Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Essex
competency
toolkit
April 2005
Essex County Council and the
East of England Regional Assembly
Contents
Forward
What is a Competency?
What is a Competency Framework?
Which organisations use Competency Frameworks?
1 - Competencies in other organisations
What are the national and local key drivers that influence the Essex
Competency Framework?
8 - The Essex Competency Framework Drivers, Uses and Future Developments
The Gershon Efficiency Review
9 - Library Service case study
Future developments
The National Core CompetenciesFramework (Employers Organisation)
28 - Employers Organisation
e-Competencies (ODPM)
29 Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
e-Government Agenda
Child Protection
Support on competencies
What our employees think
From manager
From staff
Foreword
This toolkit has been designed to help local authorities understand the importance of a
competency approach, where it can be applied and some practical examples of how we
use our Competency Framework at Essex County Council (ECC).
You can either work through the Toolkit from the beginning or dip into the parts which
interest you most. The kit includes links which contain detailed practical guidance.
Over the past four years, our Council has been at the forefront of local government
modernisation - in particular our Comprehensive Performance Assessment highlighted our
people management approach and our can do culture. The Essex Competency
Framework, introduced in 2000, allows us to build a workforce that is both adaptable to
local needs, making Essex a better place to live and work, and capable of reacting to
regional and national demands.
Our framework assesses behaviour as well as the how element of tasks. It is now
being highlighted as local government best practice both regionally and nationally.
The Essex Competency Framework has been critical to our organisational change process
and is a key building block in our Human Resource Strategy. It reflects the Councils aims
and Core Values (outlined in the Essex Approach) by placing objectivity, accountability
and transparency at the heart of everything we do.
The Framework has proved an easy way of highlighting skills and behaviours required in
the organisation to deliver quality services. It has also given us the ability to recruit the
best staff, to performance manage against priorities, and develop our people for
continuous service improvement.
Based on research and developing local and national practice it is aligned to the emerging
employee skills, competencies and behaviours within our changing organisational culture.
This ensures we are more customer and service focused and helps us sharpen our
performance management culture too.
What is a Competency?
At Essex, competencies can be defined as individual characteristics or skills that can be
both measured and shown to make a difference to performance. The competency
approach ensures we focus on the behaviours, skills and abilities required by particular
roles.
Competencies can measure how we do things in the same way that objectives can
measure what we do.
twelve main headings, comprising eleven behavioural competency headings and one
specific professional and technical
Contains
Competency 2
Contains
Competency 3
Contains
Competency 4
Interpersonal Skills
Contains
Competency 5
Contains
Competency 6
Customer/client Orientation
Contains
Competency 7
Using/managing Resources
Contains
Competency 8
Contains
Competency 9
Contains
Competency 10
Contains
Competency 11
Leadership
Contains
Competency 12
Contains
clear and simple to understand and provides consistent language across a large,
diverse organisation
a logical structure.
The Competency Framework applies to everyone from our frontline employees to our
Councillors and senior managers including the Chief Executive making it unique in Local
Government and helping join up the organisation, Members and Officers.
Employees
The Council has a consistent approach to appraisal, called Performance Management
Review, applicable to all its staff. The elements are:
providing evidence
Competency Dictionary
The Competency Dictionary has been developed to apply the Essex Competency
Framework to all staff in Essex subject to the Single Status Agreement. Measures have
been developed to reflect the level appropriate for each spinal column point (pay point). In
developing the competency dictionary care has been taken to ensure that the measures
are:
understandable
achievable
capable of assessment.
Some of the measures are constant (i.e. fixed throughout the spinal column points), others
have elements which are progressively more challenging.
7 - An illustration of how the competency measures progress
Developing Leadership
A number of these themes are aligned to our Competency Framework for example, we
have a leadership competency that identifies the need for personal credibility, providing
direction and leading change.
Councils are measuring their activities against the above themes and putting in place
workforce development plans. In Essex the Competencies will be a key element of our
workforce development plan.
Investors in People
The Council is committed to retaining its Investors in People (IiP) accreditation. The
Competency Framework helps us meet and exceed the IiP standard by providing a
framework for our recruitment processes, development and review process and job
profile/person specification.
10 - Extract from the Investors in People Assessors Report - December 2003
Council develops and supports its staff and recognises their achievements
Council is committed to fairness and enables equal access to opportunities for all.
The Council received a good CPA assessment result and is now striving to improve. A
Corporate Plan is being developed for 2005/9.
10
To support managers in the recruitment and selection process, we offer a two day
Recruitment & Selection module on our Staff Development Programme where the use of
the competencies is covered.
11
Shortlisting
Applying the chosen competencies makes it much easier to select/reject candidates
objectively and confidently.
16 - Completed short list form - example
Assessment Centres
Having 4 or 5 key competencies identified for the post makes selection of appropriate
tests easier and the results more relevant.
17 - Assessment Centre example
Interviewing
Managers are advised to set interview questions in line with the person specification
which includes the relevant competencies.
A guide to structured interview questions
Organisationally, we have developed a guide to assist managers in the use of the
Essex County Council Competency Framework throughout the recruitment and
selection process. Under each of the twelve main competency headings, there is a
selection of structured interview questions. These are designed to encourage
jobseekers to give examples of how they demonstrate competence from their own
experience throughout the selection interview. Supplementary questions are also
outlined to help probe for further details. They help recruiting managers to frame
relevant questions aligned to the person specification.
The guide is used for external jobseekers as well as selecting and promoting existing
staff either via, for example promotion or redeployment.
18 Contact Centre Manager interview questions
Deciding to appoint
Evidence through the recruitment and selection process provides a solid basis on
which to make a decision on who to appoint. It also provides a sound and objective
basis for feedback to candidates.
12
Managing performance
The Framework has a key role in performance management review (our appraisal scheme).
Benefits of this structured approach include:
For the organisation
motivate staff
reward performance
succession plan
identify training & development needs in the current role and possible future roles
13
of corporate objectives to help support organisational culture change and ensure that
senior managers are working towards the changing nature of the organisation.
19 - Example of completed objective setting form
Competencies
As well as objectives, 4 or 5 competency headings (which will include up to 10
measures for senior managers, for example) are selected and employees agree with
their manager whether development is needed against these
competencies/measures.
20 - Example of completed competency form
Personal Development Plan
Where it is considered that development is needed, then the personal development
plan identifies the competencies and possible agreed methods of meeting the
development need.
21 - Example of completed Personal Development Plan
The Development Centre and Personal Competency Development Tracker are
structured tools which assist identifying and meeting development needs.
22 Development Centres and Personal Competency Development Tracker
23 Extract from our Employee PMR guide
Applying performance management to job families
Over the last three years, the council has also developed common objectives and
applied common competencies for some job families i.e. school crossing patrols and
home care staff.
This simplifies the performance management process where there are generic job
profiles and large groups of staff, particularly remote workers.
24 - School Crossing Patrol booklet
25 - Home Care booklet
14
Staff development
To ensure that our training & development needs are aligned to the Essex Competency
Framework we have put in place a Staff Development Programme accredited at its various
levels by Greenwich University, the Institute of Management and Leadership and City &
Guilds.
Individual courses, modules and learning methods are directly linked to the competencies
and employees are able to receive development directly relevant to the job they do and the
needs they have. This needs to be regularly evaluated to ensure that the training is up-todate and in line with the changing culture of the organisation e.g. equality training.
As a result, the competencies have seen our training and development programmes move
from an ad-hoc pick list to a proactive, demand led development model linked to the
corporate strategy.
Because all generic training and development is linked to the competencies, employees
now seek the training they require in order that they can cite it in their reviews. The
training therefore becomes integral to the development of the employee and the overall
drive of the council to continuously improve service delivery.
The Competency Framework guides our existing workforce down a path of improving their
performance in their existing jobs and improving their suitability for those jobs to which
they aspire because the competencies are relevant to the whole organisation.
26 - Staff development module list by competencies
Pay progression
Linking performance to pay
At Essex County Council we have linked objectives and competencies to our reward /
remuneration strategy. This approach applies to three main pay groups:
Senior managers
A scheme was introduced in 2002/03 for senior managers performance pay (our top
150 managers); each senior manager has 6 8 service objectives plus agreed
corporate objectives, competencies and a personal development plan. An annual
15
16
Future developments
The National Core Competency Framework (Employers
Organisation)
Essex County Council is a partner in the National Skills Competency Framework being
developed by the Employers Organisation.
28 - Employers Organisation
e-Competencies (ODPM)
Essex County Council [via our Society Of Chief Personnel Officers (SOCPO) links] is
represented on the national group looking at the e-government competencies. Essex will
be working with the ODPM on aligning the suggested e-competencies with our
competency framework as part of a diagnostic toolkit.
29 Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
e-Government agenda
In line with the e-government agenda, all guidance and support will be e-enabled where
possible.
Child Protection
Work is progressing at national and local levels on specific child protection competencies
and how these relate to generic competency frameworks. Within the Council Child
Protection accountabilities have been included in relevant job profiles.
17
points may vary, for example Essex County Council already had a performance
management review scheme in place.
The implementation of the Essex Competency Framework at Essex County Council
commenced in 2000 and the attached presentation outlines the work undertaken since this
time to develop competencies in recruitment, performance management, and staff
development.
30 - Presentation Implementing the Essex Competency Framework
start with a pilot learn from this experience and monitor and evaluate
monitor, review and evaluate after first cycle formal audit if necessary
18
the use of the Essex Competency Framework in a wider setting which will support future
partnership working. This would mean that any future development of the Essex
Competency Framework would be across Essex.
32 East of England Regional Assembly
Support on competencies
If you need any information on the toolkit or need help, support or advice in
implementing a competency approach in your council please contact
Essex County Council PMR Helpdesk
01245 430254 or Ednet 20254
Email: PMR.Helpdesk@essexcc.gov.uk
A spiral bound printed version of the Toolkit is available form Essex County Council by
emailing the PMR helpdesk above at a cost of 75.
19
From staff
It is the modern approach to recruitment.
Using the Competency Framework has ensured that members of my team
have a clear understanding of the skills.
Using competencies as part of the recruitment and selection process provides
a better focus when shortlisting and interviewing. This has been further helped
by the Guidance for Interview Questions
I think the PMR system is so much better now. I dont have to produce loads of
evidence. We just have to state where it can be found.
When I have my PMR we always have a copy of the Service Plan and Essex
Approach so I can be very sure that any training I do can be justified.
Whatever I ask for in the way of training, I get, provided it meets my objectives.
I am totally sure that the Council is committed to training me.
20