Personnel skills development

Personnel Skills Information collection & Processing Problem solving Decision Making Modeling Oral communication Written communication Ability to organize things Organizing people Persuading Developing people Representing

Management functions Production operations Research and development Distribution Purchase Sales Marketing Personnel & Training Finance Legal Secretarial Administration Computer systems Technical services

Inventory of own skills Instruments to measure

• Ipsative instruments• Self assessment questionnaires • Thomas profiling• Gordon personal profile• Gordon personal inventory• Kostick perception and inventory

To generate

Personal Profile analysis (PPA)• Dominance• Influence• Stability• Compliance

Skills inventory

• Normative Tests• These tests compare a score for each dimension of

personality or ability against a relevant population of people

• Myers – Briggs type indicator test (MBTI)

• Asks the person to choose one from each four pair of preferences. Each preference interacts with others to form 16 different combinations

MBTI

Extrovert•Gains energy from others•Want to experience things in order to understand•Work by trial and error•Like Variety

Thinking•Fair, firm-minded, skeptical•Analytical and logical•Brief and Businesslike•Critical

Introvert•Prefers writing to talking•May enjoy social contact but need to recover from it•Want to understand something before trying•Likes a quiet place to work

Feeling•Warm, sympathetic, aware how others feel•Trusting•Enjoy pleasing others•Need harmony

Skills Inventory Occupational Personality Questionnaire

• This has 186 questions where people are asked questions such as ‘I tend to be assertive in groups’ and are given a 5 point scale to answer ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree

Management competence questionnaires identifies 16 competencies divided up into four main areas:• Relationships with people• Thinking skills• Feelings and Energies• Business and Technical

Skills Inventory

Relationships with People• Persuasive: Enjoys selling, Changes opinion of

others, convincing with arguments, negotiates

• Controlling: Takes charge, directs, manages, organizes, supervises others

• Independent: Has strong views on things, difficult to manage, speaks up, argues, dislikes ties

• Outgoing: Fun loving, humorous, social, vibrant, talkative, jovial

• Affiliative: Has many friends, enjoys being in groups, likes companionships, shares things with friends

Skills Inventory Thinking style

• Practical: Down to earth, Likes repairing and mending things

• Data rational: Good with data, operates on facts, enjoys assessing and measuring

• Artistic: Appreciates culture, shows artistic flair, sensitive to visual arts and music

• Behavioral: Analyses thoughts and behavior, likes to understand people, psychologically minded

• Traditional: Preserves well proven methods, prefers the orthodox, conventional, disciplined

• Conceptual: Theoretical, intellectually curious, enjoys the complex and abstract

Skills Inventory Feelings and emotions

• Relaxed: Calm, relaxed, cool under pressure, free from anxiety, can switch off

• Worrying: worries when things go wrong, keyed up before important events, anxious to do well

• Tough minded: Difficult to hurt or upset, can brush off insults, unaffected by unfair remarks

• Optimistic• Critical• Active• Competitive• Decisive• Active

Conclusion

Development of personnel skills, career paths and succession plan are key to continued success of any organization in today’s competitive environment. Process and methods may differ from organization to organization but all are governed by the major objective of management development for the achievement of Organization goals.

Skills inventory

Advantages• Difficult to talk in general,

• Speed of assessment

• Suitable for future development

Disadvantages• Validity data not as good

• Subjects may answer them as organization would like them to be

Ability tests Verbal application Numerical reasoning Verbal analysis Numerical analysisAdvantages: Pencil and paper contexts Allows comparison with norm groupsDisadvantages: Limited categories Does not asses personality Test is usually synthetic, not based on real situation

Inventory records

Records of the skills inventory of all managers need to be kept safe and confidential preferably on computer or CD that is easy to retrieve for future

Placement and training Personnel skills development Career path scheduling Management succession

Developing Skills

Formal process• Changes in job content

• Development process within a job

• Activities external to the job

• Self development

Career Paths Career paths of all individuals are linked to the

following:

1. Attitudes and Values2. Motives and Needs3. Skills and Abilities These are termed as ‘Career Anchors’

These are assessed during one-to-one in depth interviews, an approach which usually is incorporated into development programs

Career Anchors

Career anchors are further divided in:• Technical / Functional competence

• General Managerial competence

• Autonomy / Independence

• Security /Stability

• Entrepreneurial creativity

• Sense of service /dedication to a cause

• Challenge

• Lifestyle

Career Models Linear

• The corporate manager model where a chosen field is followed from early part of career and upwards movements are planned and executed

Spiral• Managers move across functions and lateral movement is

as important as vertical Transitory

• There is no pattern of movement from job to job and no permanent job

Steady State• Most common among professionals where individuals stay

in one work role for life

Career Management

The design and implementation of organizational processes which enables the careers of individuals to be planned and managed in a way that optimizes both the needs of the organization and the preferences and capabilities of individuals

Career Management tools Information on career paths Career reviews or development appraisal Fast track programs Assigned mentors Development assessment centers Career planning workshops Personal development plans Self assessment materials Formal management development Work-related development opportunities Psychometric testing and feedback

Succession Planning

Succession planning mechanism ensures that all key positions are mapped on to succession plan charts. This requires identification of Key positions and individuals who can replace or take over these positions.

Succession PlanPosition Current

holder Succession

in 2 years

Succession in 4 years

Comments Suggested action

Chairman A F F   Projection

Finance Director

B G K   Training

Production Director

C H H   Upgradation

Sales Director D I L   Training

Personnel Director

E J M   Training

Succession Planning It involves creation of special committee and all discussions

and decisions are kept confidential These decisions are normally taken in a meeting held off site in

a pleasant setting. Lot of ground work is done before such meeting is held

• Collection of information about each individual from appraisals and feedbacks

• Summary and analysis of information is prepared• A separate file is prepared for each individual• Comments of personnel function are recorded• Group discusses about each individual and the chief executive takes

the final decision • Development plan for each individual is then prepared • Succession plan may not be shared with the concerned individual but

the development plan is discussed