Kate's Competency Indicator

Introducing a new technology-based competency indicator for HR Professionals

HR and People functions now serve a digital organisation and a digital era. The HR profession now needs to identify the right professionalism to support that environment of work.

To date, specialists working within the HR, Finance and IT teams have typically offered a focus that requires managers to choose between roles that tend towards a people-focus or a technology-focus.

The model described in this Competency Indicator instead shows how a person, role or team can adopt a holistic set of skills and competencies that achieves the best of both worlds.

Key Points

The model describes 5 areas of expertise, which are explained on the following pages. All are essential requirements to work most effectively with HR Tech.

It is an independent framework that can be adopted in any organisation, any sector and to work with any particular HR or People system(s). It is not affected by your organisation’s choice of technology.

The competencies, skills and behaviours apply to any job level too.

Decide how much to invest in the level of your capabilities according to your job role but aim to achieve a balance between the 5 areas of expertise

How To Use The Framework Indicator

Use the competency model here to develop talent and capability with HR technology for:

Yourself
Your Current Team
Your Future Team Colleagues

For Yourself

For example you could:

Conduct an initial self-assessment, looking for areas of particular development need and where you need more knowledge, opportunity or confidence
Seek feedback from your peers; share your self-assessments and ask for opportunities to develop your capabilities where you have identified a need
Regularly revisit to track your progress
Take a proactive approach to planning your role and career development, discussing with your managers and/or mentors how you can achieve a better balance or increase your level of awareness in one or more areas

For Your Current Team

For example you could:

At your own desk, analyse the people in your team and their strengths and areas for better progression
Share the competency framework as part of a team-building discussion and explore the balance of attributes that you profess as a team group
Create a development plan(s) either at individual or team level accordingly
Source some tailored training, either addressing highlighted areas of need or to upskill your team in a holistic way that is focused on this model for HR Tech professionalism from independent experts

For Future Team Colleagues

For example you could:

Review your team structures to make sure that HR technology capability is adequately and appropriately covered for the future
Craft individual roles and write job descriptions, using the framework as a model and set of example behaviours
Structure selection tests and interviews around the 5 areas of expertise and adopt either scenario-based or evidence-based questioning
Allow a new team to have fun exploring collective styles and attributes as part of induction activity

5 Areas of Expertise

This shows the areas of expertise and capability in outline.

On following screens you will find the headline skills and competencies associated with each and carry out an initial self-assessment against some example behaviours that relate to each type of ability.

Organisation

Translate business into technology requirements

System

Create and deliver design solutions

People

Offer people-focused answers

Method

Steer and manage technology change

Self

Manage practical, personal and professional self

Taking a closer look at HR Tech Talent

Each area of expertise and capability requires a certain set of attributes. The table below gives you descriptor phrases in each area. These are skills and competencies – and sometimes specific knowledge sets too.

At work, the important thing is to be able to translate these concepts which in HR we are used to framing as skills and competencies into practical behaviours and actions. That is how a professionalism comes to life and creates a valuable source of talent.

First conduct with the material here an initial self-assessment (or, if you choose to, a first assessment of your team). Use the framework in action and you will then be able to think of more ways in which each type of talent should be put into practice in your own career.

Organisation

Translating business into technology requirements needs:

Strategic awareness
Employee and managerial advocacy
Understanding of context and sector
Political astuteness
Customer focus
Horizon-scanning

System

Creating and delivering technical design solutions requires:

Understanding how systems ‘think’
Specific product knowledge
Experience of different technology
Good habits with data and systems
Mapping networks
Impact focus

People

Offering people-focused answers presents a need for:

Communication skills
Listening to stakeholder differences
Influencing, coaching and training
Sense of team
Adaption of the technology
Conviction that people come first

Method

Creating and delivering technical design solutions requires:

Logical, systematic reasoning
Project mindset
Understanding purpose of method
Change control technique
Analytical questioning
Consulting approach

Self

Managing practical, personal and professional self implies:

Self-awareness
Time management
Resourceful independence
Assertive skills
Creativity and imagination
Worklife integration

Take The Test

Your Progress

Total Scores

Organisation
Systems
People
Method
Self
Results

Question

Don't Know

Know

Feel Good

I am in touch with the industry news in a deliberate way

I make the business case for change within my organisation

I appreciate the key priorities of different departments or functions through my work with multi-disciplinary teams

I have set for myself objectives that keep me focused on the line-of-sight between my role and its value to the organisation

I prioritise different parts of technology development according to our organisation’s need

Project plans I devise are based on other things going on in the organisation and not solely the agility of the technology and/or supplier’s suggestion

Even when it does not interest me, I can confidently cite major current themes in the economic and political climate appropriately for my role level

When I advise about people technology, I include reference to my understanding of the cost implication of choices

I can pinpoint to external companies (e.g. product providers) the striking features of the sector I work in

I speak publicly (e.g. in meetings or with external colleagues) about what our organisation stands for

I help my organisation use people technologies to build an employer brand (or ‘employee value proposition’)

I use my knowledge about how decisions get made to be effective in role

Many times a day you will hear me refer to the customer or end user perspective to draw attention to how customers see things

When I talk to representatives of external companies (e.g. suppliers) I assess if I need a mental ‘filter’ because of their level of influence or business agenda

I benchmark my application and processes against others (a) in other areas of the organisation (b) in other organisations in the sector (c) in other sectors

I navigate my organisation’s headline KPI’s and how they are financially achieved through income or funding

I am on board with the current HR/people and talent strategies of the organisation

My technical blueprint designs build in optimum tolerance and variation levels based on a weighting of the organisational impact

My actions are politic without ‘playing politics’

The corporate social responsibility or ethics of my organisation I buy into

I draw comparisons between different HR systems I have used

I turn standard, public learning material into understanding of an application that is meaningful for my ends and in my context

I ‘see’ the joins that the technology makes behind the front-end user experience screen

I can break down the layers on which front-end software sits and make conceptual links between software, hardware and physical locations

I optimise integration potential between systems and parts of a system

I seek opportunity with people technology to create the most frequent connectedness between both data and people with things in common

I ignore labels given to parts of the system’s data set or front-end structure and display, so that I know if they can be used for less obvious work-arounds or added value

I have actively removed manual interventions and automated processes where possible

I query – both data and people, asking open questions of each and funnelling my questions towards precise answer

I adjust the balance between adoption off-the-shelf and customisation with clear reasoning – and not always the same

I explore and learn about new digital developments in both work-based and consumerised technology

I do not rely on being told by HR and people professionals how people technology benefits the different things they do

I work with large amounts of data without reliance on visual or manual effort

I keep data clean and secure, both actively and with advocacy that others do so

I consider technical solutions within and beyond a particular system’s capabilities

I know about how to configure the system our organisation currently uses at an expert (‘super-user’) level

That specialist system knowledge is holistic across both modules and business processes that the system supports

I make maximum value of data by turning into first information and then insights

I use people analytics to answer business questions most relevant for my organisation

I work for optimum integration between other systems used and do not ring-fence HR systems

Because I ‘know my stuff’ I talk in plain English and do not need jargon

If I am misunderstood I adapt my language and my style of communication to suit my audience a next step better

I use people-friendly ways to present technology, such as story-telling and data visualisations

When it is welcome I give explanations of my reasoning which satisfies the person with greatest technical understanding in my stakeholder network

I make no judgement about whether my areas of expertise are better/worse than those I work with (e.g. the rest of my HR team)

I appreciate differences and make space in my solutions for both expert and end-user preference and opinion

I am consulted by peers, managers and team members about my specialism in people technology as a well-respected individual professional

I proactively share my knowledge in different formats without relying on any one way to communicate (e.g. emails, face-to-face, video)

My body language and tone support how I show, tell or hear from those I’m in company with

I put my work on the agenda for time with other people to make sure what I do applies for them

I use technology to solve other people’s problems and not my own

When I train on-screen I can gauge how well things are being understood

I allow time for feedback on my solutions and plan to work iteratively to be sure to meet stakeholder requirements

I focus on listening actively in understanding people’s needs and key concerns

I make sound judgements about when a people need must unfortunately trump the best technology answer

User experience is given extra weight in my design solutions

I recognise and allow for the change process that happens within a person or a group of people when adapting to new systems or business processes

I understand and allow for the wider cultural and communications implications of technology change and adoption

I adapt people technology because of the different people profiles I meet in different organisations

I use people techniques to influence, negotiate and persuade of the case for using systems, making changes or giving attention to decisions

I know about Project Management methodology

I apply in the absence of other a project method I favour, know in detail and can explain to other team members

I know when work is and is not a project and therefore how to control its progress

I influence effectively to achieve compliance with processes, explaining why

I use a toolkit of presentational ways to capture and share process maps, process change and methods that should be complied with

I apply the same rigour of completeness, consistency and accuracy with process, change control and data capture that I design for and within the technology

I pay attention to detail (e.g. proof-reading, spotting formulae or calculation error, correcting spelling)

I would always test (or get tested) my own systems configuration work

I create change control processes which result in safe ways for us to be flexible with our technology needs

I structure data sets, assess options for categorising data and create technology structure of people structures in the systems

I pay attention to the ethical principles and best practices of (a) information retention (b) data/process ownership and (c) security

I spot good and bad processes and offer efficiencies

I tend to spot flaws in the logical argument of people who try to persuade me or in meeting groups or reading material

I use tools to plan work that I do which can be identified as a project and my plan makes sure I keep to the critical path to time and budget

When required, I adapt to support others’ methods and processes

The procurement requirements of the organisation I work within and with externally I plan for and respect

I carry out benefits realisation exercises at regular interval in my people technology project-work

I am active in managing risk associated with people technology

I am actively at work with other relevant IT teams in the organisation to match appetites for risk, data control, hosting and process flexibility (the IT strategies)

My concern for method does allow for exceptions, where people concerns or people response need to override

I have a considered inbox structure which takes account of both task- and people-related urgency and importance

I apply the difference between effective delay and procrastination to keep appropriate pace to my work

I manage my own diary and my time

I keep control of how I know I feel when I’m working with my team colleagues, users, customers and suppliers

I am aware of my personal stressors and how they are different from team or business stress factors to keep both in check

I assert confidently the views and recommendations that I have and can assess the validity of criticism or differing view

I use my personal presentation to be as effective as I can be in conveying a professional self

I allocate time for deliberate and self-directed learning and growth

I know my own best and preferred learning style and let colleagues know so that I can use it

I allow time to be on time for tasks on a critical path, date-driven requests, communications and appointments

Every working day I know what I must do and what I would like to do

I have consciously chosen and maintain a personal advisory ‘board’ in my career to serve and support in different ways, including a mentor I respect

I understand the type of professional I work well with to (a) learn (b) create solutions as well as (c) those I find most challenging

I have made a useful choice of social media channels to subscribe to, keeping my profiles up-to-date

When I face conflict between priorities in the diary or between views I make confident and reasoned choices

I can describe what I stand for as a professional and the particular value that I bring to my industry or to the people technology industry

I know well my own blind spots and what I must do at work to manage them

I am a professional consistent in my manner, attitudes and industry beliefs – I know where I stand

I have found a way to express a settled personal style to be myself at work in a way that is enjoyable but appropriate

I am happy with the way in which my work and personal life fits together, knowing the meaning that my career has for me

Next Step

Please answer the statements highlighted in red before proceeding to the next section.

Area

Don't Know (x0)

Know (x1)

Do (x2)

Feel Good (x3)

Total

Organisation