Assessment of organizational competency
Definition
Using various methods and tools to identify the gaps in the current organizational competencies
Summary
As a part of competency management, in addition to mapping organizational competency, an organization may need to assess its competencies in order to assess its current competencies and the related gaps. This may involve using tools like self-assessment and benchmarking.
Description
To support mapping of the organizational competency some assessment tools can be used to provide more information on the current stage and possible gaps in the organization.
Self-assessment of human, organizational and technical capital
Self assessment in this area first involves identifying the key factors and good practices which relate to the above aspects. A maturity model can then be designed based on best practice and a simple scoring scale established which considers current and future desired performance. Gap analysis is then used to help identify strengths and weaknesses.
Operational benchmarking (with similar organizations)
This is a benchmarking methodology which directly compares human, organizational and technical capital between similar organizations. It can be carried out within a single country if there exists two or more organizations performing a similar function. If this is not possible (e.g. for a regulatory body) then inter-country collaboration will be needed. The benchmarking process involves a detailed analysis of the three areas and identifies good practices in each of the organisations.
It is outside the scope of this document to describe the details of the benchmarking process. Many good references exist which describes this technique (See [1])
Audit and peer review
This is similar to the benchmarking process but involves an industry expert or experts familiar with the subject matter that is capable of auditing the human, organizational and technical capital areas. As with QA and similar audits, an approach using a pre-established check-list is recommended.
Use of key performance indicators (KPIs)
KPIs can be used to directly measure parameters related to human, organizational and technical capital. Such a method will often yield a trend of information that can readily be used to assess performance and guide future improvement policy.
Standard organizational performance models (e.g. EFQM)
The EFQM model [2] provides an already well-established route for determining organizational performance. Although this is not quite the same as organizational competence, many of the areas of the model (e.g. the effectiveness of organizational processes) relate directly to organizational capital
References
[1] Benchmarking for Competitive Advantage. Robert J Boxwell Jr, New York: McGraw-Hill. 1994. pp. 225. ISBN 0-07-006899-2. http://www.amazon.com/Benchmarking-Competitive-Advantage-Robert-Boxwell/dp/0070068992.
[2] The EFQM Excellence Model http://www.efqm.org/the-efqm-excellence-model
