It is widely accepted that developing competency can be achieved through training, research, experiential (on the job) learning, and certification/validation amongst others.
The important and hugely valuable area of experiential learning is one Comaea has dealt with in the past with on-the-job checklists and manager validation/approval of competence. This has and still serves a purpose, giving a flexible and robust solution, but more and more we are working with clients who need more automation in this area.
Our answer to this is our Timesheet to Competency solution. This takes an automated feed from your work order system and imports the relevant data to the assignments section of our CV app. We then calculate a person's competency from this data.
So now the question is what makes you competent? Is it the number of jobs you have done or the number of hours/days you have spent? And what is the validity period? Ie in the last 3 years, 5 years or longer? Do different types of activities (routine, basic, major) count towards different competency levels?
The comaea timesheet to competency solution allows you to specify this for each competency, so you have flexibility to set and tweak the thresholds to enable accurate allocation a person's competence.
Imagine you have a group of field engineers working on different equipment or assets. Every work order completed will accrue towards their competence. For example to achieve a Basic level (level 1) of competency you have to have completed at least 3 routine inspection jobs in the last 3 years. A Knowledgeable level (level 2) needs you to complete at least 30 hours of work on that equipment in the last 3 years. For a Skilled level (level 4) you need 60 hours in the last 3 years and an Advanced level (level 4) you need at least 120 hours in the last 5 years.
Since you are collecting work orders anyway, the automated import of these into comaea means you can now deliver a fully integrated competency management solution quickly and easily. And with comaea's comprehensive analytics you can review the capability and competency by an organisation, a department, and by teams; and then drill down to view individual work orders that are inside and outside the validity period.
The same approach can work for consultants too, and any other role that time served can equate to competency. And it doesn't have to be automated - you can manually update the assignments and calculate competency too. You can also define the competency levels and descriptions, so you and add, edit and delete equipment and competencies as required.
The Timesheet to Competency solution adds to the overall competency management solution from comaea that can also include other specialised processes such as "Licence to Manage" and HSE Certification/Validation/Recertification.
For more information on how comaea can help you, contact Tony.martin@comaea.com
Also see www.comaea.com/t2c
About Comaea:
Comaea is the bit that your LMS and HR systems don't do very well. It is a specialist competency management software tool that provides employees a clear competency development structure to help them plan their career, and provides organisations a comprehensive data analytics package that enables data-driven decisions.