Building Capability - Efficiently
It’s too important to leave to Nelly!

When you’re talking about your core business capability, it makes sense to train and develop your people efficiently and effectively. Yet so many organisations bring on new staff in their core business and expect them to just “pick it up as they go” or get shown how by Nelly.

Human Capital Management

Human Capital Management (HCM) is the latest term used for the strategies employed in order to maximise the value of an organisation’s people. The use of the word “capital” has been introduced to remind us that employees must be seen as an asset or advantage that adds to the net worth of the business.

In William’s words,
“If people assets don’t act and re-act appropriately, then much of our financial capital, technology capital, and knowledge capital is wasted – strategy is not successfully executed, objectives are not met, mission is not fulfilled and stakeholders are not satisfied.”

So HCM focuses on the processes for how people are Acquired, Developed, Deployed, Motivated and Retained. But HCM isn’t just about the process of administering and managing people, it’s about maximizing talent. As the ASTD’s White Paper states, “It’s about having enough people with the right skills and knowledge to help the organisation create competitive advantage, grow and succeed.” And this is nowhere more critical than in the core business of the organisation.

When talking about developing capability, there are three methods proffered – Buy, Build or Borrow. But when it comes to capability within the core business, there is really only one way. Some “plug and play” people can be bought to build capability in the core business, and they can bring fresh ideas and perspectives - perhaps even best practice from a competitive organisation. But if you are focused on your competitive advantage, the majority of recruits won’t know your company’s core business, how it does what it does, or the processes and systems that bring uniqueness to the market. Borrowing, whether through contractors or consultants, may provide a quick fix or a new set of skills, but this is of a temporary nature unless the capability is transferred to the permanent pool of people. Which brings us back to the key method for developing capability: Build.

So the key consideration is how to build core business capability efficiently.


Capability Development Framework

The most efficient and effective way we have found to build core business capability is to structure technical learning and development activities, for key roles, within a Framework. This Framework approach was developed to address organisations that were saying “it takes a new person six months to come up to speed” or “it’s just a matter of time and experience”. The Framework addresses this by streamlining and guiding the development of capability from pre-employment through to full competence in a role, and extending into other roles or development areas.

Using this structured approach we have reduced the timeframe to competence for call centre operators from 8 weeks to 2 weeks; for sales representatives from 6 months to 6 weeks; for customer service representatives from several weeks to several days.

Of course this Framework is not just useful for new employees. Such a comprehensive development tool is invaluable for checking and developing existing employees. But rather than unnecessarily requiring all existing employees to work their way through the Framework, they can undertake the skill checks or competence assessments to a) ensure appropriate capability at their level and to b) provide a developmental needs analysis. Existing staff members can then undertake the appropriate development modules identified as necessary for their development.
Building the Framework

In general, the key roles within the core business are the best starting point for the Framework due to their contribution to competitive advantage (particularly where there are more than 10 people doing a similar job). Whether you start with one key role, or take a more departmental or divisional perspective, will depend on how the greatest value can be obtained.

The prime objective of the Capability Development Framework is to make employees as productive as possible, as quickly as possible, and secondly to enhance capability. Accordingly the Framework is structured according to what skills and knowledge are required within the 1st Day, 1st Week, 1st Month, 3 Months, 6 Months, 1 Year, 2 years etc in order to develop competence and enhance capability.

This Framework provides the structure for a complete combination of product knowledge, legislation, policy and procedural knowledge, technical skills, system literacy, structured experience, customer service and other soft skills which feed into optimizing capability in the role (and beyond). All of these development areas are considered in relation to their need within the 1st Day, 1st Week, etc. and are represented by a set out outcomes and objectives that will be later grouped into modules.

The Framework is a visual representation of capability development for the role. People get lost within words and within a complex matrix, but a graphical overview or representation is easily absorbed and understood. Because it is visual, it is easy for managers and role experts to review and amend, and to ensure that the Framework is comprehensive.

Ideally the Framework will be put on-line in order to encapsulate the modules within, and provide clickable access to the specific detail behind.


Building the Modules

Populating the modules within a comprehensive Framework may seem a daunting prospect. However because it is visual and modular, it is relatively easy to prioritise the development of the modules according to their perceived value and the associated investment of time and money. The modular approach also allows for different modules to be developed using any of a wide range of delivery methods, and to varying levels of development – again linking value to investment. Further this approach quickly takes advantage of existing material and resources, rather than reinventing the wheel for the sake of redesign.

Each module in the Framework has a different purpose and different content, and so will suit different delivery methods. Some delivery methods that might be considered are:
 Guiding document (pointing to various resources, references or materials)
 Self-paced paper-based modules (comprehensive)
 On-line interactive modules
 In-house courses
 External courses
 Structured experiences
(eg. arrange an experience rather than waiting for it to occur)
 On-the-job coaching
 Directed research
 Job shadowing and observation
 Critique (using structured critique sheet)
 Interview or discussion with expert
 Video-based module (eg. Virtual Coach)
 Structured site tour
 Job tools (eg. wizards, tutorials, checklists which guide the actual doing).


Each module in the Framework does require in order to serve its purpose, a Purpose and Objectives, and a Signpost. The Purpose and Objectives of each module is spelled out so that it is clear what the module sets out to achieve. This is necessary for future development, but is also important even for a “placeholder” module. This level of detail means that every topic and sub-topic has its place set on the Framework, whether or not it is to be developed. This clarity of content avoids any duplication or omission of material across modules. It also ensures that the Framework is robust and can answer challenges on whether a particular aspect has been considered or accounted for.

The Signpost is there to direct employees when, where and how to undertake each module. For example, a Signpost could advise that this module is a one-day internal course which is run quarterly, and they need to register through HR; another signpost may provide a link to an on-line module. It may also direct managers in what they need to do.
Benefits

A Capability Development Framework has many benefits, gained both from its approach and from its end result.

The approach itself:
 Takes advantage of existing material and resources
 Quickly identifies gaps in content and resources
 Prioritises allocation of resource
 Develops modules to whatever degree required, and by using whatever delivery method is most appropriate
 Ensures every item has its place on the Framework, even as a placeholder

The resulting Framework:
 Organizes all learning and development initiatives and resources within a role (or department / division)
 Leads all staff to full capability in the role, and beyond
 Provides for the development of new and existing employees
 Presents a visual and tangible overview of capability development
 Encourages self-directed learning
 Makes it easy for managers to induct and develop staff
 Allows for different development paths, according to the needs of the department

This approach to role capability is a great step for organisations that have, or are anticipating a future move to, a Learning Management System (LMS). After having structured all learning and development initiatives in this way, it is easy to transfer it to an LMS.

Summary

The Capability Development Framework is an efficient and effective way to build capability in key roles within the core business. It structures all the learning and development initiatives within a role, and provides flexibility within its development paths. The development of modules within the Framework is efficient as the approach makes use of existing resources and materials, and only develops modules as priorities and value dictate. The resulting Framework can be used for the induction, assessment and development of new and existing employees, making it easy for managers whilst encouraging self-directed learning.

So instead of leaving Nelly with your organisation’s core business capability, structure the learning and development of key roles to build your organisation’s competitive advantage.