on the council’s corporate objectives and how service objectives are linked with these). Once statement of team purpose is agreed, ask following SWOT type questions: 1. What helps the team to achieve its purpose? (Team Strengths -what are the strengths of the team? 2. What hinders the team -and prevents it achieving its purpose? (Team Weaknesses or limitations) e.g. lack of motivation in team, initiative overload, lack of skills including skills to work as a team, communication skills, e-skills, business skills, technical skills etc. (NB Leader/facilitator should make it clear that this is not opportunity to single out individuals for blame, criticism, etc – it is an opportunity to look at the limitations of the team as a whole) 3. What opportunities/drivers exist beyond the team that would help team to strengthen team performance? (Opportunities) e.g. push from CPA, senior mgt team, councillors, and customer demand -these provide drivers and opportunities for change 4. What other factors exist beyond the team that might get in the way of strengthening team performance? (Threats) e.g. lack of money, lack of time, lack of investment in developing the team, etc Having debated above questions, the team need to do analysis of answers and agree action to address issues highlighted e.g. how can we use our strengths and opportunities to address weaknesses and threats? What action does the team need to take to improve and help it achieve its Team purpose? Some of the answers will inevitably highlight skills needs for the team and these should be captured as part of an 4 agreed plan of action e.g. could have a Team Development Plan (this would contribute to the corporate Workforce Development Plan (WfDP). Part 2 -Individual Appraisal Following team appraisal, all team members have individual appraisals. Using SWOT format again, manager/appraiser can build on foundation provided by team appraisal and ask following questions: What do you see as the purpose/aim of your job? What is your role within the Team? How does your role support the achievement of Team/service/corporate objectives? (This should focus the individual on service/team objectives and the individual’s role in helping to deliver these). Once statement of job purpose/aim is clarified/agreed, appraiser asks following SWOT type questions: 1. What helps you to achieve your job purpose? (Individual Strengths) e.g. I’m a good organiser; I have good people skills, etc. 2. What hinders you – and prevents you achieving your job purpose/aim? (Individual limitations or weaknesses) e.g. I don’t know how to operate the new computer system; I’m fed up with everything changing all the time; I’ve lost interest in the job 3. What opportunities/drivers exist in the organisation or beyond that would help you to feel motivated and equipped to operate in a way that gives you job satisfaction? (Opportunities) e.g. better e-skills; better understanding of why we keep changing; maybe an opportunity to job swap and try something new 4. What other factors exist that may prevent you achieving your job role and/or job satisfaction? (Threats) e.g. organisation’s lack of money, organisation’s lack of investment in my personal development Having asked above questions, the appraiser and appraisee need to do analysis e.g. how can strengths and opportunities be used to address weaknesses and threats? What action would help the individual to achieve the purpose/aim of the job and to gain job satisfaction? Some of the answers will inevitably highlight skills needs that the individual has. Part 3 – Capture information in e-PDP. Appraisee completes e-PDP – counter-signed by appraiser/manager who authorises action to be taken to address individual’s (prioritised) learning needs. Part 4 -HR collates information from e-PDPs to produce skills audit. Additionally, information and agreed action/costs to address priorities will feed into corporate WfDP. HR collates information from e-PDPs in order to identify the organisation’s learning needs and skills priorities (i.e. skills audit of current workforce). Action and costs agreed to address priorities contribute to corporate WfDP. 5 Appendix 1 EO workforce planning team questionnaire Dear Colleague, Workforce planning survey Delivering improvements and building capacity will only be realised if clear links are forged between business strategies and people plans. Engaging with workforce planning provides the opportunity for our longer-term thinking and development of appropriate strategies to inform our planning for the future. One of the key benefits of workforce planning is that it can be used to integrate the various activities and functions of our organisation. It is much better to develop a clear understanding of the present situation, consider key future issues and manage the interplay between the two than to leave things entirely to chance. All local authorities are being advised through various inspection regimes to undertake workforce planning. Essentially workforce planning involves an analysis of the present workforce competencies and issues, identification of future needs and an action plan to bridge gaps. To this end, I/we need team leaders and/or unit heads to complete the enclosed questionnaire with and on behalf of their team. Please take time completing the questionnaire, this is your opportunity to demonstrate how issues affect your team and identify those that are currently having the greatest impact. Additionally, I/we are keen to examine your relationships both internally and externally with other stakeholders. Please discuss the survey with your team to give an informed picture. The survey needs to be completed and returned to X by DD/MM/YY. Managers will be asked to attend 1 to 1 interviews the following week to inform our workforce plan by X. You will receive feedback in due course about the outcome of this survey and how it fits within the overall scope of the workforce planning project. Signed Title 6 Team leader questionnaire Please answer all of the following questions. Once completed can you return the questionnaire to X either by email or internal post. Section 1: about your team This section asks questions about your team and the roles that the various posts fulfil within your team. 1) What is the name of your team? Insert name of team 2) How many posts are there in your team? Please include your own post. Number of posts in the team: X 3) Please list the titles of all those posts present in your team and for each post list their key roles. Could you also please indicate the number of staff currently working in each type of post? Please remember to include yourself in the table. Note that the totals given in the end column should add up to the total given in question 2. Example given for HR team in a large authority. Post title Role of the post within your team No employed in this type of post No of agency staff (may not be applicable to all teams) A Assistant Director Senior management role reports to Chief Executive 1 B Principal Consultant Team leader for consultants and principal HR officer, undertakes sensitive work within services 1 C Senior Consultant Undertakes range of corporate policy and strategy work within HR remit including recruitment, learning and development, pay and reward, etc. 2 D Principal HR Officer Day to day advice and guidance on employment relations issues within services team leader for senior HR officers. 1 E Senior HR Officer Leads on casework in services. 2 F HR Officers Supports admin and casework in services 4 G Senior HR Administrators Issue contracts, liaise with service managers provide day to day HR functional support. 5 H Clerical Officers Administration of Sickness, accident and other employee records. 5 Please continue on a separate sheet if required. If you do so please affix the continuation sheet securely to the questionnaire when it is returned. 7 Section 2: measuring the performance of your team Performance indicators are used to determine how well people, teams or organisations are doing. This section asks about those performance indicators and measures that are use to determine how well your team is performing. 4) Could you please list and briefly describe those performance indicators or measures that are currently used to assess the performance of your team. Performance indicator or measure Description of the measure Community Plan Service Plan BVPI’s etc Please continue on a separate sheet if required. If you do so please affix the continuation sheet securely to the questionnaire if it is returned in hard copy. 5) Thinking about the current performance of your team, what do you think are the “gaps” that adversely affect the way your team performs? The term “gaps” may cover such things as work processes, employment practises, recruitment and retention issues, training and development, skills shortages etc. ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________8 Section 3: work place, human resource and employment issues This section asks about the work place, human resource and employment issues experienced by your team. 6) Below is a list of work place, human resource and employment issues that may affect the working of your team. Please look through the list and tick up to 5 issues that you feel most affect the work of your team. ı Absenteeism ı Agency staff ı Capability issues ı Changing job roles ı Communication ı Continuous Professional Development ı Crisis management ı Database systems and IT ı Data protection issues ı Difficulty attracting staff ı Difficulty retaining staff ı Disciplinary issues ı Employment checks and delays during recruitment ı Equalities issues in employment ı Employee support ı Exit interviews ı Flexible working requirements ı Funding ı Grievance issues ı HR strategies ı Induction processes ı Inequities within the workplace ı Internal communication ı Job satisfaction ı Joint team working ı Knowledge, experience or skills of staff ı Language barriers with clients ı Leadership ı Low morale ı Management development ı Member/Officer relationships ı Mixed terms and conditions ı New initiatives ı Occasional training ı Out of hours office cover ı Pay and reward issues ı Performance management ı Policy frameworks ı Procedural processes ı Qualification training ı Redeployment ı Skills issues ı Stress ı Supervision ı Travel to work ı Travel to clients and contacts ı Temporary staffing ı Turnover too high ı Turnover too low ı Vacancy rates ı Vision of the organisation ı Vocational training ı Workload ı Other (specify) ___________________ ı Other (specify) ___________________ 9 7) In the space provided below, for each of the issues (up to 5) that you have ticked in question 6 could you please provide some detail about why these issues are of concern to your team. First issue) ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ Second issue) ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ Third issue) ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ Fourth issue) ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ Fifth issue) ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ 8) Please indicate the essential qualifications that are appropriate for each job type within your team 10 Example given in above table for HR team Role A MCI/MCIPD level 5/MBA or similar B MCI/MCIPD level 5 or similar C MCIPD qualified D MCIPD qualified E MCIPD qualified F MCIPD qualified G NVQ level 2/3 in Administration/Personnel H 3 GCSE passes or equivalent Please continue on a separate sheet of paper if required. 11 9) Please indicate the desirable qualifications that are appropriate for each job type within your team Role A B C D E F G H Please continue on a separate sheet of paper if required. 10) Please describe the level and quality of temporary, interim and agency staff used to support your team. Please continue on a separate sheet of paper if required. 12 Section 4: Process issues within your team This section asks about the issues arising from the various work processes used by your team. 11) Below is a list of process issues that may affect the working of your team. Please look through the list and tick up to 5 issues that you feel most affect the work of your team. ı Budgets and financial management ı Business and Service Planning ı Database systems and IT ı Filing and information management ı Reviews ı Office cover ı Performance Management ı Policy frameworks ı Procedural processes (other) ı Project management ı Record keeping ı Risk assessments ı Systems of recording information ı Travelling arrangements ı Other (specify) ____________________________ ı Other (specify) ____________________________ 12) In the space provided below, for each of the issues (up to 5) that you have ticked in question 11 could you please provide some detail about why these issues are of concern to your team. First issue) Second issue) Third issue) Fourth issue) Fifth issue) 13 Section 5: External factors that affect the working of your team This section asks about what external factors affect the workings or your team. 13) Below is a list of external factors that may affect the working of your team. Please look through the list and identify issues that you feel most affect the work of your team. ı Changes in legislation ı Changing service delivery issues ı Communication ı Competing demands from stakeholders ı Consultation issues ı External relationships ı Other (specify) ___________________ ı Other (specify) ___________________ 14) In the space provided below, for each of the factors that you have ticked in question 13 could you please provide some detail about why these factors are of concern to your team. First factor) ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ Second factor) ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ Third factor) ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ 14 ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ Fourth factor) ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ Fifth factor) ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ 15 Section 6: change now and in the future This section asks about the challenges that your team face now and in the future and how you think your team will adapt to meet those challenges. 15) At present are there any external or internal factors or issues that require changes in the way your team carries out its work? If so what are they? How are the factors or issues that you described in question 15 going to affect the way your team carries out its work? 16 Section 7: Working partnerships and contacts This final section asks you to detail those contacts and partnerships that enable your team to carry out its work 16) Please give details of those sections, teams departments or other parts of the Council that enable your team to carry out its normal day to day work. Could you also indicate by ticking the appropriate box how you would characterise the relationship with each particular contact (poor, fair or good). Name of section, team, department etc Poor working relationship Fair working relationship Good working relationship Finance ı ı ı Education ı ı ı Social Services ı ı ı Housing ı ı ı Leisure ı ı ı etc ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı Please continue on a separate sheet of paper if required. 17) Are there any other sections, teams departments or other parts of the Council that in other circumstances (i.e. not on a normal day-to-day basis) your team is required to work with? If so please describe below. Name of section, team, department etc Poor working relationship Fair working relationship Good working relationship Policy and Performance ı ı ı Facilities Management ı ı ı IT ı ı ı Communications ı ı ı etc ı ı ı Please continue on a separate sheet of paper if required. 17 18) Please give details of those external sections, teams, departments, agencies or organisations that your team interacts with on a regular basis whilst carrying out its normal day to day work. Could you also indicate by ticking the appropriate box how you would characterise the relationship with each particular contact (poor, fair or good). Name of section, team, department, organisation etc Poor working relationship Fair working relationship Good working relationship Primary Care Trust ı ı ı Police ı ı ı LSP ı ı ı CRB ı ı ı Unison/T&G etc ı ı ı LSC ı ı ı RDA ı ı ı TOPSS ı ı ı etc ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı Please continue on a separate sheet of paper if required. 18 19) Are there any other external sections, teams, departments, agencies or organisations that in other circumstances (i.e. not on a normal day-to-day basis) your team is required to work with? If so please describe below. Name of section, team, department etc Poor working relationship Fair working relationship Good working relationship LSC ı ı ı Audit Commission ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı ı Please continue on a separate sheet of paper if required. 19 Section 8: Additional comments 20) Please use the space to make any comments you may have about any of the issues raised in this questionnaire or information sources that may be useful for the rest of the project. Thank you for taking the time to complete this questionnaire. Your help has been invaluable. This questionnaire should now be returned to X either by e-mail or by internal mail 20 Appendix B Workforce Skills Analysis Tool For Supervisors & Managers This tool may be used in a variety of ways, and should be seen as a starting point that may require some modification for your specific use. This particular survey is designed to obtain important information about the work performed in occupations for supervisors and managers. The purpose of the survey is to determine the skills and competencies that are vital to the accomplishment of an organisation’s mission, goals and objectives. You may want to ask all the whole authority to complete the survey. The aggregated results of the survey can be used to determine the skills and competencies that will be required now and in the future. This survey form has three parts. Part I is for identifying your service and the occupations you are rating. Part II lists the general competencies that have been found to be important for most supervisory and managerial occupations in the USA Federal government. This section can be amended to be made more relevant to UK local government requirements. Part III is used for identifying the technical competencies needed in the occupation(s) you are rating. Please return the completed form to ______________________ no later than ________________. Thank you. Part I What is the name of the service for which you are making the ratings? ______________________________________________________________________ ___ How many supervisors and managers are in your service? _____ 21 Part 2 Please indicate (1) how much of each competency listed on the following pages supervisors and managers in your work service currently have; (2) how much of each competency is currently needed to accomplish the work in your service area; and (3) how much will be required in the future based on the corporate strategic plan. Please use the following scale: 0 -Not required 1 -Basic 2 -Between Basic and Intermediate 3 -Intermediate 4 -Between Intermediate and Advanced 5 -Advanced Example: Competency Description Have Now Needed Now Required in Future Continual Learning Grasps the essence of new information; masters new technical and business knowledge; recognizes own strengths and weaknesses; pursues self-development; seeks feedback from others and opportunities to master new knowledge. 2 3 4 22 Competency Description Have Now Needed now Have Now Needed Now Required in Future Continual Learning Grasps the essence of new information; masters new technical and business knowledge; recognizes own strengths and weaknesses; pursues self-development; seeks feedback from others and opportunities to master new knowledge. Creativity and Innovation Develops new insights into situations and applies innovative solutions to make organizational improvements; creates a work environment that encourages creative thinking and innovaation designs and implements new or cutting-edge programs/processes. External Awareness Identifies and keeps up-to-date on key international policies and economic, political, and social trends that affect the organization. Understands near-term and long-range plans and determines how to best be positioned to achieve a competitive business advantage in a global economy. Flexibility Is open to change and new information; adapts behavior and work methods in response to new information, changing conditions, or unexpected obstacles. Adjusts rapidly to new situations warranting attention and resolution. Resilience Deals effectively with pressure; maintains focus and intensity and remains optimistic and persistent, even under adversity. Recovers quickly from setbacks. Effectively balances personal life and work. Service Motivation Creates and sustains an organizational culture which permits others to provide the quality of service essential to high performance. Enables others to acquire the tools and support they need to perform well. Shows a commitment to public service. Influences others toward a spirit of service and meaningful contributions to mission accomplishment. Strategic Thinking Formulates effective strategies consistent with the business and competitive strategy of the organization in a global economy. Examines policy issues and strategic planning with a long-term perspective. Determines objectives and sets priorities; anticipates potential threats or opportunities. Vision Takes a long-term view and acts as a catalyst for organizational change; builds a shared vision with others. Influences others to translate vision into action. Conflict Management Identifies and takes steps to prevent potential situations that could result in unpleasant confrontations. Manages and resolves conflicts and disagreements in a positive and constructive manner to minimize negative impact. Leveraging Diversity Recruits, develops, and retains a diverse high quality workforce in an equitable manner. Leads and manages an inclusive workplace that maximizes the talents of each person to achieve sound business results. Respects, understands, values and seeks out individual differences to achieve the vision and mission of the organization. Develops 23 Competency Description Have Now Needed now Have Now Needed Now Required in Future and uses measures and rewards to hold self and others accountable for achieving results that embody the principles of diversity Integrity/Honesty Instills mutual trust and confidence; creates a culture that fosters high standards of ethics; behaves in a fair and ethical manner toward others, and demonstrates a sense of corporate responsibility and commitment to public service Team Building Inspires, motivates, and guides others toward goal accomplishments. Consistently develops and sustains cooperative working relationships. Encourages and facilitates cooperation within the organization and with customer groups; fosters commitment, team spirit, pride, trust. Develops leadership in others through coaching, mentoring, rewarding, and guiding employees Accountability Assures that effective controls are developed and maintained to ensure the integrity of the organization. Holds self and others accountable for rules and responsibilities. Can be relied upon to ensure that projects within areas of specific responsibility are completed in a timely manner and within budget. Monitors and evaluates plans, focuses on results and measuring attainment of outcomes. Customer Service Balancing interests of a variety of clients; readily readjusts priorities to respond to pressing and changing client demands. Anticipates and meets the needs of clients; achieves quality end-products; is committed to continuous improvement of services. Decisiveness Exercises good judgment by making sound and wellinfoorme decisions; perceives the impact and implications of decisions; makes effective and timely decisions, even when data are limited or solutions produce unpleasant consequences; is proactive and achievement oriented. Entrepreneurship Identifies opportunities to develop and market new products and services within or outside of the organization. Is willing to take risks; initiates actions that involve a deliberate risk to achieve a recognized benefit or advantage. Problem Solving Identifies and analyzes problems; distinguishes between relevant and irrelevant information to make logical decisions; provides solutions to individual and organizational problems. Technical Credibility Understands and appropriately applies procedures, requirements, regulations, and policies related to specialized expertise. Is able to make sound hiring and capital resource decisions and to address training and development needs. Understands linkages between administrative competencies and mission needs Financial Management Demonstrates broad understanding of principles of financial management and marketing expertise necessary to ensure appropriate funding levels. Prepares, justifies, and/or administers the budget for the program area; uses cost 24 Competency Description Have Now Needed now Have Now Needed Now Required in Future benefit thinking to set priorities; monitors expenditures in support of programs and policies. Identifies cost-effective approaches. Manages procurement and contracting. Human Resources Management Assesses current and future staffing needs based on organizational goals and budget realities. Using merit principles, ensures staff are appropriately selected, developed, utilized, appraised, and rewarded; takes corrective action. Technology Management Uses efficient and cost-effective approaches to integrate technology into the workplace and improve program effectiveness. Develops strategies using new technology to enhance decision making. Understands the impact of technological changes on the organization. Influencing/Negotiating Persuades others; builds consensus through give and take; gains cooperation from others to obtain information and accomplish goals; facilitates “win-win” situations Interpersonal Skills Considers and responds appropriately to the needs, feelings, and capabilities of different people in different situations; is tactful, compassionate and sensitive, and treats others with respect. Oral Communication Makes clear and convincing oral presentations to individuals or groups; listens effectively and clarifies information as needed; facilitates an open exchange of ideas and fosters an atmosphere of open communication Partnering Develops networks and builds alliances, engages in crossfuncttiona activities; collaborates across boundaries, and finds common ground with a widening range of stakeholders. Utilizes contacts to build and strengthen internal support bases Political Savvy Identifies the internal and external politics that impact the work of the organization. Approaches each problem situation with a clear perception of organizational and political reality; recognizes the impact of alternative courses of action Written Communication Expresses facts and ideas in writing in a clear, convincing, and organized manner. 25 Part III: Identifying Technical Competencies. This section asks you to identify the most critical technical competencies for the occupation(s) that you are rating. A technical competency usually is a specific knowledge or skill area that relates to successful performance in the job. The following are examples of technical competencies: Network Management -Knowledge of the operation, management, and maintenance of network and telecommunication systems and linked systems and peripherals. Statistical Methods -Statistical concepts and procedures required for analysis and presentation of financial data. Budgeting concepts and principles -Budget principles, operations, and procedures; recording of obligations and expenses in the agency financial system. Sources of Information You should rely on a variety of sources of information to identify the most critical technical competencies for the functional area/occupation(s) that you are rating. These can include sources such as subject matter experts like you, your employees, job descriptions, person specifications and existing job analysis information. Questions to Ask to Help Identify Critical Technical Competencies When you think about the top performers in your organisation, what technical skills and knowledge come to mind? What technical competencies distinguish superior performance from average performance? What technical competencies are critical to success in the functional area? Completing the Rating Form Step 1: Write the most critical technical competencies in the left column. Step 2: Indicate (1) how much of each competency the employees in your work unit currently have; (2) how much is currently needed to accomplish the work in your unit; and (3) how much will be required in the future based on the agency's strategic plan. Please use the following scale: 0-Not required 1-Basic 2-Between Basic and Intermediate 26 3-Intermediate 4-Between Intermediate and Advanced 5-Advanced Example: Technical Competency Description Have Now Needed Now Have Now Needed Now Required in Future Operations Support -Knowledge of procedures to ensure production or delivery of products and services, including tools and mechanisms for distributing new or enhanced software. 2 3 4 Technical Competency Worksheet Technical Competency Description Have Now Needed Now Have Now Needed Now Required in Future 27 Technical Competency Description Have Now Needed Now Have Now Needed Now Required in Future