Competency Based Management Development Program
The competency management approach is an extremely beneficial tool in addressing skill gaps, building on existing/demonstrated strengths with a clear line of sight between capability development and business success.
An example of this is its successful implementation in a top IT Consulting Organization based out of NOIDA.
People Factor was hired by the organization to conduct a Workshop for its Tier II Managers who had more than 10 years of experience in the IT Space and are leading different projects.
The workshop was necessitated by the two-fold transition that the client is in the midst of:
- Business Transition - The nature of business is moving from the IT-Services space to IT Consulting space
- Manpower Transition - The manpower is projected to be tripled in the next couple of years.
The associated implications of this transition were:
- The profile of the organization’s clients will & is changing dramatically. The level of customer interaction with the employees will also significantly increase. The managers will have to interact as Business Leaders with the top leadership of their clients.
- With the ramping up of employee strength, these business leaders will be expected to lead bigger teams (currently they manage teams of 20-30 people).
The objective of the workshop was to develop such skills in the Managers that will enable them to take on the Leadership Challenge and enable their transformation into Business Leaders.
Besides the overriding objective, there were a few key deliverables that the organization desired at the end of the workshop:
- To ensure the target participants come out of their comfort zones and bring about change in themselves to be ready for the organizational changes ahead
- To ensure a harmonious & cohesive team in the face of increasing team sizes
- To equip managers with sharpened client interaction skills – of presentation, communication.
With the stated objectives & deliverables, People Factor decided to adopt a Competency Based Management Development Program.
The reasons for choosing a competency-based system over a generic program were:
- By selecting specific areas for development, impact of the program will be stronger on the participant.
- For the organization, it will be easier to monitor the change in individuals and as a group.
People Factor worked with the client’s top management to identify & shortlist 15 competencies to be targeted during the workshop. These related to self management, task management, people management & environment management.
Since change is a process of conversation. If concentrated doses are given, the euphoria about change goes away as quickly as it came.
Spacing the program into sessions ensures that the learnings are reinforce over and over again facilitating change. This also reinforces the organization’s commitment to change & people development.
The workshops’ methodology was based on the People Factor’s Co-creation model.
People Factor Co-creation Model
The model stems from the belief that if the participant is the Creator of the learning content, then it will Stay with the Participant as his/her own. The participant will then further share the learnings amongst his peers & subordinates thereby accelerating his/her personal growth.
As pre-work to the workshop, the participants were assessed on the identified competencies by their supervisors through a structured questionnaire.
This was the representation of their “Current Self” for the target audience.
Each workshop module was divided into 2 parts:
- Common Sessions – A mix of simulations, Paper & pencil exercises, inventory administration, group-level facilitation were used to detail the competency.
- 1-on-1 Coaching Sessions – This focused on self reflection, bridging the gap between the current & desired state helping each individual to enhance his/her individual Performance Bar.
Post-workshop(s), the participants will be reassessed on the identified competencies by their superiors to measure the impact of the training on the participants.
Further work on individuals would be carried out based on the post-workshop assessments & participants’ feedback.
Workshop Feedback
Parts of the feedback are reproduced below to give an insight into the effectiveness of this workshop.
“I view the six-month Leadership Development Program as a good means of developing the second and third line of leadership of a business unit. The duration of the program keeps people focused and makes the learning more permanent. The trainees have gained from the one on one sessions, helping them to take a deeper look at their individual facets.”
“Rajesh is taking us through the program very well. He keeps the participants’ interest alive and we are always listening to him with attention.
The various mocks and roles that we do are very interesting.
Key Observations:
1. Some common mistakes we make and how to avoid or overcome those.
2. Learn new perspectives and insight on how to tackle issues.”
“One of the best programs that I have attended, which lays more focus on practical issues which we face coupled with exercises, rather than being a totally theoretical / class room session. In fact, I can see the change in me and that is the beginning.”
“The program was an extremely informative, reinforcing & value driven exercise towards leadership. “
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