Performance Evaluation: Competency Proficiency

There are countless ways of evaluating employees on their proficiency in a competency. Weve identified three options with varying degrees of complexity that will all provide workable results. In each of the options we use a five-level scale: reatly !xceeds !xpectations

Tip:
ood performance management systems re&uire ' or at least encourage ' supervisors to provide their own narrative comments to supplement the competency evaluation. !mployees appreciate and are more receptive to honest and constructive comments than they are to a check mark in a box.

!xceeds !xpectations "eets !xpectations #ccasionally "eets !xpectations $nsatisfactory

Which Performance Evaluation Option Should I Use? To a large extent( the evaluation option you choose will depend on how rigorously accurate your competency assessments need to be. )nd this in turn depends on how much weight you place on the competency portion of the overall assessment and how you intend to use the overall assessment. If your agency uses the competency assessment to reinforce agency values and*or primarily as a development tool( then the rigor of the assessment is less important. The purpose of the assessment +particularly when employees do a self-assessment, is to encourage a dialogue between the employee and supervisor about competency strengths and developmental needs. This discussion serves as the foundation for the I-.. Option 1 may be sufficient for your purposes. If your agency weights the components of the performance evaluation( the rigor of the competency assessment should correspond to its overall weight. /or most human services 0obs( we believe a good weight distribution is #b0ectives: 123( 4ompetencies: 523. /or weighed components( try using Option 2. If your agency is using competency evaluations as the basis for merit pay +i.e.( where the competency assessment carries a greater weight than the performance ob0ectives assessment,( then the competency assessment process must be as ob0ective and rigorous as possible. 6ou may want to consider using Option below.

!dvanta"es and #isadvanta"es of Competency Evaluation Options

Option

!dvanta"es

#isadvanta"es -oesnt permit specific assessment of the key elements within the broad competency definition. 7ating 8cales dont permit the specific assessment of the key elements within the broad competency definition. 4onse&uently( inter-rater reliability cannot be expected to be high. )ssessing each key element re&uires supervisors to spend a bit more time on the evaluation process since they are expected to give thoughtful consideration to the ranking of each key element separately. The rating scales offer little guidance to the rating supervisor on how the rating levels differ from one another. -eveloping good :)78 can be time intensive and difficult work. !valuators find the evaluation process very tedious. !ven when the statements are concise( reading through the :)78 for four to six key elements for seven or eight competencies is tedious. !valuators may become frustrated by the fact that concisely-worded :)78 still do not accurately describe observed performance.

Option 1

7e&uires relatively little effort to implement

Option 2 7elatively easy to implement but does re&uire that you identify the key elements of the competency.

Option

$tili9es :ehaviorally )nchored 7ating 8cales +:)78, which minimi9e the sub0ectivity of evaluating employees on competencies. .rovides both employees and supervisors with the common yardstick to use in evaluating performance.

Evaluatin" Competencies $ Option 1

The simplest evaluation plan involves rating competency proficiency in very broad terms. The sample evaluation form below re&uires an assessment against the broad definition of the competency.

Option 1 Sample Competency Evaluation %orm

Communication: 4learly conveys and receives information and ideas through a variety of media to individuals or groups in a manner that engages the listener( helps them understand and retain the message and invites response and feedback. <eeps others informed as appropriate. -emonstrates good written( oral and listening skills. &reatly E'ceeds E'pectations E'ceeds E'pectations (eets E'pectations Occasionally (eets E'pectations

Unsatisfactory

Comments:

Evaluatin" Competencies $ Option 2

#ption ; involves rating proficiency on each of the key elements of the competency. The evaluation form is designed to re&uire the supervisor to assess each key element on the five-level rating scale as shown below.

Option 2 Sample Competency Evaluation %orm

Communication: 4learly conveys and receives information and ideas through a variety of media to individuals or groups in a manner that engages the listener( helps them understand and retain the message and invites response and feedback. <eeps others informed as appropriate. -emonstrates good written( oral( and listening skills. &reatly E'ceeds E'pectations )ey Element Or"ani*ation and Clarity +istenin" S,ills )eepin" Others Informed Written Communication Sensitivity to Others Comments: E'ceeds E'pectations (eets E'pectations Occasionally (eets E'pectations Unsatisfactory

Evaluatin" Competencies $ Option

#ption = also involves rating proficiency on each of the key elements of the competency. In order to minimi9e sub0ectivity( you can use :ehaviorally )nchored 7ating 8cales +:)78, to describe the range of performance levels for the key elements of a competency( as illustrated in the sample form below. -eveloping good :)78 can be time intensive and difficult work. ) focus group of employees and supervisors familiar with the 0ob begins by describing the range of behaviors observed within each of the key elements of the competency. Those examples are aligned with the rating scales( and rewritten into concise statements.

Option

Sample Competency Evaluation %orm

Communication: 4learly conveys and receives information and ideas through a variety of media to individuals or groups in a manner that engages the listener( helps them understand and retain the message and invites response and feedback. <eeps others informed as appropriate. -emonstrates good written( oral( and listening skills. )ey Element &reatly E'ceeds E'pectations 4onveys thoughts and ideas so as to avoid misunderstandings. 4ommunicates with needs and expectations of audience in mind. ?istens with demonstrated understanding and empathy. Thoughtfully explores topic as appropriate 4ontinuously fulfills all knowledge re&uirements of supervisors( co-workers and others. E'ceeds E'pectations (eets E'pectations 4onveys thoughts clearly and concisely ?istens actively and attentively and asks appropriate &uestions <eeps supervisors( coworkers( and others well informed -eeds #evelopment Unsatisfactory

Or"ani*ation and Clarity

>as difficulty expressing thoughts.

+istenin" S,ills

/ails to listen and share feedback

)eepin" Others Informed

/ails to share important information or passes on trivia Written communications are unclear( disorgani9ed( lack substance@ contain grammatical and*or spelling errors Insensitive to cultural( gender( educational and other individual characteristics when communicating with others

Written Communica. tion

4ommunications are error free( have positive tone( and seem professionally written.

4ommunicates well in writing

Sensitivity to Others

4ontinuously tailors communications to match the listener*s@ uses appropriate style( level of detail( grammar and organi9ation of thoughts to actively engage the listener*s.

4onsistently sensitive to cultural( gender( educational and other individual characteristics when communicating with others

Comments: