IIRA 5th African Regional Congress

1. IIRA 5th African Regional Congress ER as a specialised HR Profession: A content analysis of job opportunities and competency requirements Melanie Bushney mbushey@unisa.ac.za Marius Meyer mmeyer@unisa.ac.za

2. Test Your Competence 1. Stand I 2. /R/e/a/d/i/n/g 3. O M.A. Ph.D.

3. HOW MUCH DO YOU SEE OF AN ICEBERG?

4. ONLY 10% OF ANY ICEBERG IS VISIBLE. THE REMAINING 90% IS BELOW SEA LEVEL.

5. Definition of Competency Meyer(1996: 34) defines competency as “the integration of knowledge, skill and value orientation, demonstrated to a defined standard in a specific context.”

6. Competency Based Approach Value of a competency based approach depends on factors: • The degree to which the competency study is based on the strategic needs of the organisation. • The clarity with which the role or job is defined in relation to strategy. • The rigor of the process used in defining the competencies. • The care taken in determining the best assessment for the job-person matching process, whether it is for selection, succession planning, development or performance management.

7. Benefits of a Competency-Based Approach • Right competencies – right jobs: competitive advantage. • Improve productivity. • Indicate behaviours that will be rewarded. • Identify opportunities for improvement.

9. Previous Studies • Ulrich – 40 000 HR professionals and line managers • Six continental regions • Excluded Africa • Eastern Europe and Western countries • Gray – HRD competencies

10. Aims of Research Project • Examine SA ER competencies – determine competencies employers seek from ER practitioners. • Highlight the relevance and implications of those competencies for ER practitioners.

11. Methodology • Collection of ER job advertisements in 2006 • Content analysis of job advertisements. • Grouping of data: • Technical • Interpersonal • Personal • Business • N = 325 ER Positions.

12. Definition of Content Analysis Research technique for making replicable and valid inferences from data to their context. (Krippendorf)

13. Application of Content Analysis Procedure

19. Competency clusters (ASTD) • Technical – subject field (ER) • Personal • Interpersonal • Business • Intellectual

20. ER Technical Competencies

21. Frequency ranking of ER competencies

23. ER Interpersonal Competencies

24. Frequency ranking of ER competencies

26. ER Personal Competencies

27. Frequency ranking of ER competencies

28. ER Business Competencies

29. Frequency ranking of ER competencies

30. How well do we manage change?

31. ER Intellectual Competencies

32. Frequency ranking of ER competencies

33. ER Competencies Grouped Together

34. Frequency ranking of ER competencies

35. Limitations • Low frequency does not mean unimportance • Not listed – could be important • Environment • Variety of jobs under the same title – little resemblance • Generic competencies – behaviours vary

36. Further Research Focus groups Questionnaires

37. Conclusion • 1990s and 2000s : HR Generalists • Shift towards specialisation (14% of all HR positions) • 124% growth in ER opportunities since 2004 • Demand: 60% ER practitioners & 40% for ER managers • ER is 2nd biggest specialised area in field of HRM • ER competency profile – specialised nature of ER • Multi-skilled ER practitioners needed by employers