Team Building - Power of Standards

Addressing the modern staffing challenges and business environment challenges to hiring and developing quality team members begins by identifying the true needs of the organization. In this way, the power of standards and competency development tools can be harnessed on behalf of the organization.

Standards and competency development tools help organizations navigate the challenges of modern staffing with clear goals. They have a clear picture of the elements that most influence talent performance at their organization, and a solid program for developing the talent that exists within their corporation. With standardized metrics for evaluating potential and incoming hires, effective on-boarding practices, and ongoing competency development program, firms can discover and develop performers that have the potential to be top performers. 

ESTABLISHING CLEAR HIRING METRICS 

Clear hiring metrics begin long before the talent search with the establishment of competency models for all key roles. These models should be developed as a joint initiative between line staff and recruitment teams so that they accurately reflect the current expectations for each role. Once defined, these competency models offer a number of benefits to the organization when approaching staffing challenges. Competency models for each role to be filled establish clear hiring metrics and remove gray space from candidate evaluation, benefiting the organization both in the present and in the future.  Competency models:

1. Ensure a match between the current workforce needs and available talent pools
2. Guide recruiters toward the skills and proficiencies needed for current talent gaps and anticipated talent needs
3. Save firms money by helping to avoid hires that are a poor fit for the organization's needs[1]

By removing the mystery and hire costs from the talent selection process, firms will be able to pull better-quality candidates from their available talent pools. No longer chasing talent which will not ultimately meet their needs, firms can focus on the right candidates to secure more critical team members for open positions.

Stephen Wise

www.IntegrationProfessionals.com

Team Building - Competency Development

Standards for hiring and competency models for roles benefits the firm when it is time to develop competency building systems. With clearly defined deliverables and expectations for team members, developing skills and training for skill gaps becomes a more scientific and precise process, preventing waste in training expenditures and misunderstandings about the purpose and potential of training programs. Competency models and standards help employees and employers alike with developing meaningful career plans and career paths. Building proficiencies for success in current and aspirational roles provides workers with direction and motivation for continuing the employment relationship, a key incentive when companies are competing to maintain their talent pools.[1] With quantifiable performance standards, companies can also separate truly high performers from other staff members, allocating development and training dollars where there is the greatest potential for long-term returns on the development investment. These competency models need not be static entities. Instead, once standards have been put in place, it lays the foundation for a continuous improvement model. Both organizational and individual performance standards can be upgraded and enhanced with time, ensuring that the organization remains on a path to growth, market leadership, and competitiveness.[2]