Configure competence management

During configuration you determine how you will be deploying competence management during assessments. Use one of the following methods:

  • You determine the competence level of the employee
  • You determine whether the employee attains the required competence level.

In addition, you define the competence dictionary (i.e. all competences in the organisation). AFAS assists you in this, as Profit comes with a large number of ICT behavioural competences and skills competences. You can adapt it to the organisation and add competences yourself. Finally you configure roles: you link the required competences to each role.

Description

Every employee has a role that usually corresponds to his job. An employee can have multiple roles. To perform a role well, certain competences are required. This is why you can indicate in Profit which competences are required for each role. When you assign a specific role to an employee, you are also defining the required competences for the employee.

You can measure competences in two ways during an assessment:

  • You determine the competence level of the employee
  • You determine whether the employee attains the required competence level.

The competence level is expressed on a scale of, for example, four levels. The number of levels is the same for all competences. You determine the required assessment method and the number of levels in the settings.

Assessment method A: Assess the overall competence

You determine the level of the competences that are important to the relevant employee during the employee's assessment. You are, in a way, giving a report card score for each competence.

Competences have behaviour indicators that reflect the required behaviour. A competence often is an abstract concept (such as 'Analytical ability') and the concept is made concrete using the behaviour indicators. You are in fact assessing the competence by assessing the behaviour indicators for a competence. The level of the competence is the average level of the assessed behaviour indicators.

Example: 

You are, for example, assessing the 'Analytical ability' for an employee who has the role of 'Manager'. This competence has the following behaviour indicators, which are reflected in the assessment questions. A structure with levels 1 to 4 is used.

Questions for the 'Analytical ability' competence:

  • Reasons logically and consistently.
  • Has an eye for critical information and activities and sees the opportunities they offer the organisation.
  • Looks at complex issues from different angles to determine long-term consequences and conflicts of interests.
  • Is critical, also with regard to personal work/views.

    During the assessment, you specify the employee's current level for each question: 3, 2, 3 and 3, respectively. Profit calculates the average and rounds this off. The average level is 2.75. Rounding results in level 3 for the employee.

You can adapt the manner of rounding in the settings so that, for example, a 3.7 is still rounded down. The indicators all have the same weight in determining the average.

When conducting an assessment, Profit uses the survey generator. Profit displays the assessment as a survey that can be completed. The survey reflects the competences to be assessed and the underlying behaviour indicators. The survey results are immediately available in Profit and can be used to create a personal development plan, among other things.

Assessment method B: Assess the competence level

This method assesses whether the competences of employees are at a certain level. You will not only be defining the required competences for a role in this version, but also the required competence level.

Example: 

You work with four competence levels. For the 'Manager' role, the following competences have been defined:

Competence

Required level

Analytical ability

3

Decisiveness

3

Purposeful

4

Verbal communication

4

Reaching a certain level implies that the underlying levels have been reached as well. For example, if the 'Analytical ability' competence is at level 3, the employee has also reached level 1 and 2. Levels 1 and 2 as such are not involved in the assessment, only level 3 is assessed.

Using this method, the behaviour indicators are linked to specific competence levels, instead of the overall competence (as is the case for method A). Because you are checking whether a specific level is being achieved, you are, therefore, checking the behaviour indicators that are important to that level. Within the level, all behaviour indicators have the same weight.

This method uses scores. You define the scoring scale in the settings and it will apply to all competences. The employee is at the required competence level if the corresponding score is achieved. This is also recorded at the role level. The role therefore contains the following data for each competence:

  • The required competence level.
  • The score that is required to reach this level.

Example: (continuation)

You work with four competence levels and a scoring scale of no more than 5 points. For the 'Manager' role, the following competences have been defined:

Competence

Required level

Score

Analytical ability

3

4

Decisiveness

3

5

Purposeful

4

4

Verbal communication

4

5

Profit only places the behaviour indicators that are linked to the required level on the assessment form. When completing the form, the assessor can select the scores that are listed on the score scale.  

Example: (end)

The assessment form contains the four competences. The first competence to be assessed is 'Analytical ability'. As the employee has to reach at least level 3, Profit shows the behaviour indicators for level 3. For each behaviour indicator you can choose from the scores 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

The employee to be assessed achieves an average score of 3.8 for the 'Analytical ability' competence. Profit rounds this score up, meaning the required score (4) has been achieved. This also means that the required competence level (3) has been reached.

You can adapt the manner of rounding in the settings so that, for example, a score of 3.7 is still rounded down. The indicators all have the same weight in determining the average.

Integration with work types

You can combine both assessment methods with work types. Work types are also used in Profit Projecten. A work type represents a task or an activity. Specific competences are always required for implementing a work type. You define these with the work type.

If you link the work type to a role, the competences of the work type will also be linked to the role. Next, determine the level of the competence in the properties of the role and possibly the related score (only for competence model B).

Procedure

Also see