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ITM,gurgaon “COMPETENCY MAPPING OF FRONT-LINE STAFF- A STUDY IN RELATION TO THE RETAIL SECTOR” PRESENTED BY- Sandeep Arora ITM gurgaon ABSTRACT

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Page 1: Hr competency mapping

ITM,gurgaon

“COMPETENCY MAPPING OF FRONT-LINE STAFF-A STUDY IN RELATION TO THE RETAIL SECTOR”

PRESENTED BY-Sandeep AroraITM gurgaon

ABSTRACT

To undertake an in-depth study of the competency mapping process which is being

followed in the organizations – Retail sector. As well as understand the framework and

the system, analyzing the effectiveness and implications of the system. And determining

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whether the process helps in improving performance effectiveness, thus identifying what

are the areas that have to fine tuned or reworked.

Research Methodology:

a. Research type: Qualitative exploratory research and quantitative conclusive research

b. Research method:

•In depth interviews- done for customer associates and area sales manager.

•Focus group method

•Structured Questionnaires

Tools of data collection

Primary data:-The questionnaires will be used to gauge the preference of the customer’s

associate whether they are satisfied with their own behavior and are they given the

required attention. Area sales manager will also be informally interviewed for 10-15 min.

Focus group discussion:-It would be done to identify the behavior of customers whether

they are satisfied with the behavior of the customer associate’s and sales managers. It will

consist of a panel of approx.

(8-10) people.

Secondary data: - The secondary data will be collected through internet and literature

from books and various companies report.

Competency mapping is the process of identification and description of the competencies

that are most critical to perform successfully a given job or role or a set of tasks at a

given point of time

It consists of breaking a given role or job into its constituent tasks or activities and

identifying the competencies (technical, managerial, behavioral, conceptual knowledge,

an attitudes, skills, etc.) needed to perform the same successfully.

Expected outcomes and Implications

This is a competency era. It is beyond doubt that it is beneficial and cost effective, to

have competent people to occupy higher-level positions.

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Competency refers to the intellectual, managerial, social and emotional competency.

Many organizations in India and abroad are channeling their efforts to mapping

competencies and implementing assessment and development centers.

The need of the hour as indicated by many organizations is to design and implement low

cost assessment and development centers specially designed to meet the requirements of

developing countries like outs.

Normally, the purpose of analyzing training needs is to uncover the gap that exists

between the present competence of the enterprise and the competency needed to reach the

strategic goals in the future. A determining factor for what problems may arise is the

choice of level of precision or how complex a concept of competency one uses.

Competency mapping process helps in meeting various demands that customers are

expecting from them. This also helps the organization in developing a clear strategy for

developing competencies of their workforce. Overall it will support successful

performance of the employees within the organization

.

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

This is to certify that the thesis has been completed under my guidance.

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I approve the thesis as a complete and final work requiring no further

Alterations

MR Sanjay Govil(V.P Finance)Bhartya International

THESIS APPROVAL LETTER SENT OVER MAIL

Dear Kanika,

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This is to inform that the thesis topic “Competency Mapping of Front-Line Staff - A Study in Relation

to the Retail Sector.”, as proposed by you, has been approved .This email is an official

confirmation that you would be doing your thesis work under the guidance of Mr.

Sanjay Govil. Make it a comprehensive thesis; the objective of a thesis should be

value addition to the existing knowledge base.

Please ensure that the objectives as stated by you in your synopsis are met using the

appropriate research design.

You must always use the thesis title as approved and registered with us.

Your Alumni ID Number is DS68-H046

You are required to correspond with us by sending atleast six response sheets to

[email protected]  ( format attached along with this mail) at regular intervals, before

31st May 2008  (the last date for thesis submission)

Regards,

Sumanta Sharma

Associate Dean (Projects)

The Indian Institute of Planning and Management

New Delhi

[email protected]

Phone: 0124 - 4505402 / 29

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

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This work is synergistic products of many minds. I am grateful for the inspiration,

encouragement information and wisdom of many resource people who helped me to

bring this project into life.

I owe my sincere gratitude towards following personnel for their endeavors, guidance and

sustained help extended to me during the course of this project.

To the Sovereign Lord God, Father and Creator of all things for his Grace,

wisdom & energy.

Mr. Sanjay Govil (VP-Finance – Bharti International)

Prof. Sumanta Sharma(Dean, projects)

Mr. Vijay Kumar Boddu

To our loved ones: parents, friends and colleagues for their prayers, love,

support and guidance.

“Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself”

CONTENTS

1) Chapter-1

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Introduction Pg 13-23

1.1 Overview1.2 Brief about the global Retail Industry1.3 Emerging trends in the retail industry1.4 Technology impact1.5 Indian Retail: A Large and unorganized Sector1.6 Changes in the Retail Sector1.7 Core competencies for Retail industry

2) Chapter-2 Literature Review Pg 24-41 2.1 Definition of Competency Mapping

2.2 Steps involved in the process: 2.3 Competency mapping: A Human Resource Approach for a Globalizing Scenario 2.4 Competency Model 2.5 Need for Competency Frameworks 2.6 Identification of Role Competencies 2.7 Competency Assessment 2.8 Competency Development 2.9 Importance of Competency Based Performance Management System (CBPMS) 2.10 Common Pitfalls in implementing A competency mapping system

3) Chapter-3 Methodology Pg 42-43

3.1. Research Design 3.2 Sampling 3.3 Data collection methods 3.4 Research Instruments

4) Chapter- Reports on data collection Pg 44-54

4.1 Identified Competencies for front-line staff 4.2 Tools of competency mapping 4.3 Competency mapping of UCB 4.4 The competency mapping of ARROW

5) Chapter-5 Analysis Pg 55-65

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5.1 Questionnaire data analysis

6) Chapter-6

Recommendations Pg 66-67

7) Chapter-7

Conclusion and Implications Pg 68-71

8) Bibliography Pg 72

9) Appendices Pg 73-81

10) Response Sheets Pg 82-87

LIST OF FIGURES

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1. Fig-1: Competency model for HR professionals Pg-28

2. Fig 2: Competency Framework Pg-29

3. Fig 3: Competency based HR practices Pg-32

4. Fig 4: Macro view of Competency Management Pg-33

5. FIG: 5 Competency Based Performance Management System Pg-37

6. Fig-6: Competency mapping of Pantaloon Pg-48

7. Fig-7: Process Map Pg-51

8. Fig-8: Competency mapping process – Ebony Pg-54

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PROJECT SYNOPSIS

Details of the Student:

Name: - Kanika Vashishta

Batch: - Spring Summer 2006-2008

Specialization: - Human Resource and Marketing

Phone No: - 9810538080

Email: - [email protected]

Area of Research : Human Resource in Retail Industry

Title of Project: Competency mapping of front-line staff-A study in relation to the

Retail sector

Problem Definition: Understanding retail staff in terms of knowledge, skill,

attributes and to design exercise for testing competencies

Literature of the problem:

To lay down guidelines for payment of annual performance award, this would further

help in increasing performance standards. Further, also to understand the retail staff and

Area Sales Manager to develop standardized guidelines for a customer associate/sales

man so that he/she can have a clear picture of their assessment.

Scope of the Thesis:

To measure the employees performance against expected skills knowledge and

competencies for the assigned positions. This will help in reducing the gap between

performance and the goals previously set.

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Competencies are becoming a frequently-used and written-about vehicle for

organizational applications such as:

• Defining the factors for success in jobs (i.e., work) and work roles within the

organization

• Assessing the current performance and future development needs of persons holding

jobs and roles

• Mapping succession possibilities for employees within the organization

• Assigning compensation grades and levels to particular jobs and roles

• Selecting applicants for open positions, using competency-based interviewing

techniques.

Research Methodology:

a. Research type: Qualitative exploratory research and quantitative conclusive research

b. Research method: In depth interviews- done for customer associates and area

sales manager. Focus group method Structured Questionnaires

TOOLS OF DATA COLLECTION

Primary data:-The questionnaires will be used to gauge the preference of the

customer’s associate whether they are satisfied with their own behavior and are they

given the required attention. Area sales manager will also be informally interviewed for

10-15 min.

Focus group discussion:-It would be done to identify the behavior of customers whether

they are satisfied with the behavior of the customer associate’s and sales managers. It will

consist of a panel of approx.

(8-10) people.

Secondary data:- The secondary data will be collected through internet and literature

from books and various companies report.

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Reason for choosing a particular research proposal:

Over the past 10 years, human resource and organizational development professionals

have generated a lot of interest in the notion of competencies as a key element and

measure of human performance.

Competencies include the collection of success factors necessary for achieving important

results in a specific job or work role in a particular organization.

Evaluation of performance is an important dimension. Evaluation systems should be

designed to motivate people to perform better and it should be fare and transparent.

Details of the External guide:

Name : Mr. Sanjay Govil

Qualification : MBA (Finance)

Designation : V.P(Finance ) in Bhartya International

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Chapter-1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Overview

With changing business scenario and new challenges emerging in the competitive world,

successful performance in any job/task has taken a critical place, for organizational

success. Competency mapping is one such process that helps in identifying and mapping

competencies required for successful performance in a particular role. Competency

mapping and assessment has gained paramount importance in organizations, for keeping

people development strategies and processes in sync with organizational growth &

objectives and maximizing the utilization of human potential.

Creating competency based culture and systems in organizations are the need of the hour.

This creates a demand for HR professionals to have specialized skills and have a

continuous up-gradation of knowledge.

Working on solutions to help the Retail Industry in addressing the front-line staff

Challenges around Hiring, Training, and Retention.

Solutions should be developed based on the retail industry’s priorities to address issues

such as:

Recruitment and Retention: Retail employers struggle to attract and retain the

best and brightest employees because of the misperception that jobs are low-wage

and lack growth potential. In reality, today’s retail industry is dynamic with

diverse career ladders covering a wide range of fields including: information

technology, marketing, communications, loss prevention, finance, and

merchandise sourcing.

Competency Models: Though the retail industry has started work on initial

training models and skills certifications, they are not yet used consistently across

the industry to build skills competency requirements for positions at all levels and

to encourage career growth. Retailers are struggling to attract qualified

individuals, train them, and have them advance their careers.

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Diversity: In an increasingly diverse society, multilingual employees are

desirable. Retailers are customer service driven and need workers to speak the

languages of their customer base. Limited English Proficiency (LEP) is a problem

as workers may speak the language of customers, but lack basic English language

and literacy skills to perform all job functions.

Competency is a standardized requirement for an individual to properly perform a

specific job. It encompasses a combination of knowledge, skills and behavior utilized to

improve performance. More generally, competency is the state or quality of being

adequately or well qualified, having the ability to perform a specific role. For instance,

management competency includes the traits of systems thinking and emotional

intelligence, and skills in influence and negotiation.

Competence is also used to work with more general descriptions of the requirements of

human beings in organizations and communities. Examples are educations and other

organizations who want to have a general language to tell what a graduate of an

education must be able to do in order to graduate or what a member of an organization is

required to be able to do in order to be considered competent. An important detail of this

approach is that all competencies have to be action competencies, which means you show

in action, that you are competent. In the military the training systems for this kind of

competence is called Artificial Experience, which is the basis for all simulators.

1.2 Brief about the Global Retail Industry

Retail, with total sales of $6.6 trillion, is the world’s largest private industry ahead of

financial industries $5.1 trillion. It is also home to a number of the world’s largest

enterprises. Over 50 of the fortune 500 companies, and around 25of the Asian top 500

companies, are retailers. The industry accounts for over 8% of the GDP in western

economies. The level of consolidation within each country has increased significantly

over the last few decades. This is most marked in the grocery, where large chains have

leveraged superior scales of operations and souring to capture share from the unorganized

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players, while offering consumers the best price. This trend has led to organized networks

capturing up to 80% of the groceries market in the developed economies.

Traditionally, most retailers have had very localized operations. This localized nature of

the industry is changing as retailers face low rates of growth and threatened profitability

at home.

New geographies will help them sustain top-line growth as well as permit global

sourcing. Further, global markets will progressively get easier to tap as product market

barriers relaxed and as taste converge.

Profits in retail have steadily been rising and have generated 18% shareholder returns

between 1994 and 1999. Significantly, retail is one of the largest employers, accounting

for instance 16% of the U.S workforce. Factors such as scale in sourcing, merchandising,

operational effectiveness and ambience have driven the spread of organized retail.

Groceries, electronics are examples of categories that compete on the strength of better

pricing, which in turn is driven by superior sourcing and merchandising and cost-efficient

operations. Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Kingfisher are benchmark retailers in these

fields.

In apparel, home furnishings and furniture, the advantage is driven by the marketer’s

ability to provide better products in a comfortable ambience at affordable prices. In these

cases sourcing capabilities has to be backed by strong design capability and store

management. IKEA and GAP are good examples of this model of retailing. Over the last

few decades, retail formats have changed radically. The basic department stores and co-

operatives of the early 20th century have given way to mass merchandisers, hypermarkets,

warehouses clubs, category killers, discounters and convenience stores. Each of these

formats has been driven by the market’s need to offer relevant, distinctive and economic

propositions to an evolving consumer base.

Global retailers have also reached a position of strength that enables their brand to be

leveraged across a wide range of services. Many of them have expanded their offering,

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over the years to include fuel retail, car retail, convenience services and personal finance

services. This has put them in a position where they are not only beginning to capture

growth from geographical expansion, but are also entering large new areas of business.

The recent evolution of the internet has helped further broaden the scope of operations of

large retailers. Further, a large number of retailers are pursuing innovative aggregation

and supply chain-streamlining initiatives using B2B technology.

The emerging sector

For a long time, the corner grocery store was the only choice available to the consumers,

especially in the urban areas. The traditional food and grocery segment has seen the

emergence of supermarkets/grocery chains (Food world, Nilgiries, Apna Bazaar),

convenience stores and fast food chains (McDonalds, Dominos)

The lifestyles/fashions segments (Shopper’s stop, Globus, Lifestyle, Westside),

apparels /accessories (Pantaloon, Levis, Reebok), books/music/gifts (Archie’s, Music

world, Crosswords, Landmark) appliances and consumer durables (Vibe’s, Jenison’s,

Vacant & Co), drugs and pharmacy (Health and Glow, Apollo)

First, the modern retailer is yet to feel the saturation effect in the urban market and has,

therefore, probably not looked at the other markets seriously. Second the modern retailing

trend, despite its cost-effectiveness, has come to be identified with lifestyles.

In order to appeal to all classes of the society, retail stores would have to identify with

different lifestyles. In a sense, this trend is already visible with the emergence of stores

with an essentially value for money.

1.3 Emerging trends in Retail industry

The single most important evolution that took place along with the retailing revolution

was the rise and fall of the dotcom companies. A sudden concept of non – store shopping

emerged, which threatened to take away the potential of the store. More importantly, the

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very nature of the customer segment being addressed was almost the same. The

computer – savvy individuals was also a sub segment of the store frequenting traffic.

Internationally, the concept of net shopping is yet to be proven. And the poor financial

performance of most of the companies offering virtual shopping has resulted in store-

based retailing regaining the upper hand. Other forms of non-store shopping including

various formats such as catalogue/mail order shopping, direct selling and so on are

growing rapidly. However the size of the direct market industry is too limited to deter the

retailers. For all the conveniences that it offers , electronic retailing does not suit the

products where look and see attributes are of importance, as in apparel or where the value

is very high, such as in jewellery or where the performance has to be tested, as of

consumer durables. The most critical issue in electronic retailing, especially in a country

such as ours, relates to payments and the various security issues involved.

1.4 Technology Impact

The other aspects of retailing relates to technology. It is widely felt that the key

differentiator between the successful and not so successful retailers is primarily in the

area of technology. Simultaneously it will be technology that will help the organized

retailers score over the unorganized players, giving both cost and service advantages.

Retailing is a technology-intensive industry- Successfully retailers today work closely

with their vendors to predict consumer demands , shorten lead times, reduce inventory

holding and thereby, save cost. Today, online systems link point of sales terminals to the

main office where detailed analyses on sales by item, classification, stores or vendors are

carried out online. Besides vendors, the focus of the retailing sector is to develop the link

with the consumers.

Data Warehousing is an established concept in the advanced nations-With the help of the

database retailing, information on existing and potential customers is tracked. Besides

knowing what was purchased and by whom, information on softer issues such as

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demographics and psychographics is captured. With differentiating strategies-value for

money, shopping experience, variety, quality, discounts and advanced systems and

technology in the back-end, change in the equilibrium with the manufacturers and a

thorough understanding of the consumer behavior, the ground is all set for the organized

retailers.

It would be important to note, however, that the retailing industry in India is still a

protected industry-It is one of the few sectors, which still has restrictions on FDI.

1.5 Indian Retail: A Large and unorganized Sector

The Indian retail market is in sharp contrast to the global situations .Like the rest of the

world, it is large, with the sales amounting to $180 bn and accounting for 10-11% of the

GDP. However, it is also exceptionally fragmented and unorganized.

India has the largest retail outlet density in the world. However most of these retail

outlets have very basic offerings, fixed prices, zero usage of technology and little or no

ambience. These are highly competitive outlets, drawing on free land (unregistered

kiosks or traditional property), unpaid/cheap labor (family members or village children

paid below minimum wages) and zero taxes. Many of them also leverage the low or no

cost of family labor to provide services like home delivery that would be uneconomic to

any organized retailer.

There are multiple causes for this low level of modernization in Indian retail. Primary

among them are the stringent restrictions on consumer goods and consumerism that

existed till the 1990’s.The inability to offer a wide range of products was further

worsened by the marketer’s inability to create economies of scale in sourcing. The high

fragmentation in supplies and the supply chain, the restriction on inter-state movement

and on stocking prevented development of scale. Further the limited set of organized

options prevented retailers from negotiating better terms with the suppliers.

The lack of consumer’s culture, along with low incomes, prevented the development of

formats such as department stores that work on superior ambience and design to capture

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customers. Limited products put consumers perpetually on the back foot. The high tax

regime and savings biased government programs stressed thrift denial over indulgence.

Further the country was effectively isolated from the rest of the world through a tightly

controlled radio and television media and did not share in the growing consumer oriented

culture sweeping the west and other parts of Asia.

Together with this was also the limited access to capital, land or people available to

aspirant retailers.

Very few banks were willing to invest in retail, while real estate restrictions made it

impossible to access land of reasonable size. The lack of retail oriented education made it

difficult to get the trained people.

Traditionally three factors have plagued the retail industry

Unorganized: Vast majority of the twelve million stores are small "father and son"

outlets

Fragmented: Mostly small individually owned businesses, average size of outlet equals

50 s.q. ft. Though India has the highest number of retail outlets per capita in the world,

the retail space per capita at 2 s.q. ft per person is amongst the lowest.

Rural bias: Nearly two thirds of the stores are located in rural areas. Rural retail industry

has typically two forms: "Haats" and “Melas". Haats are the weekly markets: serve

groups of 10-50 villages and sell day-to-day necessities. Melas are larger in size and

more sophisticated in terms of the goods sold (like TVs)

Retailing Formats in India

Malls:-The largest form of organized retailing today. Located mainly in metro

cities, in proximity to urban outskirts. Ranges from 60,000 sq ft to 7,00,000 sq ft

and above. They lend an ideal shopping experience with an amalgamation of

product, service and entertainment, all under a common roof. Examples include

Shoppers Stop, Piramyd, Pantaloon.

Specialty Stores:

Chains such as the Bangalore based Kids Kemp, the Mumbai books retailer

Crossword, RPG's Music World and the Times Group's music chain Planet M, ITC’s

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Will’s lifestyle are focusing on specific market segments and have established

themselves strongly in their sectors.

Discount Stores:

As the name suggests, discount stores or factory outlets, offer discounts on the

MRP through selling in bulk reaching economies of scale or excess stock left over at

the season. The product category can range from a variety of perishable/ non

perishable goods

Department Stores:

Large stores ranging from 20000-50000 sq. ft, catering to a variety of consumer

needs. Further classified into localized departments such as clothing, toys, home,

groceries, etc. Departmental Stores are expected to take over the apparel business

from exclusive brand showrooms. Among these, the biggest success is K Raheja's

Shoppers Stop, which started in Mumbai and now has more than seven large stores

(over 30,000 sq. ft) across India and even has its own in store brand for clothes called

Stop!.

Hyper marts/Supermarkets:

Large self service outlets, catering to varied shopper needs are termed as

Supermarkets. These are located in or near residential high streets. These stores today

contribute to 30% of all food & grocery organized retail sales. Super Markets can

further be classified in to mini supermarkets typically 1,000 sq ft to 2,000 sq ft and

large supermarkets ranging from of 3,500 sq ft to 5,000 sq ft. having a strong focus

on food & grocery and personal sales.

Convenience Stores:

These are relatively small stores 400-2,000 sq. feet located near residential areas.

They stock a limited range of high-turnover convenience products and are usually open

for extended periods during the day, seven days a week. Prices are slightly higher due to

the convenience premium.

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MBO’s :

Multi Brand outlets, also known as Category Killers, offer several brands across a

single product these usually do well in busy market places and Metros

1.6 Changes in the Retail Sector

Experimentation with formats: Retailing in India is still evolving and the sector is

witnessing a series of experiments across the country with new formats being tested out.

Ex. Quasi-mall, sub-urban discount stores, Cash and carry etc.

Store design: Biggest challenge for organized retailing to create a “customer-pull”

environment that increases the amount of impulse shopping. Research shows that the

chances of senses dictating sales are upto 10-15%. Retail chains like Music World,

Baristas, Piramyd and Globus are laying major emphasis & investing heavily in store

design.

Emergence of discount stores: They are expected to spearhead the organized retailing

revolution. Stores trying to emulate the model of Wal-Mart. Ex. Big Bazaar, Bombay

Bazaar, RPGs.

Unorganized retailing is getting organized: To meet the challenges of organized

retailing such as large Cineplex’s, and malls, which are backed by the corporate house

such as 'Ansals' and 'PVR‘ the unorganized sector is getting organized. 25 stores in Delhi

under the banner of Provision mart are joining hands to combine monthly buying.

Bombay Bazaar and food mart formed which are aggregations of Kiranas.

Multiple drivers leading to a consumption boom:

– Favorable demographics

– Growth in income

– Increasing population of women

– Raising aspirations : Value added goods sales

Food and apparel retailing key drivers of growth

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Organized retailing in India has been largely an urban phenomenon with affluent

classes and growing number of double-income households.

More successful in cities in the south and west of India. Reasons range from

differences in consumer buying behavior to cost of real estate and taxation laws.

Rural markets emerging as a huge opportunity for retailers reflected in the share

of the rural market across most categories of consumption

– ITC is experimenting with retailing through its e-Choupal and Choupal

Sagar – rural hypermarkets.

– HLL is using its Project Shakti initiative – leveraging women self-help

groups – to explore the rural market.

– Mahamaza is leveraging technology and network marketing concepts to

act as an aggregator and serve the rural markets.

IT is a tool that has been used by retailers ranging from Amazon.com to eBay to

radically change buying behavior across the globe.

‘e-retailing’ slowly making its presence felt.

Companies using their own web portal or tie-sups with horizontal players like

Rediff.com and Indiatimes.com to offer products on the web.

1.7 Core competencies for Retail industry

A core competency is something that a firm can do well and that meets the following

three conditions:-

It provides consumer benefits

It is not easy for competitors to imitate

It can be leveraged widely to many products and markets.

A core competency can take various forms, including technical/subject matter know how,

a reliable process, and/or close relationships with customers and suppliers. It may also

include product development or culture such as employee dedication. Modern business

theories suggest that most activities that are not part of a company's core competency

should be outsourced.

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If a core competency yields a long term advantage to the company, it is said to be a

sustainable competitive advantage.

Characteristics of Core Competencies: There are three tests for Core Competencies

Potential access to a wide variety of markets - the core competency must be

capable of developing new products and services

A core competency must make a significant contribution to the perceived benefits

of the end product.

Core Competencies should be difficult for competitors to imitate. In many

industries, such competencies are likely to be unique.

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Chapter-2

Literature Review

2.1 Definition of Competency Mapping

So what does `Competency Mapping' really mean? Competency Mapping is a process of

identifying key competencies for a company or institution and the jobs and functions

within it.

Technical or functional competencies: knowledge, attitudes and skills associated with the

technology or functional expertise required to perform the role

Managerial: knowledge, attitudes and skills required to plan, organize, mobilize and

utilize various resources

Human: knowledge, attitudes and skills required to motivate, utilize and develop human

resources

Conceptual: the abilities needed to visualize the invisible, think at abstract levels and use

the thinking to plan future business

2.2 Steps involved in the process :

First: A job analysis is carried out by asking employees that asks them to describe what

they are doing, and what skills, attitudes and abilities they need to have to perform it

well. There would be a bit that requests them to list down attributes needed to make it up

to the next level, thus making it behavioral as well as skill-based.

Second: Having discovered the similarities in the questionnaires, a competency-based job

description is crafted and presented to the personnel department for their agreement and

additions if any.

Third: Having agreed on the job requirements and the skills and attitudes needed to

progress within it and become more productive, one starts mapping the capability of the

employees to the benchmarks. There are several index points within the responsibility

level. An almost (but not quite) arbitrary level of attainment is noted against each

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benchmark indicating the areas where the assessee is in terms of personal development

and achievement.

These give an adept HR manager a fairly good picture of the employee to see whether he

(or she) needs to perform better or to move up a notch on the scale. Once the employee

`tops' every indicator at his level, he moves on to the next and begins there at the bottom -

in short, he is promoted.

This reasonably simple though initially (the first year only) tedious method helps

everybody to know what the real state of preparedness of an organization to handle new

business (or its old one) because it has a clear picture of every incumbent in the

organization.

It helps in determining the training and development needs and importantly it helps to

encourage the best and develop the rest. “A win-win situation for everyone. “

Retail organizations have unique talent management business challenges. When

combined with Success Factors' technology, Performance Framework for Retail offers

the retail industry access to robust competencies in their own language," a critical

ingredient to improving the quality of talent decisions from the hourly employee to the

executive suite."

This suite is built on industry-standard architecture and is composed of distinct

capabilities, all of which are fully integrated. Its ease-of-use and rapid deployment

features allow organizations to maximize resources while generating robust, powerful

data. The entire suite is highly scalable and modular, allowing customers to add new role-

specific modules when they are ready - on-demand.

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2.3 Competency mapping: A Human Resource Approach for a Globalizing Scenario

Human resources (HR) in any organization can be classified in to four categories using

two simple yet effective criteria ? the ability to learn and the willingness to learn.

Individuals who are high on both counts are the ?stars? of the workplace. They need to be

encouraged and rewarded. Individuals who are low on both dimensions often may need to

be retrenched in the interests of maintaining or improving organizational efficiency. The

in-betweens are those who are high on the ability to learn but low on willingness to

learn ? who need to be re-trained; and those who are high on the willingness to learn but

low on the ability to learn ? who need to be redeployed. Many organizations however, are

unable to effectively manage these four categories of employees, often because they are

unable to match employee with category reliably. As a result, even those organizations

that have the will to proactively manage their HR, ultimately are rendered powerless to

effect change in their employees. Indeed, such has been the story of many Indian firms,

particularly those entrenched in the traditional manufacturing sector.

Today however, globalization is compelling several Indian organizations to march to a

new tune. Increasing competitive pressure is bringing about a keener focus on

profitability and productivity of employees. The older employment relationship

characterized by the existence of only one employer and workplace, an indefinite work

contract, full-time work and some degree of social and legal protection, is being replaced

by performance-driven employment terms. Alongside, job definitions are changing as

well. Based on the idea of competency assessment, the art of human resource

management is shifting focus from performance appraisal to performance management

A competency framework can improve appraisal for the staff member and manager by

making the feedback behaviorally based, descriptive and specific.

2.4 Competency Model

A competency model is a valid, observable, and measurable list of the knowledge, skills,

and attributes demonstrated through behavior that results in outstanding performance in a

particular work context.

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Competency model is a model that describes the requirements and attributes for

competent human performance in one or more roles or performance settings. As such, the

elements of a competency model communicate, in clear terms, the circumstances and

conditions of performance. Individual competencies are organized into competency

models to enable people in an organization or profession to understand, discuss, and

apply the competencies to workforce performance.

The element to be included in the competency model is decided based on the purpose that

the model is going to serve. There are few aspects that has to be taken into consideration

when a model is been developed by any organization.

Every Competency Model should include the following:

1. The significance of the competency model elements is that it should be developed

for meeting the organization’s strategic business objectives.

2. The model developed is expected to produce outputs or results of the

performance.

3. The roles that performers will assume when performing in a particular task or job.

4. The competencies that must be used for producing successful performance

outputs.

5. The competencies identified, must me able to distinguish the performance of

exemplary performers from that of their fully successful colleagues who perform

the same body of work.

6. It should help in differentiating best performers from average.

7. For each competency, behavioral indicators are included that describe when the

competency is appropriately being used for performance effectiveness

identification.

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Fig-1:Competency model for HR professionals

This is a competency era. It is beyond doubt that it is beneficial and cost effective, to

have competent people to occupy higher-level positions. Competency refers to the

intellectual, managerial, social and emotional competency. Many organizations in India

and abroad are channeling their efforts to mapping competencies and implementing

assessment and development centers. The need of the hour as indicated by many

organizations is to design and implement low cost assessment and development centers

specially designed to meet the requirements of developing countries like outs. Normally,

the purpose of analyzing training needs is to uncover the gap that exists between the

present competence of the enterprise and the competency needed to reach the strategic

goals in the future. A determining factor for what problems may arise is the choice of

level of precision or how complex a concept of competency one uses.

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BusinessMission OrientedStrategic PlannerSystems InnovatorUnderstands Team Behavior

HR ExpertKnows HR PrinciplesCustomer OrientedApplies Business ProceduresManages ResourcesUses HR Tools

Change AgentManages ChangeConsultsAnalyzesUses Coalition SkillsInfluences Others

LeaderEthical Takes RisksDecisiveDevelops StaffCreates Trust

AdvocateValues DiversityResolves ConflictCommunicates WellRespects Others

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Fig 2: Competency Framework

2.5. Need for Competency Frameworks

If a leading-edge organization seeks to create an efficient and effective competency

management system, what would they typically uncover? Let us look at the priority list

Translate agency vision into clear measurable outcomes that define success and

that are shared throughout the agency and with customers and stakeholders

STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

COMPETENCY FRAMEWORK

COMPETENCY MODELING

FRAMEWORK

Organizational Strategy

Vision, Mission, Values, Strategic,Intent, Corporate Governance, Corporate Social Responsibility & Ethics

Business Strategy

Business Plan & Goals, CulturePeople, Technology

Core Competencies(Organizational wide)

Business Competencies(SBU specific)

Stakeholder Interest

Market Positioning

Achieving Business Targets

Employee Satisfaction

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Teamwork Strategy

Leadership, CommunicationConflict Management, InterpersonalSkills, Project Orientation, Self Managed Teams (SMT)

Team Competencies(Project driven)

Role Strategy

Ability, Autonomy, Multiskilling,Task identity, PerformanceEvaluation & rewards and performance development

Role Competencies(Role wise)

Profit Center Orientations

Team Development & Synergy

Performance Accomplishment

Individual Development

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Provide a look for assessing, managing and improving the overall health and

success of business systems.

Continue to shift from perspective, audit and compliance-based oversight, to an

ongoing, forward-looking strategic partnership, involving agency headquarters

and field components.

Identify core capabilities in the business and in the individual to help connect

work with behaviors, consequently influencing the performance and results.

Include measures of quality, cost, seed, customer service and employee

alignment, motivation and skills to provide an in-depth, predictive performance

management system; and

Replace existing assessment models with a consistent approach to competency

management.

Implement efficiently

Undertake pilots as necessary

Go for the kill once acceptance is gained for across the broad execution.

The traditional approach of job analysis used by many organizations earlier is slowing

changing into a competency approach. The competency approach is different and

effective when compared to the job analysis approach used.

Job Analysis Leads to:

- Long lists of tasks and the skills / knowledge required to perform each of those tasks

- Data generation from subject matter experts; job incumbents

- Effective Performance

Whereas Competency approach leads to:

- A Distilled set of underlying personal characteristics

- Data generation from outstanding performers in addition to subject matter experts and

other job incumbents

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- Outstanding Performance

Competency Approach allows executives and managers to make distinction between a

person's ability to do specific tasks at the minimum acceptable level and the ability to do

the whole job in an outstanding fashion.

Currently many organizations have adopted system which relate to the competencies or

rather competency approach such as

Competency Based Performance Appraisal

Competency Based Training

Competency Based Development

Competency Based Pay etc…

Link between Competency and other parameters is gaining more importance in the

current industrial scenario as Competencies have started playing a major role in the

development of the organization as well as the employees of the organization.

Competency Model development is a critical activity to be carried out by any

organization so as to make sure their Competency Framework is effective enough to help

their mapping process. Only if the model and the framework are designed effectively so

will be the outcomes of the judgment as well as the increase in the performance

effectiveness.

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Fig 3:Competency based HR practices

The most important concepts of competency management is the continuous process of

managing and developing competency standards which reflect normal good practices of

direction setting, monitoring and measuring competencies, providing feedback and taking

action accordingly. Feedback is a very important aspect of any competency mapping

system, as it this which helps an individual to understand things better and achieve the

desired resul

Reward System

Performance Management

System

Recruitment & Selections

Career Plan & Career

DevelopmentCompetency requirementCompetency availability

Competency acquisition/

Development

Succession plans &

Succession Development

Training /development Plans & Programs

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Fig 4:Macro view of Competency Management

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2.6 Identification of Role Competencies

COMPETENCY ASSESSMENT

Psycho-metric tool360 Degree approach

COMPETENCY MAPPING

Strategy-Structure Congruence

Structure Role Congruence

Vertical & horizontal Role linkages

Positioning to bring in competitive advantage

COMPETENCY DEVELOPMENT

Maturity framework & matrixAreas of improvementAction Plan

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COMPETENCY FRAMEWORK

• Core competencies (Organization wide

• Business competencies (SBU specific)

• Team Competencies (project driven)

• Role competencies (Role wise)

COMPETENCY IDENTIFICATION

• Identification process (4 steps)

• Consolidation of checklist

• Rank Order and finalization

• Validation and Benchmark

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It means a set of competencies required to perform a given role. Each competency has a

skill set. Following are the various steps involved in it.

Structure and list of roles: Organizational structure study and examination

Listing all the roles in the structure, Identifying redundant and overlapping roles

And preparing the final list of roles.

Definition of roles: Identify KPAs of the role, Linking the KPAs with Dept. and

Organizational goals, state the content of the above in one or two sentences

Then Position the role in perspective with that of others.

Job description: List down all the activities/tasks (small,big,routine and creative)

And categorize activities under major heads.

Competency requirement

Competency Identification: Steps

Identify against each activity the following:

Role holder interview and listing

Internal/External customer interview and listing

Star performer interview and listing

Role holder critical incident analysis

-Consolidate the above and make a checklist of competencies

-Rank- order and finalize on 5/6 competencies critical to the role

2.7 Competency Assessment

Following methods are used:

Assessment/

Development Centre

360 Degree feedback

Role plays

Case study

Structured

Experiences

Simulations

Business Games

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Competency Assessment is the, Evaluation of the extent to which a given individual or a

set of individuals possess these competencies required by a given role or set of roles or

levels of jobs. Competency Assessment is given importance in organization, so as to

determine the competencies that an individual posses to work in that particular job as

well as in that organization. Assessment helps in identifying the skill, capabilities and

experience that one has to carry out the job in a successful manner.

2.8 Competency Development

Role Identified competencies Assessment result Area of improvement Action plan

Impact of a Competency Development Processes:

Competency development activities tend to identify individual and group developmental

needs and problems including issues of concern and the members need to help each other

to identify solutions, select the resources necessary to achieve success in such problem

solving situations.

The impact of the competencies can be better understood by classifying it into five

specific skills, they are

Interpersonal Competencies Impact:

Interpersonal competencies consist of the whole range of skills, needed to interact

effectively with another person or persons. This is an additional skill and includes critical

capabilities and skills as listening, reflecting on ideas to build its implementation through

people processes and giving and receiving feedback while going through the

communication process.

Personal Competencies Impact:

Personal Competencies are associated with the needs or demands placed by other

manager as individual. Personal task competencies are objectives that define the data

scope of the responsibilities.

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Team Competencies Impact:

Team competencies are those that are concerned with the needs of self with that of the

world group of which the individual is a part. These competencies that have been agreed

with the other members of the team, and are seen as being of benefit to the team as a

whole. Team competencies, are different in kind to the personal goals of the team

members and do not represent a simple connection of their personal goals. One crucial

difference is that team competencies will reveal the extent of which there is an

interdependence and synergy between the group members and extent of which it is an

effective and a cohesive unit.

Team task competencies, are goals of task objectives which a recognizable team is

required to achieve. The team task goals require a successful integration.

Organizational Competencies Impact:

Organizational Competencies are seen to be of benefit to the organization and its

employees as a whole. These are competencies that determine the continued existence

and development of the organization, as it relates to your environment. Organizational

competencies are achieved either by increasing the organization’s internal efficiency in

processing its order and determining a successful strategy for the survival of the changing

environment of the organization.

Organizational development competencies represent the goals of any program or change

upon which the organization could embark. They could also include changes in methods

of procedures so that the organization can adapt to developments in its environment

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FIG: 5 Competency Based Performance Management System

2.9 Importance of Competency Based Performance Management System (CBPMS):

It helps to align people effectively in a culture with a vision, common purpose and

a reason for existence.

The vision when clearly defined helps employees to follow a path to achieve what

is required and even more.

The most important aspect of CBPMS is that it brings in a behaviour

modification, facilitating, creating, and nurturing a culture which fosters sharing,

trusting, collaborating and contributing towards the goals setting and achieving

process.

PerformanceManagement

Cycle

LINK STRATEGY TO VALUE

ARTICULATE STRATEGYEnabling

Infrastructure

Confirm Matrix of Employee bands

REWARD & COACH

Design and implement infrastructure

MONITOR & EVALUAVATE

Confirm Linkage to Critical HR processes

Confirm Competency Dictionary

ENABLING PERFORMANCE CULTURE

Agree on Assessment Set

SET MEASURES AND TARGETS

Prepare Assessment Work sheet

PLAN & EXECUTE

Select Assessment Techniques & Materials

Link critical success factors to Org. Core Competencies

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CBPMS is a performance improvement process, based on a joint problem

solving approach rather than an evaluation and control system.

It is a business intervention tool seeking to achieve an effective mix of

organizational variables.

It develops a sense of leadership and commitment and it works to create an

atmosphere to perform, lead tasks, set standards, and seek excellence in all times.

It helps in effective planning and proper utilization of resources.

CBPMS is important as it defines the following for the organization, team working as

well as the individuals:

1. Measurable and Quantitative goals on the basis of measurability, with a dead

line, with numbers to chase for.

2. Soft and Sensitive Qualitative goals as that which involves value addition,

doing things differently, team sprit, organizational clarity, influencing the culture

and climate of the organization.

3. Human Process and People management goals to involve value orientation,

team building, learning, peer working, self management, cooperation and support,

training/retraining and an overall responsibility towards people.

4. Architecture Management and Overall Systemic goals necessitate on going

systemic improvements in process, methods and activities etc…

5. Rare and Unique goals make ordinary people do extraordinary things; stretches

people to surpass their standards and perform exceptionally well.

6. Individual and Self appraisal inculcates learning necessities.

7. Critical competencies and skill attributes identification to match skills with

person and job demands.

8. Overall comprehensive details to carry out comprehensive analyze of

achievements, failures etc…

9. Development of Team and Individual Strengths, as well as understanding the

weaknesses.

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10. Performance review, feedback and counselling to help the superior in playing a

constructive role for development planning and improvement opportunities.

11. Future setting and scenario and potential assessment in the short term and long

term help in early identification of high performers, tracking, monitoring inputs,

bringing in mentors, role models, list of possibilities of growth, lateral

movements, cross functional exposure, development of leaders for the future and

planning succession at various stages.

12. It plays an important role in career planning and career management

programs.

13. Overall ranking and tiering – it focus on generating overall ranking of

employees as well as defining the levels in which they are currently performing

and what must be done to improve performance.

14. It helps in focusing on results and thus reduces the problems.

2.10 Common Pitfalls in implementing a competency mapping system

Usual pitfalls about competency development are the following:

Lack of internal rooting

Lack of information

Lack of co-ordination

The wrong time

Wrong use of tools

No consequence analysis

Dependence on external consultants.

Pitfall No: 1 Believing the Map is Ultimate Goal

Mapping is an easy task but the difficulty lies in the audit and analysis. These are the areas where

most fraught with stumbling blocks and problems. The process or the map becomes a colossal

waste of time and money without proper analysis. The major pitfall occurs when the map is

considered as the desired end result without going into proper analysis. This is where many

organization loss out as they do not get into a proper analysis. For a proper analysis there should

be proper questions at the outset.

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Pitfall No: 2 No Purposeful Questions

If the questions is not asked properly one is bound to get an improper answer rather a bad answer.

So valuable questions will results in valuable answer. If the questions are not proper it means the

objective or mission of a competency map is not defined clearly. The map is not in itself good,

but it is best only when it brings a positive change in the organization.

This can be achieved by understanding the communication flow in the organization. This will

help in knowing how and where to close the flow and decide what is desirable and not desirable

for strategies developed by the organization.

Pitfall No: 3 Not Knowing Where you are Going

This is what is called not knowing what the MISSION of the organization is. One should know

where the organization is heading to. If the organization has to be in the reality then it should

focus on something beyond reality so that it land in reality.

The mission must be to create and sustain a knowledge flow that is more profitable to your

organization. Then the map becomes a measure of how close to the ideal you already are in order

to benchmark for future measures of how much change you have been able to effect. The mission

must reach far beyond the map.

Focus should be on achieving what is always better than where you are right now.

Pitfall No: 4 Not Ensuring Both Reliability and Validity

Data from any source should be reliable and be valid so that it can be used for further process

effectively. Reliability and validity are indications of how usable a particular measuring tool

really is.

"Reliability tells us how consistently we are measuring whatever we are measuring. Validity is

concerned with whether we are measuring what we say we are measuring."

Reliable data should be consistent both internally and across time. If one measure any part any

time anywhere the results should be consistent.

The reliability and validity of data depends on the questionnaire as well as the measurement tool.

The data cannot be reliable and valid, if our measuring tool is not accurately consistently

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measuring what we say we are measuring. The question is really the key. If the question cannot

be assessed to be reliable and valid, there is no sense in even beginning the process.

Pitfall No: 5 Not Assessing the Results Accurately

Once if all the above pitfalls have been successfully flowed through, the greatest challenge lies in

using the results effectively with proper assessment. The greatest danger lies in potential misuse

of data.

Now once we know the pitfalls, we should go ahead boldly and map it. But it should always be

done with knowledge. Knowing about the pitfalls will help the organization to chart the mapping

activities with confidence.

The effective mapping processes requires, Involvement and participation of the management,

Proper planning and allocation of responsibilities, Participation and involvement of employees,

Use of consultants, Proper follow up and feedback.

Chapter-3

METHODOLOGY

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3.1 Research Design:

Sampling,

Data collection methods,

Research instruments.

3.2. Sampling:

Simple Random sampling was done for the study. Various players like UCB, Levis

Pantaloon, Color plus, Zodiac, Arrow etc were identified and the sample was selected at

random. The respondents were from HR and front-line departments of the companies

3.3. Data collection methods

Sources of data collection:

For the purpose of research both primary and secondary data were collected. Secondary

data was collected from a number of books, newspaper articles, and websites. Primary

data was collected from the employees with the help of questionnaires, discussion

guidelines and interviews.

3.4 Research Instruments

Secondary data was collected to gain more knowledge about the topic under study; it was

done to get to know the topic and its relevance in present scenario. Primary data was

collected with the help of questionnaires which were filled and answered by the

employees who were selected randomly.

Primary data:-The questionnaires will be used to gauge the preference of the customer’s

associate whether they are satisfied with their own behavior and are they given the

required attention.

Focus group discussion:-It would be done to identify the behavior of customers whether

they are satisfied with the behavior of the customer associate’s and sales managers. It will

consist of a panel of approx.

(8-10) people.

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Research Design:

The design consists of using both the exploratory research as well as to use Conclusive

research so as to bring about the relationship that competency mapping has and its effect

on the performance effectiveness.

Exploratory Research – Experience Survey carried out to obtain an insight and ideas

about the topic through depth interviews so as to probe deep into the competency

mapping system of the company.

Conclusive Research in the form of descriptive research will used just for determining the

relationship and effect of competency mapping on performance management system.

Chapter-4

REPORT OF DATA COLLECTION

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4.1 Identified Competencies for front-line staff

1. Team Work Ability to work in a group, supporting and involving team members, integrating contributions and working towards the team objective

Seeks to gain the cooperation of others & to develop a good team spirit when working in a team

Actively involves others Shows sensitivity to team members Seeks and shares information Listens to contribution from others Focuses team efforts towards the

goals Asks questions to gain interest and

involvement from others Actively confronts barriers to team

effectiveness Proactively encourages others to

participate Empathizes with team members Builds on team members points

Is focused on individual goals Does not cooperate with other team members Does not listen – shoots down opinions without evaluation Does not seek others involvement /opinion Creates decibels without impact on the objective Insensitive to the needs of others

2. Analytical Reasoning / Problem Solving

Analyses issues and breaks information down into component parts; makes systematic and rational judgments based on relevant information

Develops and uses clear criteria for guiding decisions

Identifies cause and effect relationships

Thinks through the consequences of different courses of action

Evaluates information effectively and systematically identifying relevant and irrelevant issues

Arrives at logical conclusions using information available to good effect

Performs calculations and combines quantitative information to diagnose and solve a problem

Gets bogged down in detail Has difficulty in analyzing and evaluating information Is not able to recognize what is relevant Judgments based on ‘gut feeling’ rather than a rational interpretation of data Judgments based on part information

3. Resilience/ Managing Change

Resilience- maintaining own effectiveness when objectives/ rules/ procedures are changed by others (People/ resources, etc.)Flexibility – Modifies approach to gain the same objective

Resourceful in seeking alternative approaches

Maintains focus on objectives despite setbacks

Shows initiative in modifying approach with alternative methods

Loses sight of objective easily Confused by external influences Is unable to adapt to changed circumstances in meeting objectives

4. Initiative Engaging in proactive behavior; seizing opportunity

Demonstrates positive energy Takes the lead for a task Questions the way things are done Sees an opportunity and takes

action Proactively scans the environment

for new ideas, trends, etc. Brings the group to focus on the

available options, what’s there, actions to minimize the damage

Plays a passive role in the group Is not able to identify opportunities Brings the group to focus on the what’s not there/not fair/sees the gloomy side of the picture/does not think of possible options

5. Result Orientation

Focusing attention on

key objective; wanting effective outcomes

Demonstrates a clear concept of

goal Can develop realistic objectives to

achieve the goal Readily identifies priorities Is conscious of time lines Plans and schedules activities to

Has difficulty in identifying objectives / goals Does not break task into activities Is unable to prioritize Has no concept of urgency or dead lines Is overwhelmed by information

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achieve objectives Monitors progress vis-a- vis

resources / constraints

6. Ability to see bigger picture

- Planning - Organizing

Focusing attention on key objective; wanting effective outcomes

Demonstrates a clear concept of goal

Can develop realistic objectives to achieve the goal

Readily identifies priorities Is conscious of time lines Plans and schedules activities to

achieve objectives Monitors progress vis-a- vis

resources / constraints Evaluates the long term impact of a

decision

Has difficulty in identifying objectives / goals Does not break task into activities Is unable to prioritize Has no concept of urgency or dead lines Is overwhelmed by information Does not evaluate the long term impact of a decision

The value of competency mapping and identifying emotional strengths is that many

employers now purposefully screen employees to hire people with specific competencies.

They may need to hire someone who can be an effective time leader or who has

demonstrated great active listening skills. Alternately, they may need someone who

enjoys taking initiative or someone who is very good at taking direction. When

individuals must seek new jobs, knowing one’s competencies can give one a competitive

edge in the job market.

4.2 Tools of competency mapping

• Group Discussion

• Case Studies

• Extempore

• Presentation

• Psychometric Exercises

• Dream Team

How to test these Exercise

Group Discussion

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• Don’t speak for the sake of speaking - weigh what you are saying

• You would only be heard when you have a reasonable/logical thought

• DON’T GET AGGRESSIVE or PERSONAL

• POSITIVE LANGUAGE… e.g use however not but, we not I

• 10 People …. 10 Mins… you have only ONE MINUTE to be heard

• LISTEN….

• Be Proactive and not Reactive..think before you speak.

• Don’t be the only one talking, give others a fair chance

• Acknowledge and appreciate your peers if you agree with them..

Case Study/Presentation

• Get your self to present at least one Case Study and speak for the Team.

• Approach - Think of Solutions and don’t get stuck with the problem

• Keep an Open Mind - try and think OUT OF THE BOX

• DON’T GET AGGRESSIVE or PERSONAL

• Convince or be Convinced, be a TEAM PLAYER

• Don’t digress from the Point of Discussion

• Acknowledge and appreciate your peers if you agree with them..

Extempore

• You would get time to prepare… Get your thoughts together

• Don’t use Slangs/ Jargons

• Use simple words

• Use your time well

• Believe in what you say… it shows in your body language

• Have an open Body Language

• Don’t get conscious of the observers

• Look at all the Team Members… maintain eye contact with all

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Psychometric Exercises

• Relax…

• Your being Natural would help the most

• Think POSITIVE and be consistent

• Don’t contradict yourself…. Be Clear in your thoughts

• Time your self well, you may not get too much time to respond

• Believe in what you say and don’t pretend

• Don’t get conscious of the observers

Dream Team

• Think Diverse, what qualities do you want your team to possess

• Don’t get your favorites in the team just because like them

• Get the right mix of qualities/people in your team

• If a person is not in the team, have a reason - WHY NOT and not a personal

one….

• YOUR DREAM TEAM STARTS WITH YOU… include your name and what

Value Add you bring to the Team

Fig-6: Competency mapping of Pantaloon

Pantaloons priority test

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The Priorities process consists of 5 Simple Steps, which will be expanded on through the

balance of this document. The 5 Simple Steps are:

Step 1: Clarify Role Purpose and Key Accountabilities - Employees and managers understand the expectations of the employee's role, how it adds value to the business and the key accountabilities of the position.

Step 2: Establish Operating Objectives and Behavioral Expectations - Employees and managers together set the specific, tangible and measurable operating objectives that must be accomplished within the scope of the employee's role accountabilities.

Employees also understand how they are expected to achieve their deliverables through behavioral expectations that are based on Core Values.

Step 3: Create a Development Plan and Facilitate an Individual Value Proposition Discussion - Employees and their managers together should

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establish a development plan focused on enhancing employees' skills, experience and overall contribution to company and, at their option, have further discussions regarding what interests and motivates the employee.

Step 4: Complete Regular Progress Reviews - Employees receive feedback, from their manager, throughout the performance period on how they are doing relative to both the operating objectives that were established and the behavioral expectations based on company’s Core Values. Feedback should be documented by the manager and retained by both the manager and employee.

Step 5: Complete a Contribution Assessment - Employees' contributions will be assessed based upon the degree of achievement against their operating objectives and whether they have demonstrated the behavioral expectations based on Core Values. Contribution assessment will also reflect each employee's contribution relative to peers in similar roles based upon role type, scope and complexity, in order to ensure greater accuracy and consistency in application. Managers will also be provided with guidelines, which establish an expected distribution curve across the four contribution indicators. The guidelines are intended to reinforce the differentiation the company expects to see at an overall business unit and lower level when the contribution assessment process is completed and results are rolled up for these larger groups of employees.

How Priorities Works - Five Simple Steps

Step 1. Establishing Role Purpose and Accountabilities:

Role purpose defines what an employee is expected to do and should support the business

priorities.

Accountabilities define the major outcomes expected from a role.

Step 2. Establishing Operating Objectives & Behavioral Expectations

Operating Objectives:

Operating objectives are:

o "Deliverables" that the employee must achieve during the 1st and 2nd half

year performance cycles.

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o Aligned to the employee's role and accountabilities; as well as Vision,

Strategy and key business priorities.

Step 3. Development Planning:

The manager and employee are expected to jointly create the employee's

development plan, which should, to the extent possible, be a blend of the

employee's professional /career interests along with the knowledge, skills, training

and experience necessary for the employee to meet the immediate and future

needs . Identifying key motivators, interests, professional and career development

goals and opportunities should take place in conjunction with the development

planning discussions.

Step 4. Progress Reviews:

Managers are expected to have on-going discussions with employees to ensure

progress is being made relative to the operating objectives, behavioral

expectations and the Individual Development Plan. At a minimum, the review is

expected to occur at mid-year and / or more frequently as required due to role or

business priorities.

Progress reviews also help ensure that both role accountabilities and operating

objectives in particular continue to align to the business priorities.

Input and feedback can also be solicited by managers or employees from

additional sources who have knowledge of the employee's performance.

Additional sources of input may include team or project leaders, customers and/or

clients.

Step 5. Contribution Assessment Process:

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Managers are ultimately accountable for assessing an employee's overall

contribution and documenting and communicating the overall contribution

assessment and indicator to the employee

Input and feedback can also be solicited by managers or employees from

additional sources who have knowledge of the employee's performance.

Additional sources of input may include team or leaders, customers .

4.4 The competency mapping of ARROW goes as follows

Their chain is

Sales manager – retail associates

Name of their assessment exam is DAT

Exercises are

• Written test

Nomination on basis of > = Regional Appraisal

Rating

Preliminary Steps

Short-listing for Next Round

Conduct of

Assessment Centre

Consensus of

Assessors

Announce Results and Give

Performance Counselling to

each Participant

Fig-7: Process Map

PresentationKnow Your OpsGD

Carries 40 Marks,To score 28 to qualify for

next Round at HO

52

4.3 Competency mapping of UCB To set systematic and objective processes to evaluate nominated Customer

Facilitator’s capabilities (in simulated conditions) that are critical to performing in

the role of future Store Managers and Area Sales Executives

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• In basket exercise

• Average billing system

• One to one session

• Store performance is important than individual performance

The employee can sit in the exam after one year. For one year the company observes

his/her on the job behavior.

4.5 Competency mapping of Levis

Customer facilitators- floor manager- sales staff- sales manager

There is no appraisal system as such in Levis as they don’t believe in paper work. The

criteria for their evaluation are:

Work Experience

Interest of the employee

If he/ she is their from some references

Internal promotions

Knowledge

On the job behavior

In all there are 30 employees working in levis.

There are no exams only promotion is done through observation and their

behavior.

The same goes with Color plus and Zodiac.

Employees are expected to work harder in order to meet its targets. However, driving

performance is not all about pushing employees to make figures but equally important is

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for them to know how to meet their targets. Many leaders concentrate on what needs to

be done instead of how to get there. Refocusing on how goals are achieved becomes more

essential because it facilitates learning and initiating action in the employee. It also

provides support in terms of enhancing an employee’s capabilities, preparing them to

meet future challenges. However, an effective performance management system is

necessary. Results indicate that a good performance management system enables

employees to attain all their performance goals, which leads to successful business

outcomes. Depending on the type of outcome, such as hard results like revenue growth,

productivity and profitability, or soft results like customer or employee satisfaction,

organizations with effective performance management systems are more likely to

outperform their competitors. To the respondents, these qualities made their performance

plan more meaningful and valuable to them, influencing a positive impact on business

outcomes, employee productivity and satisfaction.

However, one of the biggest challenges that leaders face is how to effectively motivate,

initiate change and sustain improved performance among employees. Not all employees

have the same sources of motivation or can they be influenced to initiate action and

change behavior by the considering the same factors. Factors that contribute to an

employee’s performance are can be specific and vary per individual. It then becomes

imperative for leaders to determine what organizational factors contribute to effective

outcome and must be able to enhance and maintain them, both on an individual and group

level.

4.6 Response of the front-line staff about Competency mapping

• Opportunity to express own views

• Opportunity to find out about own S/W

• Opportunity to discuss own objectives/company/dept. objectives

• Identification/clarification of own role

• Improved working relationships

• Increased job satisfaction/self-confidence

• Find out reasons for salary

• See relationship to training provided/development plans

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Fig-8:Competency mapping process - Ebony

Chapter-5

Competency Competency mapping mapping ProcessProcess

Performance Performance Appraisal using Appraisal using

a a predetermined predetermined

formatformat

AppraisaAppraisallIntervieIntervieww

55

ObservatioObservationn ofof

performanperformance &ce &

continualcontinual feedbackfeedback

PerformancePerformance Planning & GoalPlanning & Goal

settingsetting

Using theUsing the results forresults for differentdifferent

organizatioorganizationalnal

decisionsdecisions

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ANALYSIS

5.1 QUESTIONNAIRE DATA ANALYSIS

1. The first question- My role is important in this organization; I feel central here

a) Strongly disagree b) Slightly disagree c) Strongly agree d) Slightly agree

It is aimed at understanding the employee’s role. How do they perceive their role,

performed in the organization .Do they feel that the respective role performed by them

adds any value to the organization. .The results were: 70% of the respondents felt that

their role holds a great importance. Whereas 10% of them slightly agree with the

statement, 17% of them slightly disagree with the statement questioned and 3% of them

did not have much of an opinion to voice.

Role importance

3%17%

70%

10%

Strongly disagree

Slightly disagree

strongly agree

Slightly agree

It was found that there is a very clear understanding of the reason for the existence of the

process from the percentage of people who feel their role being important. 70% of the

employees felt that there is a definite contribution of their role in the organization. On

average combining the respondents who felt it important i.e. 10%, it is determined that

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the employees of the organization feel that the role play a somewhat importance in the

organization.

This is also to find the link that the competencies had in relation to the critical success

factors of the job that they were performing. Like the front-line staff felt that the main

purpose of their job was, delighting the customer by performing on time deliver, effective

communication and meeting targets on time and if possible under promise.

2. The second question goes like this-My training and expertise are not fully utilized in my present role.

a) Strongly disagree b) Slightly disagree c) Strongly agree d) Slightly agree

This question helps to analyze that how important the training program is and are they

able to utilize the training and expertise in the role performed by them. This is to

understand whether the organization has proactively planned system to handle employees

who were low on competencies and whether proper expertise and training is provided. No

system or process is effective without an immediate feedback as well as traning.It not

only tell the individual his current position, but also help to understand the individual’s

problems and reasons for not exhibiting that kind of behavior.

It will also help the organization from bringing in more clarity to the system and how the

individual understand the training system. It helps in identifying the right training needs.

5% 0%

95%

0%

Strongly disagree

Slightly disagree

strongly agree

Slightly agree

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95% of the respondents confirmed that there is an effective training provided to them

soon after their evaluation and appraisals. Just about 5% felt that they are not able to

make the effective use of training and expertise given to them and they do not have solid

reasons to support the same.

3. The third question-

In my role I am able to use my creativity and do something new

a) Strongly disagree b) Slightly disagree c) Strongly agree d) Slightly agree

The purpose of asking this question was to know is there any value addition done by the

employees to enhance their role. Are they able to add any creativity to their role?

5%

15%

65%

15%

Strongly disagree

Slightly disagree

strongly agree

Slightly agree

Since front-line staff have direct interaction with customers and their main job is to

satisfy customers. Customers like to inquire about many things, and front-line staff have

to attend their inquiries, so this question help us to analyze how much value do they add,

and how they use new tactics to satisfy customers. The result shows that 65% strongly

agree that they are able to do some new things in their role,whereas15% slightly agree, as

the job structure is very rigid.15% of them slightly disagree and 5% of them didn’t raise

any voice.

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4. The fourth question talks about the opportunities and scope given to the employees to

enhance their professional growth.

I have tremendous opportunities for professional growth in my role

a) Strongly disagree b) Slightly disagree c) Strongly agree d) Slightly agree

This is an important question which aimed at understanding the perception of the

respondents on the opportunities given for the improvement of performance. Only if the

employees feel that opportunities given through competency mapping can improve

performance, its only then they can actually feel that they show a considerable

improvement in the performance.

Usually organization develops system to make sure they provide opportunities which are

aimed at improving the overall performance of the employees as well as the organization.

13%

0%

87%

0%

Strongly disagree

Slightly disagree

strongly agree

Slightly agree

So majority of the respondents do strongly agree that they are given opportunities to

enhance their growth in career.. 87% of the respondents believed that the competency

mapping process helps in doing this. Most of them agreed that the have seen a

considerable increase in the improvement of their performance over years.

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Only about 13% felt that they do not get enough opportunities. They felt competency

mapping is another tool to evaluate them along with the performance evaluation and it

only aimed at their behavioral aspects.

So with an 87% majority of respondents in favour of the question,. Competency Mapping

helps an individual to understand his capabilities, his strength and weakness better, thus

helping him to work more on his capabilities and strengths and minimize his weaknesses.

5. The fifth question is as follow -I have little freedom in my job description

a) Strongly disagree b) Slightly disagree c) Strongly agree d) Slightly agree

2%

0%

75%

23%

Strongly disagree

Slightly disagree

strongly agree

Slightly agree

6 In the question performance improvements signifies the process of competency mappingCompany focuses on performance improvements rather than Just evaluation of individuals. a) Yes b) No

This question was aimed at finding out whether the respondents think that company

focuses on improving performance of the employees rather than just evaluation. In the

present scenario many organization follow a competency based performance

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management system. This is the same in case of retail industry. This question gives clear

picture on whether the employees think that competency mapping plays an important role

in performance evaluation. Do they think whether competency mapping should be given

importance along with performance evaluation, and whether it should be linked with the

performance management system?

87%

13%

yes

no

The chart shows a large percentage of 87 % of respondents do think that Competency

Mapping does have an important role in Performance Evaluation. About 13% of them

feel it is not important. They feel competency mapping has its own importance and so

does performance evaluation. They are not sure about the importance when it is linked

with performance evaluation.

But the chart clearly shows that a majority of the employees strongly give importance to

both the process and system and strongly feel that competency does play an important

role in the performance evaluation and feel that it should always be linked with the

performance management system.

The question was also aimed at knowing whether they appreciate the companies system

of linking it with the performance evaluation. So the inference from this chart is that

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majority of the respondents do prefer do have the system linked and find it really

important, that competency mapping plays a key role in performance evaluation.

7. Is the performance appraisal system linked with the identification of developmental needs?

a) Strongly disagree b) Slightly disagree c) Strongly agree d) Slightly agree

60%

40%

strongly agree

Slightly agree

This question helps to analyze why is Performance Measured? Is it helps in identification

of developmental needs? Or not.

Reasons for emphasizing the development of personnel include-:

Creating a pool of readily available and adequate replacements for personnel who

may leave or move up in the organization

Enhancing the company's ability to adopt and use advances in technology because

of a sufficiently knowledgeable staff

Building a more efficient, effective and highly motivated team, which enhances

the company's competitive position and improves employee morale

Ensuring adequate human resources for expansion into new programs

The result obtained shows 60% of company’s measure performance for

identifying developmental needs and some of these

Developmental reasons are:-

o Identifying strengths

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o Identifying areas of growth

o Developmental planning

o Coaching and career planning

o How might a performance appraisal contribute to an individual’s

development

40% companies still link the performance appraisal with administrative factors like

o Compensation

o Promotion dismissal

o Downsizing layoffs

8. The eighth question is in continuation of the previous question. This is a follow up

questions so as to know from the respondents that determining training needs helps in

encouraging the best talent.

Determining the training needs helps in encouraging the best talent.

a) Strongly disagree b) Slightly disagree c) Strongly agree d) Slightly agree

90%

10%

strongly agree

Slightly agree

The result obtained shows a clear inclination towards the importance of training needs.

As 90% of the respondents feel that training can help in encouraging the best talent.

Makes an employee more useful to a firm

Makes employees more efficient and effective

Enables employees to secure promotions

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Employees can avoid mistakes, accidents on the job

Only 10% feel that it does not deliver the benefits and does not ensure the best talent to

come up.

9. Are you satisfied with the assessment methods used by the company?

a) Yes b) No

This is to know the views of the respondents, whether are they really satisfied with the

competency framework developed by the organization as well as the framework on which

they are being evaluated. For any system to be implemented and carried out effectively it

requires the acceptance and willingness to adapt to the system with interest, commitment

and a level of satisfaction that the individual is benefited from the same.

85%

15%

yes

no

85% of the respondents are satisfied with assessment methods, whereas about 15% of the.

The respondents were dissatisfied about the entire framework.

The satisfied respondents felt that the assessment framework on which they were

evaluated and assessed was effective in terms of analyzing their competencies in relation

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to their job and believed that the system is good enough to assess them and link it with

their performance evaluation.

The dissatisfied respondents felt that the framework needs to be revamped and cannot be

generalized for all, as even the behavioral and soft skills differ from person to person and

it cannot be changed with a help of a common assessment module.

10. Would you like to make some improvements in current performance appraisal system?

a) Yes b) No

60%

40%

yes

no

Various suggestions were given by the respondents on the methods for competency

development. Some suggestion provided by the respondents is as follows

- Competency Assessment methods

- Continual Competency enhancement program

- Role description

- Continuous feedback from employees, exposure to different environment

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- Focused training

- Competency Maps

Thus these are some the general methods that the respondents felt was best for the

employees performance.

11. What are your career plans for next six months?

This question was an open-ended question and subject to get an insight about the career

plans of the front-line staff.

Most of them were looking to move up the ladder in their respective hierarchy .Like the

Sales personnel aims to become supervisor or floor manager. And ASM heads towards

store manager.

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Chapter-6

Recommendations

Increasing business literacy of the workforce to help employees better

understands how competency mapping contributes to the organization’s success.

Actively involving a broad-base of employees in the development of competency

mapping actions and initiatives for driving strategy execution..

Employee’s response in a mixed way to any kind of modifications on policies.

Proper communication results in conveying the vision of competency mapping in

an effective way.

Regular feedback improves the performance of employees and makes them

connected to the organization.

Training and socialization play a crucial role as training improves their lacking

skills, ability and knowledge and socialization helps in improving inter-personal

relations, expand business and explore new opportunities.

The competency evaluation and the performance evaluation are done on yearly

basis. Competency Evaluation can be more effective if it carried out at least twice

a year, so that it keeps reminding the employees where they stand and what they

have to achieve the required objectives. The organization can also focus on

providing regular counseling and feedback every month or quarter. This can be

done by the superior or the boss who can act as a mentor and guide him to do

better. This will help the individual to correct and change accordingly. This will

yield better results in the time of appraisal making it easier to judge the

individuals progress.

Combining performance appraisal with assessment centre will help in improving

the competencies, skills, ability and compensation which makes employees to

work with passion and feel strong connection to their company.

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HRD function is to ensure competencies in each role, if there is inadequate role

competencies then either develop the competencies within a timeframe or quit the

role.

Formalization and automation of competency analysis database to define

competencies in terms of tasks, skills and knowledge required for different roles

in the organization..

Self-mapping of employees against the competencies for their current or next

immediate role.

Utilization of competency information across all policies including training,

career development, competency development, recruitment and mentoring.

Training on competency framework to generate awareness among employees to

participate and contribute in this initiative.

Alignment of India-specific competencies with the organizational global roles and

requisite set of competencies.

Periodic review of competency mapping by employees to remain current with the

organization’s business needs.

Periodic review of the skills and knowledge required to perform a particular role

ensuring they are complete and correct.

Development of competencies can be done also with help of other effective

techniques, like

Behavioral Event Interview using BARS

Competency Card which help is effective follows up of work

Focus group etc...

This will help in preparing a more comprehensive list of competencies for evaluation

parameters.

Focus on developing inventory of competencies for the future. The organization

has to plan to meet the changes expected in technology, product and process in

the coming years.

The organization should focus on making the system more efficient by making the

employees feel that the system is excellent, and it benefits both the individual and

organization.

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Chapter-7

Conclusions & Implications

Dictionary definitions often fall short in describing a concept. But the leading companies

might describe a Competency as “a cluster of related knowledge, attitudes, skills and other

personal characteristics that …

Affects a major part of one’s job

Correlates with performance on the job

Can be measured against well-accepted standards

Can be improved via training and development”

This is Competency era and a significant shift towards Competency Based Organization

has been observed. People and their competencies have become the most significant factors

that give a competitive edge to any corporation. HR Professionals and Line Managers can

contribute a great deal to develop competency-based organizations.

Any underlying characteristic required for performing a given task, activity or role

successfully can be considered as competency. Competency may take the following forms:

Knowledge, attitude, skill and Other characteristics of an individual including motives

values, traits, self concept etc.

Competency-based performance management processes are becoming more prevalent in

many organizations, but they are particularly appropriate for organizations where there are:

Uncertain environments

Qualitative/process service jobs

Self-managed teams

Developmental jobs

Changing organizations

Competency mapping begins with identification of the workforce competencies required

To perform the organizational business activities. Once the competencies are identified,

a mapping between the targeted vs. actual value of competencies is required to

Measure, analyze and predict the future capability of competencies and take necessary

Corrective/preventive action to either enhance or maintain the current capability.

Identifying the tasks, skills, knowledge and attitude required to perform various

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Organizational roles can be used in formulating job description, assessing employees’

Current level of competency, and activities like planning career development and

Coordinating competency development.

Organizations describe, or map, competencies using one or more of the following four

strategies:

1. Organization-Wide (often called “core competencies” or those required for

organization success)

2. Job Family or Business Unit Competency Sets

3. Position-Specific Competency Sets

4. Competency Sets Defined Relative to the Level of Employee Contribution (i.e.

Individual Contributor, Manager, or Organizational Leader)

Competencies Relate to Individual Career Development

First and foremost, competencies must be demonstrated by individuals. Perhaps the most

common place where they are demonstrated is within the scope of a particular job or

project involvement. However, competencies are also developed and demonstrated by

individuals in the following settings: volunteer roles in the community, professional

associations, school projects, sports participation settings, and even within one’s own

home life.

One of the first encounters with competencies for most individuals is in securing

employment with a new organization. Organizations that are purposefully using cutting-

edge methods to choose talent for positions or project roles are engaging in what is called

“competency-based interviewing and selection”. These interviewing and selection

methods are being used not only for hiring external applicants, but also for staffing

internal roles.

Many organizations that use competency-based interviewing and selection are also later

using the same competencies to assess performance, to encourage future development

plans from individuals, and to plan for succession in the organization. Therefore, the

individual employees in such an organization will have an ongoing need to use and map

their competencies.

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Why Should Individual Employees Map Their Competencies?

• Gains a clearer sense of true marketability in today’s job market; once the individual

knows how his/her competencies compare to those that are asked for by the job market in

key positions of interest.

• Projects an appearance as a “cutting-edge” and well-prepared candidate, who has taken

the time to learn about competencies, investigate those in demand, and map his/her own

competencies prior to interviewing.

• Demonstrates self-confidence that comes from knowing one’s competitive advantages

more convincingly, and from being able to articulate those advantages in specific

language.

• Secures essential input to resume development - a set of important terms to use in

describing expertise derived from prior career experience.

• Gains advanced preparation for interviews, many of which may be delivered using a

competency-based approach called “structured behavioral interviewing” or “behavioral

event interviewing.

• Develops the capability to compare one’s actual competencies to an organization or

position’s required/preferred competencies, in order to create an Individual Development

Plan.

But what about individuals who work in organizations (or have their own businesses) that

do not hire, appraise or develop employees using competencies? There are several

reasons for these individuals to map their competencies, as well:

1. If the individual ever has a desire to leave the current organization, it is very possible

that competencies may be a part of the HR practices used by the next employer.

2. The true factors for success don’t really vary that much in most organizations. This is

another way of saying that competencies tend to be valid across a wide range of jobs,

work roles, organizations, industries, and professions. Therefore, even if competencies

are not officially being used, they do indeed have a lot to do with success in most

organizations. So an individual who is prepared with insight into his/her own

competencies will probably be able to use them in service of success in the organization

anyway.

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Assessment centers make it possible for organizations to make use of the best

methodology for assessing their employees. “And if the assessment is competency-based

—the information available on individuals can be aggregated for the organization to

provide data on the overall levels of capability in the business relative to the business

needs in the future. We call this ‘real-time succession planning’—where the organization

can use the overview data to plan, acquire and develop the capabilities that it will need

for the future. This is potentially hugely beneficial and cost effective for the

organization,” adds Martin.

The pertinent question is: Is it essential for all organizations (irrespective of size) to set

up an assessment centre? It is necessary for all organizations to have an objective process

(like the assessment centre), the fact remains that they can be quite ‘resource intensive’,

so particularly for smaller organizations the value-for-money issue is the key. “It is vital

to have the necessary expertise either in-house or available via appropriate qualified

external providers—to ensure appropriate design and effective delivery. Just like

anything else, the ‘rubbish in/rubbish out’ principle applies. If the ‘assessment’ assesses

wrong things, or the process is delivered by untrained, unskilled assessors—it will tell the

organization nothing of value and will be a waste of money.

To make sure an organization achieve excellence, the strategies and plans should be

focused on reaching the vision and mission. Processes like Competency Mapping process

should be developed and should be aligned with the organization’s strategies so as to

make sure the system is effective.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Reference Books:

1. Competency Based HRM, by Ganesh Shermon, TATA McGraw Hill Publishing

Company.

2. Competency Mapping, by Spencer & Spencer

3. Performance management by TV rao and Udai Pareek

Website:

1. www.citehr.com

2. www.careertrainer.com

3. www.e-hresources.com

4. www.hbr.com

5. www.employment-studies.co.uk

6. www.managementissues.com

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APPENDICES

INSTRUMENT QUESTIONNAIRES

NON-HR (Front-line Staff)

NAME: ________________________________________DESIGNATION: _________________________________AGE: ________NO. OF YEARS IN COMPANY: ___________

INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILLING UP THE QUESTIONAIRE: Please tick the appropriate choice you feel is the best suited Please give reasons wherever required Please answer all the questions

2. My role is important in this organization; I feel central here

a) Strongly disagree b) Slightly disagree c) Strongly agree d) Slightly agree

2. My training and expertise are not fully utilized in my present role

a) Strongly disagree b) Slightly disagree c) Strongly agree d) Slightly agree

3. . In my role I am able to use my creativity and do something new

a) Strongly disagree b) Slightly disagree c) Strongly agree d) Slightly agree

4. I have tremendous opportunities for professional growth in my role

a) Strongly disagree b) Slightly disagree c) Strongly agree d) Slightly agree

5. I have little freedom in my job descriptiona) Strongly disagree b) Slightly disagree c) Strongly agree d) Slightly agree

6. Company focuses on performance improvements rather than just evaluation of individuals. a) Yes b) No

7. Is the performance appraisal system linked with the identification of developmental needs?

a) Strongly disagree b) Slightly disagree c) Strongly agree d) Slightly agree

8. Determining the training needs helps in encouraging the best talent.

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a) Strongly disagree b) Slightly disagree c) Strongly agree d) Slightly agree

9. Are you satisfied with the assessment methods used by the company?

a) Yes b) No

10. Would you like to make some improvements in current performance appraisal system?

a) Yes b) No If yes, please specify them appropriately.

11. What are your career plans for next six months?

QUESTIONNAIRE-(HR Manager)

NAME: ________________________________________AGE: ________NO. OF YEARS IN COMPANY: ________

INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILLING UP THE QUESTIONAIRE: Please tick the appropriate choice you feel is the best suited Please give reasons wherever required Please answer all the questions

1. Do you think, competency mapping results in better employees performance?

a) Yes b) No

2. On what basis do you implement competency mapping?______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. What are the motivational forces in your opinion to actively involve the employees in competency mapping?

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______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. What are the methods used for Competency mapping?______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. What competencies are you looking for front line-staff?_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. How do you test these competencies?_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. How often is competency mapping conducted?• Once in a year• Twice in a year• Others, please specify

8. What are the reasons for choosing this time span and what are the strategies you use for it?_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. How good is assessment centre as compared to outsourcing recruitment? Is it cost effective?___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. If few short listed employees are not promoted what is done to maintain their performance?___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

11. What do you plan for your employees in the near future?______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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ARTICLE- 1

Competency Mapping: What Is It and How It Can Be Done by Individuals

by Steve Garrett

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This article has been provided by the Career Planning and Adult Development Network.

Consider

Overview

Over the past 10 years, human resource and organizational development professionals

have generated a lot of interest in the notion of competencies as a key element and

measure of human performance. Competencies are becoming a frequently-used and

written-about vehicle for organizational applications such as:

• Defining the factors for success in jobs (i.e., work) and work roles within the

organization

• Assessing the current performance and future development needs of persons holding

jobs and roles

• Mapping succession possibilities for employees within the organization

• Assigning compensation grades and levels to particular jobs and roles

• Selecting applicants for open positions, using competency-based interviewing

techniques

What has not been written about or explored as much over the past decade are the

answers to the following two questions:

1. How do competency-based human resource management methods of defining and

measuring human performance impact individual workers? What impact does an

organization’s use of competencies have on individual employees’ career management

planning and actions in the long-term?

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2. How can career management professionals help prepare their individual clients to

identify and present their competency strengths in various work or job search situations?

The answers to these questions are the basis of this article. However, before I answer

these questions, I need to lay a foundation with some definitions.

How Is “Competency” Defined in the Context of This Article?

Many definitions of the term “competencies” have arisen over the past decade. The

definition that I most prefer is as follows:

Competencies include the collection of success factors necessary for achieving important

results in a specific job or work role in a particular organization. Success factors are

combinations of knowledge, skills, and attributes (more historically called “KSA’s”) that

are described in terms of specific behaviors, and are demonstrated by superior performers

in those jobs or work roles. Attributes include: personal characteristics, traits, motives,

values or ways of thinking that impact an individual’s behavior. *Figure 1 illustrates this

definition.

Competencies in organizations tend to fall into two broad categories:

- Personal Functioning Competencies. These competencies include broad success factors

not tied to a specific work function or industry (often focusing on leadership or emotional

intelligence behaviors).

- Functional/Technical Competencies. These competencies include specific success

factors within a given work function or industry.

The emphasis of this article will be on how both types of competencies impact the ways

career professionals can advise their clients to use competencies in their personal career

management efforts. In this article, however, the predominant focus will be on

practitioners’ and clients’ work on personal functioning competencies, since they tend to

differentiate success over time more often than do workers’ functional/technical

competencies.

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Three other definitions are needed:

• Competency Map. A competency map is a list of an individual’s competencies that

represent the factors most critical to success in given jobs, departments, organizations, or

industries that are part of the individual’s current career plan.

• Competency Mapping. Competency mapping is a process an individual uses to identify

and describe competencies that are the most critical to success in a work situation or

work role.

• Top Competencies. Top competencies are the vital few competencies (four to seven, on

average) that are the most important to an individual in their ongoing career management

process. “Importance to the individual” is an intuitive decision based on a combination of

three factors: past demonstrated excellence in using the competency, inner passion for

using the competency, and the current or likely future demand for the competency in the

individual’s current position or targeted career field.

Although the definition above for “competency mapping” refers to individual employees,

organizations also “map” competencies, but from a different perspective. Organizations

describe, or map, competencies using one or more of the following four strategies:

1. Organization-Wide (often called “core competencies” or those required for

organization success)

2. Job Family or Business Unit Competency Sets

3. Position-Specific Competency Sets

4. Competency Sets Defined Relative to the Level of Employee Contribution (i.e.

Individual Contributor, Manager, or Organizational Leader)

This article will not go into depth about the differences among the four mapping

strategies. Instead, the focus here will be on ways that individuals need to present or

demonstrate the use of the various kinds of competencies when interacting with

organizations.

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Research is ongoing about the nature of competencies that are important for success

across many organizations. There are a number of sources that describe some very

common personal functioning competencies found to be important for employees at all

levels across organizations. One good quote in this area is from Michael Zwell (2000,

pgs. 53-55), the author of Creating A Culture of Competence when he says, “From the

body of competency research to date, a basic set of 6 competencies would differentiate

the top quartile of performers from the rest in most positions in an organization:

Initiative, Influence, Results Orientation, Teamwork, Service Orientation, and, Concern

for Quality.”

ARTICLE-2

Competency mapping

Posted online: Monday , January 24, 2005 at 0000 hrs IST

Competency-based HR is considered the best HR. In India however competency

development and mapping still remains an unexplored process in most organizations

despite the growing level of awareness. After all, Level 3 of PCMM is focused on the

competency framework in an organization.

Is the underlying principle of competency mapping just about finding the right people for

the right job? The issue is much more complex than it appears, and most HR departments

have been struggling to formulate the right framework for their organization.

Competency mapping is a process of identifying key competencies for a particular

position in an organization, and then using it for job-evaluation, recruitment, training and

development, performance management, succession planning, etc. “The competency

framework serves as the bedrock for all HR applications. As a result of competency

mapping, all the HR processes like talent induction, management development, appraisals

and training yield much better results,” states well-known HR expert Ullhas Pagey.

. “Unless managements and HR heads have holistic expectations from their HR

departments, the competency movement is unlikely to succeed as it requires lot of time,

dedication and money,” he adds, pointing out that before an organization embarks on this

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journey it has to be very clear about the business goals, capability-building imperatives

and core competencies of the organization. The competency mapping process needs to be

strongly integrated with these aspects.

Experts agree that the competency mapping process does not fit the one-size-fits all

formula. It has to be specific to the user organisation. “My suggestion is to develop

models that draw from but are not defined by existing research, using behavioural

interview methods so that the organisation creates a model that reflects its own strategy,

its own market, its own customers, and the competencies that bring success in that

specific context (including national culture). Start with small, discrete groups or teams,

ideally in two directions-a ‘horizontal slice’ across the business that takes in a multi-

functional or multi-site group, more or less at the same organisational level, and a

‘vertical slice’ taking in one whole department or team from top to bottom....

Management Development Program on

Competency Mapping December 11-13, 2006

FSM Campus, New Delhi

Backdrop

Competence, especially human competence, is the most critical element for success in

business. The questions ‘how do you predict management success and advancement?’

and ‘what criteria do you use to measure these two phenomena?’ are of fundamental

importance both to managers and the management. It is well known that worker

competence and a supportive organizational structure are necessary for any business to

realize its strategic goals as also to adapt to constant change. Competency mapping has

thus become a reality. Despite endless talk about the need to develop “workplace

competencies” and “mapping” them, most human resources professionals are still

struggling to do this in a meaningful and systematic way. This is possible by matching

the right people to the right jobs thus making for a happier and more productive

workforce.

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Objectives

To provide a definitive roadmap to understanding, designing and implementing

competency models in organizations.

Contents

Key Phases:

The conceptual foundations of competencies and how they work both in people and in

organizations.

How competency frameworks can be designed, developed and implemented.

The role of competencies in an organization as a vital tool for recruitment, selection and

retention.

How to develop customized competency models based on the management philosophy,

customer needs, and existing processes of the organization.

Potential Mapping through Assessment Centre.

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RESPONSE SHEETS

Response sheet number: (1)

Thesis Topic: “Competency Mapping of Front-Line Staff - A Study in Relation to the Retail Sector.” Date: 30th March 08

Details of the student ( Name ,Batch ,Alumni Id ,Phone No and Email Id ) Name: - Kanika Vashishta

Batch: - Spring Summer 2006-2008

Alumni ID Number -DS68-H046

Phone No: - 9810538080

Email: - [email protected]

Thesis synopsis ( Attach thesis synopsis [ if response sheets are emailed] with every response sheet )

Date when the guide was consulted:14th March 08

Progress of the work :

Literature Review

So what does `Competency Mapping' really mean? Competency Mapping is a process of

identifying key competencies for a company or institution and the jobs and functions

within it.

Technical or functional competencies: knowledge, attitudes and skills associated with the

technology or functional expertise required to perform the role

Managerial: knowledge, attitudes and skills required to plan, organize, mobilize and

utilize various resources

Human: knowledge, attitudes and skills required to motivate, utilize and develop human

resources

Conceptual: the abilities needed to visualize the invisible, think at abstract levels and use

the thinking to plan future business

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Comments from internal/external guide:

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Signature of the external guide: Signature of the internal guide:

Signature of the Student: Kanika Vashishta

Note: -Whenever a student emails his/her response sheet, he/she has to send all the previous response sheets too. Response sheets should be emailed to [email protected] or can be submitted in person at Gurgaon campus. Signature of guide not mandatory through email.

Response sheet number: (2)

Thesis Topic: “Competency Mapping of Front-Line Staff - A Study in Relation to the Retail Sector.” Date: 3rd April 2008

Details of the student ( Name ,Batch ,Alumni Id ,Phone No and Email Id ) Name: - Kanika Vashishta

Batch: - Spring Summer 2006-2008

Alumni ID Number -DS68-H046

Phone No: - 9810538080

Email: - [email protected]

Thesis synopsis ( Attach thesis synopsis [ if response sheets are emailed] with every response sheet )

Date when the guide was consulted:25thMarch 08

Progress of the work :

Research Methodology :

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a. Research type: Qualitative exploratory research and quantitative conclusive research

b. Research method:

In depth interviews- done for customer associates and area

sales manager.

Focus group method

Structured Questionnaires

Thesis ss68 to me

Apr 4

Kindly make changes in the Questionnaire for Non Hr. Do more reading on the

competency mapping for better understanding the concept.

Regards

Vijay Boddu

Response sheet number: (3)

Thesis Topic: “Competency Mapping of Front-Line Staff - A Study in Relation to the Retail Sector.” Date: 8th April 2008

Details of the student ( Name ,Batch ,Alumni Id ,Phone No and Email Id ) Name: - Kanika Vashishta

Batch: - Spring Summer 2006-2008

Alumni ID Number -DS68-H046

Phone No: - 9810538080

Email: - [email protected]

Thesis synopsis ( Attach thesis synopsis [ if response sheets are emailed] with every response sheet )

Date when the guide was consulted:3rd April 08

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Progress of the work :

The format of questionnaire is enclosed along with response sheet. Two questionnaires

are prepared. One for the front-line staff (including customer associates &ASM) and

other for Hr manager to collect the adequate data. In regard to our conversation I have

made some changes in the questionnaire for front- line staff

I would be covering the following retail outlets….

Thesis ss68 to me

Apr 9

Questionnaire format is comprehensive. Show me the research findings in the next

response sheet.

Regards

Vijay Boddu

Response sheet number: (4)

Thesis Topic: “Competency Mapping of Front-Line Staff - A Study in Relation to the Retail Sector.” Date: 15th April 2008

Details of the student ( Name ,Batch ,Alumni Id ,Phone No and Email Id ) Name: - Kanika Vashishta

Batch: - Spring Summer 2006-2008

Alumni ID Number -DS68-H046

Phone No: - 9810538080

Email: - [email protected]

Thesis synopsis ( Attach thesis synopsis [ if response sheets are emailed] with every response sheet )

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Date when the guide was consulted:8thApril 08

Progress of the work :

Research finding

Response sheet number: (5)

Thesis Topic: “Competency Mapping of Front-Line Staff - A Study in Relation to the Retail Sector.” Date: 25th April 2008

Details of the student ( Name ,Batch ,Alumni Id ,Phone No and Email Id ) Name: - Kanika Vashishta

Batch: - Spring Summer 2006-2008

Alumni ID Number -DS68-H046

Phone No: - 9810538080

Email: - [email protected]

Thesis synopsis ( Attach thesis synopsis [ if response sheets are emailed] with every response sheet )

Date when the guide was consulted:17thApril 08

Progress of the work :

Conclusion and Implications

Dictionary definitions often fall short in describing a concept. But the leading companies

might describe a Competency as “a cluster of related knowledge, attitudes, skills and other

personal characteristics that …

Affects a major part of one’s job

Correlates with performance on the job

Can be measured against well-accepted standards

Can be improved via training and development”

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Response sheet number: (6)

Thesis Topic: “Competency Mapping of Front-Line Staff - A Study in Relation to the Retail Sector.” Date: 12th May 2008

Details of the student ( Name ,Batch ,Alumni Id ,Phone No and Email Id ) Name: - Kanika Vashishta

Batch: - Spring Summer 2006-2008

Alumni ID Number -DS68-H046

Phone No: - 9810538080

Email: - [email protected]

Thesis synopsis ( Attach thesis synopsis [ if response sheets are emailed] with every response sheet )

Date when the guide was consulted:30thApril 08

Progress of the work :

Recommendations

Increasing business literacy of the workforce to help employees better

understands how competency mapping contributes to the organization’s success.

Actively involving a broad-base of employees in the development of competency

mapping actions and initiatives for driving strategy execution..

Thesis ss68 to me14th may

Go ahead .U seems to be moving in the right direction.

Alpi

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