CT5 INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE DEVELOPMENT

A Brief Description

Introduction

Organization leaders agree that effective employee development is a strategic necessity for today’s high performing organizations. Whether the concern is to replace retiring workers, to implement a new sales strategy, or to prepare employees to deliver an improved product or technology, the question is, how can we rapidly, effectively, and thoroughly develop the intellectual capital of our employees?

Many organizations are questioning traditional approaches and are striving to find better ways to develop their current workforces. Competence Tracks (CT5) provides the roadmap for achieving the results that organizations are seeking today. While an organization may not wish to employ it for every employee development program, it is a best practices approach to be used when the “money is on the line”.

Developing leaders or high potentials? Creating bench strength for a critical position? Beginning an initiative involving large numbers of employees? Embarking on expensive or time-intensive programs? Need to demonstrate ROI on employee development? CT5 is a great option.

Elements of Individual Performance

What does a worker really need to be a high performer? We believe that the five building blocks are:

1. Knowledge: Information, facts, ideas, or principles that individuals typically learn through training or development opportunities and that individuals need to perform their work.
   Examples: Business acumen, math, organization awareness, anatomy, law.

2. Expertise: Tasks or trades that typically require training and experience to do well.
   Examples: R & D, surgery, selling, resolving conflicts, drawing, computer programming, carpentry.

3. Traits: Abilities and positive attitudes that enhance work. While individuals may have inherent strengths and weaknesses, these can be enhanced through personal focus and practice.
   Examples: Initiative, detail orientation, drive to excel, personal accountability.

4. Values: Personal principles that support work and productive work relationships.
   Examples: Integrity, respect for others.

5. Best Practices: Best practices are activities or responses that outstanding performers consistently employ to achieve success. These may be “tricks-of-the-trade”, “going the extra mile,” or simply spending more of their time on productive activities and less time on “time sinks”. Many of these practices are relatively simple, but individuals may not realize they are important or they may not focus on them sufficiently or do them consistently. Identifying these helps educate employees as well as providing an appropriate evaluation tool.
   Examples: Following up regularly with customers, developing a work plan, networking with stakeholders, spending one’s time on priorities, researching rather than guessing, utilizing resources effectively, doing one’s homework.

Implementing CT5 Performance Development – a 3 Phase Process

Performance Development is best done with a systematic process. CT5 uses the following general approaches which may be modified to accommodate specific circumstances.

Phase 1: ANALYSIS & PLANNING FOR PERFORMANCE DEVELOPMENT

1. Identify key objectives of stakeholders

2. Develop metrics

3. Gauge whether organization and infrastructure will properly support the effort

4. Provide specific recommendations for program design

Phase 2: CREATING AND VALIDATING PERFORMANCE DEVELOPMENT STEPS

1. Identify important knowledge, expertise, traits, values, and best practices.

2. Develop assessment and validation approaches to ensure acquisition of knowledge, expertise, traits, values, and best practices.

Phase 3: DEPLOYING PERFORMANCE DEVELOPMENT, MAINTAINING SKILLS, AND PERFECTING

1. Develop Administrative processes and support structure for the process

2. Develop organization policies on who should participate, how they will be assessed, maintenance requirements, etc.

3. Implement training transfer (ensure performance in the workplace) and skill retention

4. Evaluate program against metrics and make program corrections as needed

Distinguishing features of CT5

There are real differences between CT5 and more traditional approaches. Here are the key differences:

1. THE NEED: A focus on Strategic Company Objectives, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and Customer Needs. The relationship between training and improved performance should be clear and called out before training begins.
   
   THE RESPONSE: Front-end analysis allows us to clearly identify a) desired objectives of sponsors and stakeholders, b) metrics to measure program success, and c) organization readiness (organizational support, solutions and resources needed for success are in place).
    

2. THE NEED: A clear map of the knowledge, expertise, traits, values, and best practices that correlate with success in one’s job.
   
   THE RESPONSE: Job profiling, behavioral event interviewing, and/or external research that identifies critical individual qualities.
    

3. THE NEED: Compelling evidence that individuals have successfully completed the desired development, and/or a way of determining how far they have progressed
   
   THE RESPONSE: Rigorous Assessment and/or Certification approaches, including documented on-the-job application, so that we know individuals have progressed to the desired levels of development and accomplishment.
    

4. THE NEED: Impact on job performance and maintenance or continual improvement of competence.
   
   THE RESPONSE: Creative, enduring training transfer approaches and an ongoing skills maintenance plan.
    

5. THE NEED: Feedback and data to continually improve the development program and to determine if the development is working and providing the expected benefits
   
   THE RESPONSE: A thorough Project Evaluation focused on the implementation and result metrics that were identified in the beginning.

How the Tracks Fit Together

(or are separated, as not all organizations need all the tracks) (text-based version of graphic below)

CT5 PERFORMANCE DEVELOPMENT & CERTIFICATION