SMS Competency Based Modeling Progress Report

1. SMS Competency Based Modeling Progress Report 30 May 2001 DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

2. PURPOSE • To provide an update on the progress of the CBM project; • To present the draft SMS Competency Framework; and • To obtain the input of the Portfolio Committee on this Framework and its applications. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

3. OVERVIEW The presentation will focus on:- • The objectives of the SMS CBM Project; • The deliverables produced; • The competency based modelling methodology; • An overview of stakeholder involvement in the project; • Competency based modelling terminology; • The validation questionnaire exercise results; • The focus group session results; • The draft SMS Competency Framework; • The Competency Assessment Battery; and • The way forward. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

4. OBJECTIVES The objectives of the CBM Project were:- • To develop a competency framework that will underpin all human resource processes for the SMS (e.g. recruitment and selection, performance management, training etc); and • To develop a competency assessment battery that can be utilised to improve the quality of selection decisions for the SMS. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

5. OUTPUTS The following deliverables have been produced for the SMS CBM project (financial assistance provided by DFID): - Accenture Lee Morrall • Best Practice Research Document; • Key Requirements for the SMS Competency Framework; • SMS Competency Validation Questionnaire; • Validation Questionnaire Data Analysis Report; • Focus Group Session Reports; and • Draft SMS Competency Framework • Methodology Position Paper; • Draft Competency Based Assessment Battery; • Draft Competency Based Recruitment and Selection Guide; • Competency Assessment Tender Document • Competency Assessment Service Provider Manual; and • Final Competency Assessment Report DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

6. COMPETENCY FRAMEWORK MODELLING METHODOLOGY 01 Dec 2000 23 Feb 2001 Timeline Start Date End Date Consolidate research material and review desktop research Refine prototype competency model Review and refine competency framework Conduct focus groups to determine and confirm behavioral Indicators Build competency validation questionnaire • Desktop studies (DPSA); • Winsborough advice; • Best practice research; and • Legislative & Regulatory Frameworks. • Stakeholder review; and • Final presentation. • Target 300 senior managers (validation questionnaires); and • Identify top 15 critical competencies. • Identify competencies; • Review of competency model; • Confirm competencies; and • Behavioural indicators DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

7. COMPETENCY ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY Timeline 01 Dec 2000 31 March 2001 Start Date End Date Position paper Develop assessment battery Pilot of assessment battery Review and refine assessment battery Development of assessment tender • Validation assessment exercise with selected Senior Managers; and • Statistical analysis. • Proposed methodology. • Confirm tender board requirements; • Stakeholder review; and • Final Presentation. • Analysis of draft competency framework; and • Interviews with selected Senior Managers. • Develop recruitment and selection guide;and • Develop service provider manual. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

8. STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT Stakeholders played a critical role in the development of the SMS Competency Framework. Examples of stakeholder involvement include: - • The SMS Competency Framework Key Requirements workshop; • The Validation Questionnaire exercise; • Focus Group sessions; • Subject Matter Expert consultations; • Interviews with selected Senior Managers; • Key Stakeholder Competency Review workshop; and • Piloting of competency assessment battery. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

9. COMPETENCY What is meant by the term “competence”? • The blend of knowledge, skills, behaviour and aptitude (attributes) that a person can apply in the work environment, which indicates a person’s ability to meet the requirements of a specific post. (PSR 2001, Chapter 1, B.2(b)) DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

10. BEHAVIOURAL INDICATORS What are Behavioural Indicators? • They are specific descriptions of behaviour which must be performed by and/or observed from Senior Managers within the Public Service, e.g. Competency Behavioural Indicators Financial Management a) Demonstrates knowledge of general concepts of financial planning, budgeting and forecasting and how they interrelate; Must be able to compile and manage budgets, control cash flow, institute risk management … in order to ensure the achievement of strategic organisational objectives. b) Manages and monitors financial risk; c) Prepares financial reports and guidelines based on prescribed format; d) Aligns expenditure to cash flow projections; e) Ensures effective utilisation of financial resources; and f) Develops corrective measures/ actions to ensure alignment of budget to financial resources. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

11. Advanced PROFICIENCY SCALES What are Proficiency Scales? • They describe the degree to which a person has mastered the criteria for a particular competency; • They list observable/measurable behaviours for a particular competency; and • They are built sequentially e.g. Basic Competent Expert 1 2 3 4 DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

12. Validation Questionnaire Summary DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

13. VALIDATION QUESTIONNAIRE POPULATION PER LEVEL The Validation Questionnaire was targeted at around 300 members of the Senior Management cadre of the Public Service. A total of 320 Senior Managers responded.The following graph illustrates the sample research population per level:- 225 163 250 200 150 70 57 100 21 15 4 50 3 0 A B C D DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION A – Director; B – Chief Director; C – Deputy Director-General; D – Director-General

14. VALIDATION QUESTIONNAIRE POPULATION PER LOCATION The following graph illustrates the sample research population as a comparison between Provincial and National Administrations:- Validation Population per Location Not Specified National Departments Not Specified National Departments 170 Provincial Administrations DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

15. Focus Group Session Summary DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

16. FOCUS GROUP SAMPLE The SMS Competency Model validation Focus Groups were conducted with the following Provinces and National Departments; - Provinces National Departments • Foreign Affairs; • Health;and • Land Affairs. • Western Cape; • Northern Province; and • Kwazulu-Natal. A total of 51 Senior Managers formed part of the Focus Group Validation Exercise. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

17. STAKEHOLDER REVIEWS The results of the focus groups and validation questionnaire exercises were reviewed with a number of stakeholders. The following Departments were represented in the review workshops: - • Department of Public Service Administration; • Department of Health; • South African Management Development Institute (SAMDI); • Office of the Public Service Commission; • Department of Land Affairs; • Department of Foreign Affairs; • National Treasury; • Gauteng Public Works Department; • Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism; and • Department of Transport. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

18. SMS Competency Framework DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

19. SMS COMPETENCY FRAMEWORK Honesty and Integrity Strategic Capability and Leadership Communication Service Delivery Innovation Client Orientation and Customer Focus SMS Competency Framework Emerging Competencies Knowledge Management People Management and Empowerment Change Management Programme and Project Management Problem Solving and Analysis The SMS Competency Framework contains a mix of foundational and emerging competencies. Financial Management DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

20. SMS COMPETENCY DEFINITIONS • Strategic Capability and Leadership • - Must be able to provide a vision, set the direction for the organisation and inspire others in order to deliver on the organisation’s mandate. • Programme and Project Management; • - Must be able to plan, manage, monitor and evaluate specific activities in order to deliver the desired outputs. • Financial Management; • - Must be able to compile and manage budgets, control cash flow, institute risk management and administer tender procurement processes in accordance with generally recognised financial practices in order to ensure the achievement of strategic organisational objectives. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

21. SMS COMPETENCY DEFINITIONS CONT… • Change Management; • - Must be able to initiate and support organisational transformation and change in order to successfully implement new initiatives and deliver on service delivery commitments. • Knowledge Management; • - Must be able to promote the generation and sharing of knowledge and learning in order to enhance the collective knowledge of the organisation. • Service Delivery Innovation; • - Must be able to explore and implement new ways of delivering services that contribute to the improvement of organisational processes in order to achieve organisational goals. • Problem Solving and Analysis; • - Must be able to systematically identify, analyse and resolve existing and anticipated problems in order to reach optimum solutions in a timely manner. • People Management and Empowerment; • - Must be able to manage and encourage people, optimise their outputs and effectively manage relationships in order to achieve organisational goals. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

22. SMS COMPETENCY DEFINITIONS CONT… • Client Orientation and Customer Focus; • - Must be willing and able to deliver services effectively and efficiently in order to put the spirit of customer service (Batho Pele) into practice. • Communication; and • - Must be able to exchange information and ideas in a clear and concise manner appropriate for the audience in order to convince others to achieve the desired outcomes. • Honesty and Integrity. • - Must be able to display and build the highest standards of ethical and moral conduct in order to promote confidence and trust in the Public Service. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

23. SMS COMPETENCY MODEL PROFICIENCY LEVEL GUIDE The SMS Competency Framework uses a proficiency scale that consists of specific behavioral indicators. The SMS Proficiency Scale is constructed as follows: - DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

24. PROCESS FOLLOWED IN DEVELOPING COMP ASSESSMENT BATTERY • Note that comp assessment exercises are notpsychometric or psychological tests, i.e. they do not measure “psychological constructs” • Less chance of bias because work-related exercises and role-plays are used • Comp framework used as basis in developing the exercises/role-plays • Interviews conducted by team of a sample of job incumbents to obtain deeper understanding of nature of a manager’s job in Public Service • Number of focus groups also held to test assumptions and methodology DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

25. ELEMENTS OF BATTERY • Battery consists of five exercises all based on a common theme, i.e. • Managerial skills exercise: in-basket • Managerial skills role play • Project exercise • Strategic skills exercise • Strategic skills role play • Note that battery does not measure: • Honesty & Integrity • Battery to be complemented by two personality questionnaires to provide info on candidate’s character traits & behaviour style (strict requirements on types of questionnaires to be utilised) DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

26. RECR & SELECTION GUIDE • Recr & Selection Guide in SMS Handbook rewritten in order to simplify it & ensure that comp focus is maintained throughout recr & selection process • Product was circulated for stakeholder comments & refined DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

27. RECRUITMENT & SELECTION TENDER • Idea is to establish a panel of approved service providers to operate in different regions • Met with Office of Tender Board to establish their requirements i.t.o. outsourcing process • Tender doc then developed, workshopped and refined • Successful service providers to attend compulsory three day training workshop DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

28. WAY FORWARD • Educate stakeholders who will use the competency framework on how to make decisions (selection, training, performance etc); • Ensure sustained ownership for the implementation/ application of the SMS Competency Framework; • Assist Departments in developing functional competencies; • Link competency framework to other HR processes; • Use information to drive recruitment and selection, performance management etc; • Identify gaps between current behaviour profile and required profile; • Assess current Managers performance / behaviour against proficiency levels; and • Continuously review and update the Competency Framework to ensure that it meets changing needs of the Public Service. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

29. QUESTIONS • Do the competencies reflect the direction in which we want the Public Service to go? • Is the application of the competency framework clear? • Do members feel that the work around the competency framework will make a positive contribution in recruiting, retaining and developing quality managers? DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION