skills audits and staff development conference 22 february 2016
TRANSCRIPT
SKILLS AUDIT AND STAFF DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE 2016
CHARLES COTTER
HOLIDAY INN, SANDTON
22 FEBRUARY 2016
PRESENTATION OVERVIEW
• Definition, purpose and outcome of a Skills Audit
• Diagnosis: Current Skills Audit practices and processes
• Defining and Measuring of Competence
• Building a Business Case for Skills Audits (Benefits and Costs)
ORIGIN OF THE WORD, “AUDIT”
• The word audit originates from the Latin word ‘audire’ which means to “listen”.
• An audit is a systematic, objective risk management tool for how well the workplace is complying with regulatory and policy requirements.
INTRODUCTORY QUESTIONS
• Q1: For any business manager, what is their most crucial financial and business risk mitigation tool?
• Q2: For any Learning & Development Manager/Skills Development Facilitator, what is their most under-utilized people/skills risk mitigation tool?
INTRODUCTORY LEARNING ACTIVITY
• Individual activity:
• Complete the statement by inserting one (1) word only. In order to conduct an effective skills audit, I need to/to be .…………………………………..
• Now find other learners with the same word as you.
• Jot these words down on the flip-chart.
• Each learner will have the opportunity to elaborate on their chosen word.
PURPOSE/OUTCOME OF A SKILLS AUDIT
DEFINITION, PURPOSE AND OUTCOME OF SKILLS AUDITING
• A skills audit is a snapshot that allows an organization to determine the level of skills and knowledge of the workforce.
• It is compared against the competencies that are required in order to determine the gaps and to focus training and development accordingly.
• Skills audits are conducted to determine training needs within an organization in order for that organization to improve its skills and knowledge.
• A skills audit establishes an individual’s current competence against the skills matrix for a particular position.
• A skills audit gathers more information than current qualifications levels.
• The outcome of the skills audit process is a skills gap analysis.
BEST PRACTICE CRITERIA: SKILLS AUDITING
• #1: A job analysis must be used as a basis for the skills audit
• #2: Definitive performance standards must be developed, written, and provided to all stakeholders, regardless of the type of rating
• #3: Raters are trained to use the rating instrument properly
• #4: Formal appeal mechanisms must be in place and assessment results need to be reviewed to ensure fairness and reliability
• #5: Multiple techniques/approaches are utilized and ratings are supported with documented examples of behaviour
• #6: Employees are given a chance to improve their skills through targeted development opportunities
BEST PRACTICE CRITERIA: SKILLS AUDITING
• #7: The 6 E’s - the Skills Auditing process is efficient, effective, economical, educational, ethical and evidentiary
• #8: Compliance with the following principles of Skills Audits:
Fairness Validity Reliability Transparency/ Openness Constructive feedback Objective
• #9: The outcome of the skills audit generates predictive analytics and business intelligence, providing the organization with a strategic competitive advantage
• #10: Skills Auditing must be a holistic, systematic, integrated and aligned approach
CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTOR: INTEGRATION AND ALIGNMENT
V-I-P SKILLS AUDITING
• Valid (accurate & correct Measurement)
• Interrogative (3rd degree)
• Protective (against skills & reputational risks)
LEARNING ACTIVITY
• Individual activity:
• Review and evaluate your organization’s current skills audit process against the ten (10) best practice criteria.
• Identify gaps and recommend improvement strategies to address these process gaps.
SUB-COMPONENTS OF COMPETENCE
TYPES OF COMPETENCE• “Applied Competence is the union of practical, foundational and reflexive competence”
• Practical Competence - the demonstrated ability to perform a set of tasks in an authentic context. A range of actions or possibilities is considered and decisions are made about which actions to follow and to perform the chosen action.
• Foundational Competence - the demonstrated understanding of what the learner is doing and why. This underpins the practical competence and therefore the actions taken.
• Reflexive Competence - the learner demonstrates the ability to integrate or connect performance with understanding so as to show that s/he is able to adapt to changed circumstances appropriately and responsibly, and to explain the reason behind an action.
• Thus competence is understood as including the individual’s learning, understanding and ability to transfer and apply learned skills and knowledge across a wide range of work contexts.
MEASURING COMPETENCE
HIERARCHY OF SKILLS
LEARNING ACTIVITY
• Individual activity:
• Evaluate your organization’s current competency assessment and skills measurement tools and process.
• Identify gaps and recommend improvement strategies to address these process gaps.
COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS FOR SKILLS AUDITS
STRATEGIC IMPERATIVE OF SKILLS AUDITING
• The key piece of information an organization needs to improve and to deliver to its Mission Statement and strategy is to know what skills and knowledge the organization requires and what skills and knowledge the organization currently has. This information is essential for a number of reasons:
Without this information you don't know where to improve. With this information your training and development will be better planned and
more focused. Recruiting needs are better defined and more likely to result in the most appropriate
candidate. Placement decisions are easier with knowledge of current competence levels. Career pathing and succession planning is assisted with accurate information on
individuals.
• Meyer, Mabaso & Lancaster (2001) recommend proactive needs identification and a more futuristic approach to the assessment of training needs.
5 C’S – THE KEY BENEFITS OF A SKILLS AUDIT
• Compliance+
• Competitive +
• Cash+
• Credibility+
• Competence
= Clean Skills Audit
KEY BENEFITS OF A SKILLS AUDIT
• Valid and valuable Workplace Skills Plans (WSP)• Improved skills and knowledge• Lower training and development costs because development efforts are more focused• Business intelligence - acquisition and use of information that can be used for purposes such as internal
employee selection and placement• Increased productivity as people are better matched to their positions • The results of a skills audit can be reported for each division to show individual and divisional competency
gaps against competency needs.
• This assists with the collation of a WSP that complies with the provisions of the Skills Development Act and Seta regulations.
• Lancaster, Mabaso & Meyer (2001, p86) claim that “the skills plan can only be produced after the organization has conducted a skills audit and a comprehensive needs analysis”
• Certain SETA’s have included skills auditing as one of the requirements for the discretionary grant.
Organizations that conduct skills audits in a structured manner, may submit levy claims against Grant D of the skills development regulations.
COSTS OF SKILLS AUDITS• Training
• Time
• Administrative expenses (e.g. stationery)
• Information system/software
• Communication
• Use of consultants (where necessary)
POTENTIAL REPERCUSSIONS OF NOT CONDUCTING A VALID SKILLS AUDIT
• Invalid and unreliable training plans
• Training plans that are not specific to individual, departmental and organizational needs
• Little or no commitment to training & development by management and staff, as plans are not seen as value-adding
• Little or no alignment of training and development to organizational strategy and objectives
• Non-implementation of the Workplace Skills Plan and therefore the organization will not be able to claim reporting grants
LEARNING ACTIVITY
• Individual activity:
• Develop a business case for Skills Auditing i.e.do the benefits outweigh the costs?
• Do skills audits comply with:
Viability Feasibility Sustainability
CONCLUSION
• Key points
• Summary
• Questions
CONTACT DETAILS
• Charles Cotter
• (+27) 84 562 9446
• Twitter: Charles_Cotter
• http://www.slideshare.net/CharlesCotter