Case Studies
In this section we will show you case studies that involved implementing
focus software. Each case study is a little different based on the
needs of each client.
These are the Typical Steps Performed to Implement focus at a client
site
- Create organisation competency and skills dictionary.
- Identify organisation core competencies. Profile jobs.
- Assess employees using 360-degree evaluations, including
competencies and technical skills tailored to their jobs.
- Give feedback on individual and group needs.
- Create High ROI individual & group development plans.
- Implement career development, succession planning, performance
management, employee selection, and/or competency-based
pay.
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"Building a Foundation" Case Study
Situation
XYZ, A large, extremely successful company recognised world-wide.
Innovative and customer-focused. Ambitious and growing. Aware that
their ability to manage people and to give them the tools to manage
themselves effectively can spell the difference in their future.
And yet, not in possession of a clear roadmap of what their people
needed to succeed.
A company like XYZ may have all the latest, state-of-the-art people
management practices and programs, but without a clear understanding
of the critical ingredients for success, none of these programs
will be successful. And, as the pace and demands for deliverables
continue to escalate, being focused on the critical 20% with 80%
of the impact becomes ever more important.
XYZ had a program in place for identifying critical competencies,
but it wasn’t working well. Supervisors had been trained to
use it, but there were many problems:
- Some identified only 1-4 critical competencies, other
identified close to 100
- The quality of the output was extremely variable
- Competencies were not linked back to the job or deliverables
so their criticality (and legal defensibility) were unclear
- Selected competencies were not prioritised
- Each supervisor used unique terminology, so there was
it was impossible to see which jobs required similar skills
and which were totally different. There was no way to identify
job families or logical progressions
- Those charged with putting together the profiles were
struggling, complaining about the time involved with the
task, failing to see value, and not getting them done on
schedule.
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Solution
XYZ decided that a better approach was needed, and after investigation
of the alternatives, chose to use focus. However, the I.T.
department was backed up with a variety of software installations
and indicated it would not be able to get involved for a minimum
of three months. Therefore, XYZ chose the ASP option that allowed
them to use focus over the Internet and to be up and running
in a few days.
The steps to complete the job profiling were literally 1-2-3:
- They did some minor customisation of the research-based
library of more than 500 critical core competencies and
technical skills that is provided with focus software.
- Next, they trained a small group of people to be facilitators
of the competency/technical skill profiling process.
- Small groups of subject matter experts were assembled
for the most critical jobs with the most job incumbents,
and the profiling proceeded efficiently.
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The outcomes of the process addressed all the problems XYZ had
previously experienced. The results were high quality (the right
competencies and skills, prioritised correctly, tied back to deliverables,
and with uniform language showing linkage between jobs), on schedule
completion with much less time required by participants, and very
satisfied participants who felt the process, experience, and outcomes
were outstanding.
360 Assessment Program Case Study
Situation
Why had company ABC embarked on a competency program? The utility
business has become vastly more competitive. De-regulation allows
customers to choose the lowest cost, most efficient provider. People
are clearly the most critical component in the drive to achieve
Division goals.
Certainly the utility had a full complement of HR programs such
as Training and Development, Performance Management, Career Development,
Succession Planning, and more, but the programs had not always worked
well or in the same direction. This program provided an Integrated
Performance Management and Employee Development approach with core
and role competencies as the centrepiece.
Solution
Mike smiled bravely when we asked him how he was holding up. A very
good-natured, popular team player, he had dutifully served as an
assessor for 12 others. Given the extreme care and comprehensive
comments he had provided for each, it felt like he had put in an
extra week completing the assessments. And yet, no one had heard
him complain even once about this task.
There definitely had been some pain, but the accomplishments made
it worth it. This power generation division of a large utility had,
using focus software:
- Created a core competency model with critical competencies
for all employees
- Identified Role Competencies for almost 150 different
jobs titles
- Communicated extensively with all management employees
on the purposes and steps in the assessment process, and
trained them to make accurate and fair ratings
- Completed 360-degree assessments on 500 managers using
assessment instruments customised to their positions
- Created an on-line training resource that we called the
"Development Resource Guide."
- Implemented a Training Return-On-Investment (ROI) forecasting
system to help spend the training budget most wisely
- Based on the 360-degree assessments, had completed training
needs analysis reports for about 15 different work groups
and for the Division Overall.
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Not only has the program been well received internally, but it
has also gained a great deal of external recognition. It has been
written up in articles and book chapters and been presented at numerous
professional conferences.
In conclusion, the intent was to create an Integrated Performance
Management and Employee Development system that would drive employee
performance and development. focus software provided the
platform that enables that to happen.
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