Competency assessment program helps organizations better train leaders
Kim Chaudoin | 615.966.6494 |
To borrow a line from legendary football coach Vince Lombardi, leaders aren’t born. They are made. And they are made through hard work, which is the price all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile.
Leaders of successful organizations, like Lombardy, know that well. And top businesses such as Tractor Supply Company understand that developing leaders from within not only strengthens the company, but also makes more effective, productive and satisfied employees.
Lipscomb University’s College of Professional Studies through its Competency Assessment and Development Center is partnering with organizations like Tractor Supply Company to evaluate employee strengths and development opportunities and to provide a plan for improvement.
“Competency-based assessment and development provide an opportunity for attributes such as life and professional experiences, as well as personal and behavioral skills, to be evaluated for performance goals, programs and outcomes,” said Nina Morel, interim dean of the College of Professional Studies. “It's a way to demonstrate competencies based on where you are in your career, what you've accomplished and what you know.”
The Lipscomb program offers organizations an employee development program through CORE (Customized, Outcome-based, Relevant, Evaluation), which measures 15 competencies on a badge system and is based on a nationally respected Fortune 500-proven model—the Polaris® Competency Model.
Tractor Supply Company officials have a strong commitment to developing the company’s employees and to promoting from within. “Development. Learn from each other. Teach, coach, listen. Create an environment where everyone wants to be a ‘star,’” is boldly posted on the company’s list of 10 corporate values.
“We have a strong commitment to, and culture around, our corporate values,” said Alice Reitmaier, vice president for talent and organizational development at TSC. “Each year we survey our employees, and they see us as a company that lives up to its values and ethics. When we invest in our employees to develop their professional skills and practices, we get a committed workforce that stays with us. It’s a key part of our success.”
Last year, Lipscomb began partnering with TSC to provide onsite assessment and leadership training to help the company meet its personnel goals. To date, 30 director-level TSC employees have completed Lipscomb’s CORE assessment program.
Employees are selected for the program by the TSC management team who identify high-performing, high-potential individuals who they believe would benefit from the program. A Lipscomb assessment team travels to TSC’s offices in Brentwood, Tenn., to conduct the program that is part of the organization’s Leading Leaders initiative, a three-day development program offered quarterly.
“This is a significant investment in our employees in several ways—paying for Lipscomb to come in and conduct the assessment and giving them the three days to participate in the professional development program,” said Reitmaier.
The TSC employees who have been identified to go through Lipscomb’s assessment are “very tenured individuals who have good job skills, but need leadership training,” she said
“We are in high-growth mode and need people who are well trained leaders to lead us in this growth.”
Lipscomb’s CORE program has been a good fit for TSC’s employee development goals.
“Lipscomb’s program provides an outside set of eyes and expertise to give an assessment of our team’s strengths and weaknesses,” said Reitmaier. “It allows our employees to be evaluated and to demonstrate their skills in a simulated environment that really measures their abilities in a real-life way. The assessment provides a level of expertise that is critical to the development of these high-performing employees in our company.”
Providing an objective assessment and a subsequent plan for development is a strength of Lipscomb’s CORE program that can benefit any organization and its employees.
“We partner with an organization to conduct an assessment, and ,based on our findings, we also help set a vision for training and development for its employees and provide an avenue for those who need to enhance particular skills,” said Suzanne Sager, director of employer and student engagement for the College of Professional Studies.
“The fact that our assessment is objective is very powerful. Sometimes it’s easier for employees to hear constructive feedback from an outside source. The real power of this system is to connect an employee with development that translates into skills that help them meet their personal and professional goals as well as an organization meet its goals.”
CORE is adaptable for organizations with a few employees or hundreds and gives management a better understanding of employees’ true competencies—the skills and experiences they actually bring to their jobs—helping them attain even greater proficiency, which benefits the employee and the company.
Lipscomb’s assessment center serves as the starting point for all CORE competency research and includes a panel of three specially trained behavioral assessors from different professional backgrounds who, based on a series of rigorous real-life situational exercises, analyze the competencies of participants in the program. The CORE program is more than a series of questions, though. Individuals are assessed against the competency model developed for their particular role (or a future role) to determine their strengths and development areas, said Sager.
Participants are assessed by at least three certified and objective behavioral assessors. This process typically begins with a job analysis to define the requirements of a particular role in an organization. It then proceeds to a tailored construction stage where the standard CORE simulation exercises are shaped to fit the organization’s needs. The shaping can include:
- Weighing and combining the 41 facets of competence that the CORE systems can assess;
- Deciding which skill areas to assess and how thoroughly each will be assessed;
- Defining feedback dimensions and the nature of the feedback reports;
- Integrating the testing and interview stages;
- Structuring the administrative system to the specific needs of the organization; and
- Choosing activities such as simulations, leaderless group exercise, role playing, in-basket, work sample, testing (such as personality inventories) and interviews.
Through group activities, the program rates individuals’ knowledge, skills and abilities based on the competency behaviors demonstrated. Following their visit to the CORE Assessment Center, participants are given their competency strengths and development areas which are mapped against the expectations set for their roles within the organization to determine any skills gaps.
Follow-up discussion, education and cognitive coaching focus on how to bridge the gap to meet new levels of growth and expectations. The goal is to develop a long-term strategic plan that will ensure that an organization has strength across all areas of the company.
“Obviously not all competencies are relevant to all roles,” said Sager. “We work with corporate teams as individuals and as a group, applying the best-suited competency assessments across all leadership, management and professional positions.”
A key component of Lipscomb’s CORE program is a recognition badge system that rates a participant’s level of competency in key areas. Each competency area carries its own badges and levels, with badges being earned as each higher level of competency is met. These electronic badges can be used not only within an organization, but are credentials employees keep and use throughout their careers. Individuals who go through the assessment center may also get college credit for meeting certain criteria in various competencies, providing an incentive for employees who don’t have an undergraduate degree to complete one.
Reitmaier said the partnership with Lipscomb has been a nice blend between a corporate entity and an academic institution.
“Our experience with Lipscomb’s program has been very good. Our employees have appreciated the expertise that Lipscomb brings to the table along with the expertise of the assessor,” said Retimaier. “They have been able to tailor aspects of the program and the reporting component to our corporate needs.”
“I see the power and the potential for this program to have a great impact on businesses in this community and across the country. The quality and credentials of Lipscomb’s program are excellent, and it has the potential to be a model that will spread across the business sector. This has been a great value to Tractor Supply Company and our leadership enjoys being a part of the program. This is a good partnership that will continue to evolve in the future.”
Lipscomb’s CORE program officials are scheduled to conduct four assessments at TSC offices this year.
For more information about the CORE assessment and development program for employers, click here.