It was the need to bring hard data to 'soft' decision areas that first led SEQUUS directors to develop instruments and software to gather and process opinion and perceptions. Our initial product was a system that helped us to uncover training and development needs among executives, managers and frontline supervisors. This highly successful product not only served to help us design workshops and seminars that responded to real needs, but also became a 'stand-alone' product used by in-house trainers and other consulting organizations.
One client asked us if we had an instrument for non-managers. Our first reaction was that it would be impossible to find a set of core, generic skills and knowledge that applied to all occupations. Then we came across the Conference Board report on the new core competencies required by Canadian employers.
That led to our Core Comptency questionnaire that addresses clusters of skills in such areas as...
Client or Customer Service,
Product or Service Quality,
Interpersonal Communications,
Team Work,
Continuous Learning,
Critical thinking,
Problem Solving,
Literacy and Numeracy,
Computer Literacy,
Creativity, and
Leadership
Since producing our generic Core Competencies survey, we have developed customized versions targeting specific industry sectors. We have covered the music industry at one extreem and biotechnology at the other.
THE QUESTIONNAIRE: We now have a data bank consisting of hundreds of items but typically 70 to 80 core items find there way into the questionnaire. For each item we usually ask how important it is to success on the job and how great is the need for training and development. It is typicaly completed by members of the group for whom the training is intended, by those to whom they report, and often by their staff, peers and sometimes even their clients.
THE ANALYSIS: The data is first analysed in the usual way including a distribution of the results over the rating scales along with means and standard deviations. A scoring system separates the trivial from the critcal. A 'clustering system' groups items into categories.
THE REPORT: In most applications, one report on the entire surveyed population suffices but in large organizations or sectors we find ourselves issuing multiple reports. The contents of a typical report would be..
an Executive Summary usually with recommendations for action on top priority issues.
a "TOP TEN' ITEM highlight
FULL DATA SUMMARY
CLUSTER REPORTS
THE OUTCOME: Out of the survey process often comes a preliminary training design that targets the high priority needs. The design is tested with the client and adjusted based on feedback. Then the training begins.
You can purchase a Diagnosis package on our Shopping Page and you can even fill in the questionnaires OnLine once you have a password. You will find a trail version of the generic Core Competencies Questionnaire if you follow this link.
