Self Directed Work Groups

The greatest resource of any organization is its employees. Helping employees develop towards and attain the required skills, values and behaviours that are key to their jobs can contribute greatly to their performance on the job. Ensuring that recruiting efforts focus on the necessary skills, values and competencies is also a critical piece of building a high performing organization.

This manual is part of a "tool kit" being made available to agencies. It is designed to help leaders and staff become more familiar with competencies. This manual is also designed to help leaders and staff understand how competencies can be used to support more effective recruitment and selection strategies. Over time, selecting for and developing these competencies in staff members will also help foster superior performance – the real goal behind the use of competencies.

The manual consists of two main sections.

The first section of the manual is designed to provide an introduction to Working with Competencies. The key questions that this section seeks to answer include the following:

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What are competencies?

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What are the specific behaviours or competencies that contribute to superior performance in the kinds of jobs we see in the agencies?

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Why is the introduction of competencies important for ongoing success at all levels within an agency?

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How can competencies can be used on more of a "day to day" basis within an agency? How can the information in this manual be applied in a practical way?

The second section of this manual consists of a Competency Dictionary – a "hands on" tool to help you begin working with the competencies in greater detail. The Competency Dictionary can be considered as a reference tool. It lays open the definitions of the competencies and related terms that have been designed for use by the agencies.

The behavioural competencies described in this manual were developed through a variety of processes, and have been designed with the agencies in mind. The information in the Competency Dictionary is based on a variety of sources, including:

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A review of the job profiles developed by the Staffing Stabilization Committee's Human Resource Sub-Committee;

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Input from an Expert Panel, consisting of a cross section of approximately twenty representatives from day, residential and supported employment agencies from both rural and urban settings; and

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Accessing Hay Group's experience and database of competency models.

When we are describing a competency, there are two major components to consider:

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The overall definition of the competency or behaviour that is considered to be critical to successful performance on the job. The definition explains what the competency means in general terms. The definition also helps to provide