Competency and Performance Solutions

It is very easy to spend months, or $$$$$ on a competency-based program, and end up with very little to show for it.

Three tips:

Tip One: You are likely to run into a very specific problem, unless you are working with a fully-qualified competency expert. (Look for an international qualification, specifically in competencies, like City and Guilds.)

Here is the problem: as you discuss competencies, you become very familiar with the information. You therefore take the material to higher and higher levels of abstraction. You also start to clump the competencies together, so you end up with about 12 broad abstract statements, covering a whole position. These are no use at all. Continue reading »

80 million Millennials are changing every aspect of the business environment, and they’re your customers, suppliers and employees.

CPS is finding that a lot of companies don’t have comprehensive strategies to manage this generation. They are paying heavily with low productivity, high turnover etc. They are also failing to make good use of the many opportunities the Millennials bring.

We found, however, that some managers want a more strategic approach to this challenge, whereas others simply want the hands-on skills for dealing with Ryan, Ashley, Jessica and Daniel now. Continue reading »

1            Putting a dollar value on writing skills
2            A real-life example of how writing skills can be improved quickly

1 Your junior-level staff member writes a couple of emails more quickly. Saving: about $600 in a 282-day year.

If his/her emails become better communications, the cost benefits multiply. Effective writing helps create productive processes, happier customers and better teamwork.

If a senior manager writes a couple of emails more quickly each day, the payoff moves up to about $3,000 each year.  It is impossible to put a price on the benefits of senior managers writing clear, persuasive, effective communications, as these are so valuable in an economy where customers, suppliers and knowledge workers communicate by writing.
Continue reading »