The Competence Toolkit
The Competence Toolkit helps you use competences to analyse and develop the jobs and skills of managers. Competences are the key to understanding what managers must do (rather than know) to be able to take decisions that result in effective action. The manual contains two questionnaires that enable you to review jobs and skills across your organisation, as well as example behaviours and a competence development guide, which provides practical suggestions for action.
Buyers Guide
What is the purpose of this manual?
To provide a straightforward guide to using a competency framework in a sensible way, avoiding unnecessary complications and needless bureaucracy.
Is it for me? What is the target population for this manual?
The manual is written for line managers, HR practitioners and consultants who want a practical approach to:
- identifying the core competencies necessary for successful performance in a particular job or role
- determining the extent to which individuals demonstrate those competencies
- planning the actions and resources that will help individuals develop the competencies to the required level.
Who wrote the manual?
The manual was co-authored by Graham Robinson and the late Paul Whiteley, who worked together for many years as consultants in a variety of organisations helping them to establish, and integrate, competency frameworks. The materials in the manual are based on their extensive experience working with The States of Guernsey, British Aerospace and the Calor Group. The advice they offer is therefore utterly hands-on and practical.
What difference will it make?
It will help managers and consultants:
- Understand and appreciate the usefulness of using competencies as the basis for improving peoples’ performance
- Systematically select, from a list of 34 carefully defined competencies, the ones that are relevant to a particular job/person
- Know exactly how and when to use a comprehensive job and skills questionnaire (both questionnaires are in the manual)
- Decide which method(s) to use to develop an individual’s performance in a particular competence or set of competencies
- Agree on specific development actions (the manual has a section containing suggestions for all 34 competencies).
In how many ways could I use the manual?
You could:
- Adopt the 34 competencies, without further research or adaptation, and use them as your ready-made competency framework
- Select the competencies you want to work with and discard the rest
- Use the competencies in the manual as your starting point, but change the names and/or modify the definitions and behavioural indicators to suit your circumstances
- Photocopy the two questionnaires (The Job Questionnaire and The Skills Questionnaire) and use them as diagnostic tools in your organisation
- Modify one or both of the questionnaires to incorporate ant changes you have made to the competencies.
So, why should I buy it?
Because this is a practical, do-it-yourself manual that will save you time and thousands of pounds in consultancy fees! Too often, competencies have been made over-complicated and off-puttingly daunting. This manual comes to the rescue.
Copyright and Photocopying
Purchasers of this manual have permission to photocopy any or all of it. However the copyright notice on the bottom right hand corner of each page must be retained and clearly displayed on all photocopies.
This permission extends to purchasers of this manual and to photocopying only. No part of this publication can be amended, re-typed, reset, stored in a retrieval system or included in other publications without written permission.