Assessment and Development of Competencies in Organisations

Employed Person’s Guide

Assessment and Development of Competencies in Organisations (ADCO) is a process that enables employed persons to identify the competencies they have acquired over the years and to prepare an action plan for working on their job-related competencies and, more generally, competencies related to their career development plans. The process consists of three reflective phases: retrospective (the past), prospective (the future), and execution (action plan and projects). ADCO is carried out with the personalized support of a career counselling specialist.

  1. Why should I participate in assessment and development of competencies?

The labour market is constantly changing. To deal with unexpected events or take advantage of opportunities to improve working conditions, it is important to take time about every five years to recognize the competenciesyou have developed. Scientific studies have shown that participating in competencies assessment and development and being proactive in competencies development planning makes it possible to do the following:

Increase your feelings of competence and personal efficacy in the workplace;

Improve your self-esteem;

Obtaininformation (academic, vocational, etc.) to develop yourcompetencies;

Develop your competencies during the process;

Take action to develop your competencies;

Identify yourcompetencies in a portfolio;

Be more positive about your career;

Gain more self-knowledge and self-respect;

Improve your interpersonal relationships in the workplace, if applicable;

Answer your questions about your professional future.

  1. What needs does assessment and development of competencies meet, and how can it help you?

Assessment and development of competencies may make it possible to meet several needs. To help you identify your needs, put a checkmark beside the statements in the table below that describe your situation.

STATEMENTS / 
1. Identify yourcompetencies /
  • You have not taken stock of your competencies for more than five years.
  • You hope to identify the competencies you have developed so far.
  • You would like to put together a portfolio of your competencies.

2. Develop yourcompetencies /
  • Youhope to improve your working conditions by developing your competencies.
  • You hope to get a raise by developing your competencies.
  • Youfeel motivated to develop your competencies in order to feel more comfortable in your current job.
  • Your duties have changed considerably, and you feel the need to develop your competencies.
  • Your position has changed or you have changed positions, and you feel the need to develop your competencies.
  • Your job is threatened, and you think it is important for you to develop your competencies in order to find another one.
  • You hope to reduce your stress at work by developing your competencies.

3. Obtain information /
  • You need information (academic, vocational, etc.) in order to develop your competencies.
  • You cannoton your own find the information you need to continue to develop your competencies.

4. Take action to develop your competencies /
  • You would like to have a concrete action plan for developing your competencies.
  • You would like to be sure of achieving your skill development goals.

5. Develop your interpersonal competencies in the workplace /
  • You need to understand the friction you are experiencing with the other employees, and you want to improve your workplace relationships.
  • Your workplace relationships are exhausting.
  • You feel resentment towards your co-workers and superiors.

6. Consolidate or increase your feeling of personal efficacy in the workplace /
  • Youhope to increase your ability to overcome obstacles you encounter at work.
  • You feel the need to increase your ability to perform a particular task or deal appropriately with a specific situation.
  • You would like to change how you deal with work-related difficulties.
  • You would like to see the difficulties you encounter as challenges rather than stressors.

7. Increase your feeling of competence[1] /
  • You would like to have enough self-esteem so that you are more comfortable at work.
  • You would like to feel more competent at work.
  • You would like more recognition of your competenciesin the workplace.
  • You have trouble dealing directly with problems you encounter at work.
  • You feel threatened by criticism, particularly at work.

8. Increase your positive feelings about your career /
  • You feel you have reached a plateau in your professional life.
  • You feel you are letting things slide when it comes to competencies development.
  • You feel sceptical about or indifferent to your career development.

9. Recognition and respect /
  • You would like to take greater pride in yourself at work, and you would like to be able to recognize your strengths and successes.
  • You would like to be able to assert yourself at times.
  • You would like to have better control over your emotions (stress, impulses, etc.).
  • You would like to engage in projects or activities, but you avoid doing so out of fear of failure.
  • You dwell more on your failures than on your successes.
  • Professionally, you tend to compare yourself to others, which devalues you.

10. Increase your motivation at work /
  • You feel that you are not challenged at work.
  • Your social relationships at work are a demotivating factor.
  • You do not feel you have the support you need to develop at work.
  • You feel your company does not recognize your work.

11. Know yourself better /
  • You feel the need to know your tastes, interests, abilities, attitudes, and values better in order to make career-related decisions.

12. Validate training you are taking or thinking about taking /
  • You are taking, or thinking about taking, some training, and you feel the need to validate that choice.

13. Receive support /
  • You feel the need to be supported in order to gain awareness of your potential and recognize your competencies.
  • You feel the need to be supported in your role as a working person.
  • You feel the need to be supported during a change or transition.

14. Take stock /
  • You are having some doubts about your profession.
  • You are questioning your profession.
  • You are at a key moment in your professional and personal life.
  • You have been working for your company for a number of years, and you feel the need to take stock of the various experiences you have had in order to identify your competencies.

If you put a checkmark beside several statements, it is very likely that competencies assessment and development will enable you to meet some of those needs.

  1. What does assessment and development oc competencies in organisations require?

This type of process requires about six to eight one-hour sessions per week. Time for reflecting (about 15 to 30 minutes) should be allowed between sessions. This question is addressed at the start of the ADCO process, and the investment required varies depending on the person and the context. There will therefore be an evaluation of what is the most helpful during the process.

For more information about the costs associated with ADCO, you can

Discuss this with your employer;

Consult provincial workforce training legislation;

Check whether your employee assistance program covers the cost of this type of process;

Consult a career counselling specialist who is a member of a professional association.

For more information:

  • Guylaine Michaud, Professor, Université de Sherbrooke, Département d’orientation professionnelle, Faculté d’éducation:
  • Réginald Savard, Professor, Université de Sherbrooke, Département d’orientation professionnelle, Faculté d’éducation:
  • Canadian Career Development Foundation:

For further documentation:

  • Consult the website of the Canadian Research Working Group on Evidence-based Practice in Career Development (CRWG):

Michaud and Savard (2010)Page 1

[1]The statements in sections 7, 8, and 9 are taken from the stay-at-work management questionnaire (Lamarche, Limoges, Guédon and Caron, 2006, in Lamarche, 2006) used in our study (Michaud and Savard, 2007-2010).