8 - developing competencies

Question 1

What are the effects if incompetency?

Answer 1

Shift from incompetency to failure.
Inability to meet quality standards and delivery deadlines.
Inability to implement new technologies, improve a process or modify management practice.
Inability to continue working with certain suppliers.
Tensions and conflicts between team members (ex : some are busier than others).
Obligation to move en employee to a different position or give the job to someone else.
Reduction of the manager’s flexibility (cannot use all employee).

Question 2

describe the learning pyramid

Answer 2

traditional passive:
-lecture (5%)
-reading (10%)
-audio-visual (20%)
-demonstration (30%)
active
-discussion groups (50%)
-practice by doing (75%)
-teach others/immediate use (90%)

Question 3

Why is developing competencies important?

Answer 3

New technologies
Performance problems
New products/services
Mergers/acquisitions/downsizing
Competition
Legal or professional obligations

Question 4

Who are the key actors in competency development?

Answer 4

Employee (what they want)
Superiors (what they need)
Human Resources Department
Upper management
Government (ex : laws to ensure training)
Training firms
Educational organizations (ex : HEC)
Professional associations (ex : Barreau)

Question 5

What are the 4 goals of competency development activities?

Answer 5

1. Ensure integration of new employees.
2. Consolidate your present operational position.
3. Support (current and future) organizational change.
4. Support career path of employees.

Question 6

what is competency composed of?

Answer 6

a competency profile is a mix of KSAO that is useful in the workplace

• knowledge
• skills
• attitudes

Question 7

what us the definition of a competent employee?

Answer 7

• Masters the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to perform thei jobs in an effective manner.
• Have the ability to solve problems.
• Have the ability to adapt to change.

Question 8

how can competency be confirmed?

Answer 8

A competency can be confirmed through concrete action that has short- and long-term outcomes. A person with an unpredictable performance level is not competent.

Question 9

what is the life cycle of a competency?

Answer 9

• Acquisition:
  Employees obtain new knowledge, develop new skills or adopt new attitudes towards their jobs.
• Optimization:
  Employees are fully operational and apply competencies on a daily basis (the employers recover their investment).
• Obsolescence:
  A competency loses its relevance more or less rapidly. It needs to be updates or simply replaced.

Question 10

Definition : Crocodile syndrome

Answer 10

What you need VS what you have: the bigger the gap, the bigger the problem.

Question 11

The promotion of workforce skills development and recognition is a law applied to whom and administered by who?

Answer 11

it is applies to all categories of employees

it is administered by Emploi-Québec

Question 12

Employers whose total payroll is $2 million or more must do what? (3)

Answer 12

• Invest 1% of the total payroll in competency and skills development activities for their personnel each calendar year
• Declare the amount invested in these activities to Revenu Québec
• Pay the difference to the government labour force training fund if the amount invested is less than 1% of the total payroll (if the amount invested is higher