Managing competencies

    Project Title: Developing a system of assessment and development of managerial competencies for the police management.

   Project delivery time: 23 August 2010 – 22 August 2013

  Project Promoters: Police Academy in Szczytno (Consortium leader) and ALTA sp. z o.o.

   Project no OR00002611 financed by the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBiR)

Aim:

Developing a comprehensive system for the recognition and support of competency-based development for the Police middle and executive management.

The achieved results:

The measurable end effect was a product in the form of a fully functional system for assessment and development of managerial competencies in the Police force, the system was developed to meet the detailed and specific identified requirements and expectations.

The system comprises:

• competency model reflecting the requirements and specifics of the organisation,
• competency-based profiles of managerial positions,
• software application for assessing competencies complete with substantial content in the form of tools and methods for competency assessment including:
  • psychometric tests for assessing the cognitive potential
  • competency test of the SJT-type for assessing social competencies
  • questionnaires for assessing personal preferences
• competency assessment module of the 360 type
• competency assessment module of the 180 type
• a set of assessment tasks for competency-based assessment with guides for assessors,
• guides for conducting competency-based interviews,
• training programmes supporting the development of key managerial competencies complete with e-learning modules,
• a training programme for future users (the so-called User Academy).

Potential benefits from the implementation:

Enhanced effectiveness of HR management processes

The implementation of a coherent competency-based model should help the organisation to apply the same decision criteria for the realisation of key processes related to the selection and development of its managerial staff, will ensure uniform understanding of these criteria on different levels of organisational functioning and will allow to specify the work standards in particular positions.

Improved use of employee potential

The use of the system for assessment and development of managerial competencies will allow to obtain objective data relating to the strengths of the Police managerial staff and to identify key areas for development. This knowledge will promote the effective exploitation of current staff potential, creation of well-informed and purposeful plans for their further development in line with the needs, requirements and long-term organisational strategy.

Building a positive image of the organisation, increased morale and employee engagement

The use of clear and objective assessment criteria will positively affect motivation and employee engagement, it will also contribute to promoting a positive image of the organisation externally.

Improved effectiveness of development and training planning process

Training programmes developed within the system will also allow for planning development and competency-based development of the managerial staff in line with aims and needs of the organisation.

Possible areas of application:

• selection procedures for managerial positions candidates
• internal competitions for managerial positions
• supporting the decision-making process in vertical promotions and building career paths
• training policy support

The psychological aspect:

• creating the competency model and competency-based profiles for managerial positions in the Police:
  • analysis of documents
  • preparing and conducting interviews with the use of a critical incident technique
  • preparing and conducting interviews with the use of a repertory grid
  • preparing and leading expert panels
  • analysis of collected data and devising a competency map and competency-based profiles
• developing theoretical assumptions for designing tests for assessing the predetermined criteria
• developing psychological tools:
  • psychometric tests for assessing the cognitive potential
  • competency test of the SJT-type for assessing social competencies
  • questionnaires for assessing personal preferences
  • competency assessment questionnaires of the 360/180 type
• designing validation studies, psychometric analysis and presentation of results
• developing a set of assessment tasks for competency assessment within an AC/DC session complete with materials for the user and assessor. The following tasks were devised:
  • group discussion
  • internal simulated conversation
  • external simulated conversation
  • presentation
  • analytical task
• preparing and conducting a training for internal assessors.

The technological aspect:

Designing an Internet/intranet platform and implementing thereon as its substantial (psychological) content the tools, i.e. psychological tests, the competency model, competency-based profiles, the assessment module, the competency-based interview generator and the e-learning module. The platform functionality allows for the use of the above tools (e.g. conducting a test, calculating the score, generating a report, recording data) and their management (e.g. testees or results management).

Information technology solutions used:

1. Microsoft Visual Studio
2. Telerik
3. IIS
4. MS SQL (Microsoft SQL Server)
5. Programming languages used in each element of the project:
   1. C#
   2. JavaScript
   3. HTML5
   4. T-SQL