University Centre: D-82, Malviya Nagar, New Delhi-110 017 (Code No.

1640)

NIPSTEC

COMPETENCY MAPPING IN HCL COMNET LTD

(A Subsidiary of HCL Technologies)

PROJECT
By

Project report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Master of Business Administration Distance Education Wing, Syndicate House, Manipal-576 104

I hereby declare that the project report entitled:

COMPETENCY MAPPING IN HCL COMNET LTD

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Administration

to

Sikkim-Manipal University, India, is my original work and not submitted for the award of any other degree, diploma, fellowship, or any other similar title or prizes.

Place:

New Delhi

Date: 15th,Dec 2007

The project report of ABC acceptable in quality and form.

is

approved

and

is

Internal Examiner

External Examiner

Name Qualification Designation

Name Qualification Designation

This is to certify that the project report entitled

COMPETENCY MAPPING IN HCL COMNET LTD

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Business Administration of Sikkim-Manipal University of Health, Medical & Technological Sciences

By

SH ABC
(Reg. No.) He has worked under my supervision and guidance and that no part of his report has been submitted for the award of any other degree, Diploma, Fellowship or other similar titles or prizes and the work has not been published in any journal or Magazine.

Certified

Date 15th Dec 2007

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I, ABC, student of Sikkim Manipal University, MBA, 4th Semester had a great learning experience and pleasure in doing my project on COMPETENCY MAPPING IN HCL COMNET LTD

I am thankful to Mr. Kalyanraman, Head (HR) HCL COMNET LTD- for their valuable guidance and support throughout this project.

I sincerely appreciate the brilliant guidance and, all-out support given to me by Mr. Vikas Chaudhary (Technical-Head, NIPSTEC), which have provided the solid foundation and without which it was not possible to complete this project.

I would like to thank all of them for their ideas and support.

(ABC) Reg. No. Date: 15th Dec 2007

Part -I
Summery
S No. Description
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Introduction Aims and objectives Methodology Analysis Conclusions Recommendations

Page No.(s)
8 - 10 11 - 15 16 - 17 17 18 19 19 - 20

PART II
Overview of the Organization

S No.
1. 2. 3. 4.

Description
General An Overview of the organization HCL COMNET LTD Operational Statistics

Page No.(s)
21 22 23 24 22 23 24 25

PART III
Project Overview

S No.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Description
Competence and Competency Definitions Competency Models Objective, scope & utility of study Analysis Suggestions,

Page No.(s)
25 - 26 26 35 36 - 49 49 - 57 58 - 71 72 - 80

inferences

&

recommendations

PART IV
1 Bibliography 86

1.
1.1

INTRODUCTION
Competency Mapping is the process of identifying, measuring and developing human performance in organizations and tries to: Give feedback to employees to improve subsequent

performance. rewards. Form a basis for personnel decisions-salary (merit) increases, disciplinary actions, etc. Provide the opportunity for organizational diagnosis and development Facilitate communication between employee and administrator. Identify employee training needs. Document criteria used to allocate organizational

1.2

HCL COMNET LTD has introduced the Competency Mapping System as one of the vital aspects of Human Resources Development for all the employees of the Company to enable them to: Clearly understand their roles in the organization Perform effectively in the role against well define objectives

Develop their skills, knowledge and capabilities both to their and the organizations advantage and Seek and achieve a growth of their career in the organization.

1.3

Overview of Competency Mapping Ideally Competency Mapping allows management to

setting.

specify what employee must do; combines feedback and goal

Everyone

involved

needs

to

recognize

that

Competency Mapping involves human judgment and information processing; can never by totally objective or infallible System should aim to be easy to operate, easy to explain, easy to maintain, easy to administer System should be job related, relevant, sensitive, reliable, acceptable, practical, open, fair, and useful. Need to take legal issues into account. Yearly performance reviews are critical. Organizations

1.4

are hard pressed to find good reasons why they cant dedicate an hour-long meeting once a year to ensure the mutual needs of

1.5

The

employee

and

organization

are

being

met.

Performance reviews help supervisors feel more honest in their relationships with their subordinates and feel better about themselves in their supervisory roles. Subordinates are assured clear understanding of whats expected from them, their own personal strengths and areas for development and a solid sense of their relationship with their supervisor. Avoiding performance issues ultimately decreases morale, decreases credibility of management, decreases the organizations overall effectiveness and wastes more of managements time to do what isnt being done properly.

2.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To test the effectiveness of the existing frame work by taking the feedback through discussions from the participating employees. To study the existing frame work of Competency Mapping. To analyze the feedback received through discussions with the employees. To suggest appropriate process to achieve the goals of Competency Mapping.

10

2.1

AIMS

2.1.1 Effective Competency Mapping systems contain two basic systems operating in conjunction: an evaluation system and a feedback system. 2.1.2 The main aim of the evaluation system is to identify the performance gap (if any). This gap is the shortfall that occurs when performance does not meet the standard set by the organization as acceptable. 2.1.3 The main aim of the feedback system is to inform the employee about the quality of his or her performance. (However, the information flow is not exclusively one way. The appraisers also receive feedback from the employee about job problems etc.) 2.1.4 One of the best ways to appreciate the purposes of Competency Mapping is to look at it from the different viewpoints of the main stakeholders; the employee and the organization. Employee Viewpoint From the employee viewpoint, the purpose of Competency Mapping is four-fold: 1. 2. 3. 4. Tell me what you want me to do. Tell me how well I have done it. Help me improve my performance. Reward me for doing well.

11

Organizational Viewpoint From the organizations viewpoint, one of the most important reasons for having a system of Competency Mapping is to establish and uphold the principle of accountability. For decades it has been known to researchers that one of the chief causes of organizational failure is non-alignment of responsibility and accountability. Non-alignment occurs where employees are given responsibilities and duties, but are not held accountable for the way in which those responsibilities and duties are performed. appear to have overlapping roles. The overlap allows indeed actively encourages each individual or business unit to pass the buck to the others. Ultimately, in the severely non-aligned system, no one is accountable for anything. principle of accountability breaks In this event, the down completely. What typically happens is that several individuals or work units

Organizational failure is the only possible outcome. In cases where the non-alignment is not so sever, the organization may continue to function, albeit inefficiently. Like a poorly made or badly tuned engine, the non-aligned organization may run, but it will be sluggish, costly and unreliable. One of the principal aims of Competency Mapping is to make people accountable. The objective is

12

to

align

responsibility

and

accountability

at

every

organizational level.

2.2

Objectives of Competency Mappings: Objectives for Competency Mapping can be understood in terms of potential benefits:

2.2.1 Competency Mappings seek to meet specific objectives. They include tell and sell, tell and listen, problem solving, and mixed model. Tell and sell is evaluative in nature. is used for purely evaluative purposes. It The supervisor

coaches by telling the employee the evaluation and then persuading the employee to follow recommendations for improvement. Tell and listen is evaluative in nature. The supervisor coaches by telling the employee the evaluation and then listens to the employees reactions to the evaluation in a nonjudgmental manner. used for employee development Problem solving The is developmental in nature and involves counseling. It is purposes. supervisor does not offer evaluation but lets the employee decide his or her weak areas and works with the employee to develop an action plan for improvement. The mixed model combines the coaching and counseling. It is used for both evaluative and development purposes. The supervisor begins the appraisal with a problem solving session and concludes with a more directive tell and sell approach. 2.2.2 Almost universally, where Competency Mapping is conducted properly, both supervisors and subordinates have reported the experience as beneficial and positive.

13

Appraisal offers a valuable opportunity to focus on work activities and goals, to identify and correct existing problems, and to encourage better future performance. Thus the performance of the whole organization is enhanced. For many employees, an official appraisal interview may be only time they get to have exclusive, uninterrupted access to their supervisor. Said one employee of a large organization after his first formal Competency Mapping, in twenty years of work, thats the first time anyone has ever bothered to sit down and tell me how Im doing. The value of this intense and purposeful interaction between a supervisors and subordinate should not be underestimated. 2.2.3 Motivation and Satisfaction Competency Mapping can have a profound effect on levels of employee motivation and satisfaction for better as well as worse. Competency Mapping provides employees with recognition for their work efforts. The power of social recognition as an incentive has been long noted. In fact, there is evidence that human beings will even prefer negative recognition in preference to no recognition at all. If nothing else, the existence of an appraisal program indicates to an employee that the organization is

14

genuinely interested in their individual performance and development. This alone can have a positive influence on the individuals sense of worth, commitment and belonging. The strength and prevalence of this natural human desire for individual recognition should not be overlooked. Absenteeism and turnover rates in some organizations might be greatly reduced if more attention were paid to it. Regular Competency Mapping, at least, is a good start. 2.2.4 Training and Development Competency Mapping offers an excellent opportunity perhaps the best that will ever occur for a supervisor and subordinate to recognize and agree upon individual training and development needs. Competency Mapping can make the need for training more pressing and relevant by linking it clearly to performance outcomes and future career aspirations. From the point of view of the organization as a whole, consolidated appraisal data can form a picture of the overall demand for training. such as sex, This data may be analyzed by variables department etc. In this respect,

Competency Mapping can provide a regular and efficient training needs audit for the entire organization.

15

3.

METHODOLOGY Research Methodology

Research design: Desk research. Research Instrument: Observation & literature Sampling technique: Census study of employees Data collection technique: Secondary data: From existing frame work, manuals and Internet. Primary employees. data: Through discussions with the

3.1

Methodology for Competency Mappings

3.1.1 A formal appraisal in the Government sector is known as Annual Confidential Report written at the end of calendar or financial year. 3.1.2 In view of its utmost importance, a confidential report are necessarily to be prepared scrupulously and carefully after following the procedure prescribed and personally The report assessing the performance of the employee.

is based on an objective assessment of the work quality of the officer reported upon. The officer recording the remarks has to realize the importance of entries made by him and write them with greatest possible care because

16

slightest default or negligence on the part of the recording officer may lead to injustice to the officer reported upon by marring the future of the employee. 3.1.3 The reporting officer impressed upon not to be in a hurry to write the reports on all the officers working under him on a single day. He should, however, write them within the period stipulated. 3.1.4 The forms have been devised with a view to ensuring maximum objectivity in the preparation of the report. In filling up the forms, tick marks and dashes are not to be used. Both the reporting and the reviewing officers have to indicate their opinion by writing out in full and appropriate alternatives which best describe the officers qualities. 3.1.5 Cryptic, vague or non-committal remarks are to be avoided. Sometimes entries may not be sufficiently meaningful. Such reports are to be returned to the reporting officer for reconsideration, amplification or explanation.

4.
4.1

ANALYSIS
Generally there are two things which determine how successful a Competency Mapping system is in place in an organization. 1) The contents/design of the Competency Mapping form and 2) the manner in which Competency Mapping is conducted. While organizations lay great

17

emphasis on the contents/design part, spending much of time, money and energy on designing most suitable, objective, comprehensive. formats, it comes to a naught if the appraising process is not conducted properly. Effectiveness of the Competency Mapping system depends on how seriously it is perceived, importance given to it by both the subordinate and reporting officer, and the impact it is going to have on possible rewards and punishments. 4.2 Organizations use Competency Mapping records for a variety of things. But the best way of utilizing them is to develop people and improve their performance through a clear understanding of their work goals, so that they realize and reach what Maslow calls "Self actualization" (i.e. fully realizing their potential and thereby achieving their own professional and also organizational goals). In organizations where Competency Mapping is used for reward and punishment, great care must be taken so that it forms objective, honest and accurate record of formal evaluation of on the job performance of the employee and supports or corroborates the kind of rewards and punishments proposed. 4.3 The achievement of the stated objective is the mutual responsibility of both the reporting officer and the subordinate by making the appraisal process as objective as possible. It should be a joint participative, sensitive and positive exercise rather than being one sided, evaluative and judgmental.

18

5.
5.1

CONCLUSIONS
Most of time Competency Mappings, are for determining training need identification and for promotions etc. instrument performance performance of in evaluating the performance The Competency Mapping has delinked itself from being an through of performance review discussion and bringing about better organization. practices Application that management enable

organizations to improve their performance and bring in a performance driven culture is the need of the hour rather than Competency Mapping only.

5.2

All reporting officers must be well versed in conducting the appraisal process, as it brings consistency in evaluation across the organization not benefiting a few because of the functional area they are in or to a particular reporting officer they are attached to. Company however need to invest more time and energy in educating the reporting officers on how to conduct the appraisal to establish goals for the future, open channels of communication and strengthen employee. the relationship between employer and

6.
6.1

RECOMMENDATIONS
Keeping in view the experience gained over the period, it is recommended that top management should exhibit its commitment towards a fair and objective Competency

19

Mapping process and actions taken on appraisal records should be timely, objective and specific. Line managers should be impressed on conducting appraisal and utilizing it properly for organizations benefit and conducting appraisal should get integrated with counseling, mentoring and proper implementation of training policy. An appropriately conducted appraisal process will result in better placement of employees, bring role clarity and leads to job satisfaction which is great motivating factor for an employee. Identification of Training needs in the appraisal format should be to cover the gap between the existing

6.2

competencies and the desired competencies to achieve the set goals. Such training needs should be catered immediately by the Reporting Officer so that it facilitates the individual employee to attain the goals set for him. Having identified the training needs of the employee, it becomes the responsibility of the Reporting Officer to ensure that such training needs are taken care of on a timely basis. If not provided, next years appraisal report should highlight it and the employee should be given due weightage on his performance.

20

An overview of the organization:

Born in 1976, HCL has a 3 decade rich history of inventions and innovations. In 1978, HCL developed the first indigenous micro-computer at the same time as Apple and 3 years before IBM's PC. This microcomputer virtually gave birth to the Indian computer industry. The 80's saw HCL developing know-how in many other technologies. HCL's indepth knowledge of Unix led to the development of a fine grained multiprocessor Unix in 1988, three years ahead of Sun and HP. HCL's R&D was spun off as HCL Technologies in 1997 to mark their advent into the software services arena. During the last eight years, HCL has strengthened its processes and applied its know-how, developed over 30 years into multiple practices - semi-conductor, operating systems, automobile, avionics, bio-medical engineering, wireless, telecom technologies, and many more. Today, HCL sells more PCs in India than any other brand, runs Northern Ireland's largest BPO operation, and manages the network for Asia's largest stock exchange network apart from designing zero visibility landing systems to land the world's most popular airplane.

HCL COMNET LTD is a Subsidiary of HCL Technology. HCL COMNET LTD has its headquarters at NOIDA, India. HCL COMNET LTD has grown rapidly to become the largest Infrastructure player in India (Nasscom 2007). HCL COMNET LTD provides a wide variety of services ranging from IT strategy and consulting to system integration, design, application development, implementation, maintenance and product engineering. HCL COMNET LTD is ISO 9001:2000 certified and is also assessed at SEI-CMMi Level 5 and SEIPCMMi Level 5. HCL COMNET LTD is also BS7799 certified across.

21

Employee strength Global Presence India Presence Global Delivery Centers Focus markets Clients Gross revenue

51,000 as 30th September, 2007 (including subsidiaries) Operations spanning 18 countries Offices in 170 cities & over 360 service locations USA, UK, Poland, Singapore & India USA, Europe, Asia Pacific and Japan 500 global organizations US$4.4 billion

Locations in India include : Noida, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Delhi,Hyderabad,Chennai Locations Worldwide include : United Kingdom , USA , Europe, Asia pacific, middle east Some of the Partners of HCL COMNET LTD include: Microsoft, Cisco, IBM, AMD, BOEING, DEUTCSHE BANK, BRITISH TELECOM, APPLE, DISH TV

HCL COMNET LTD

HCL COMNET serves customers throughout Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, and the Middle East. Clients include Microsoft, , BT, AMD, ABN AMRO, STAR INDIA LTD, CUMMINS, NATIONAL STOCK EXCHANGE(India), RELIANCE INDUSTRIES, KOTAK BANK, JOHNSON & JOHNSON, SBI and other nationalized banks. HCL COMNET has been recognized with an ISO 9001:2000 certification and an SEI-CMM Level 5 assessment for our software development processes, meeting the industry's highest standards. HCL COMNET has also been certified as being BS7799 certified across its centers . With a significant investment in research and development, HCL focuses on developing methodologies for fast and cost effective implementations of new HCL COMNET Technologies. HCL has over 35000 employees and a global presence with state-of-art development centers in UK and India and regional offices in USA, UK, Germany, UAE, Egypt, India, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Australia. HCLs Offerings HCL's long-time record of delivering mission critical software solutions on target, for industry leaders, has led to its success

22

over the years. HCL leverages its domain expertise, coupled with proven frameworks to help customers gain efficiencies for faster time-to-market. HCL is instrumental in radically reducing customers' operational expenses and maximizing ROI. Solutions support areas include:

Business Support Systems including Telecom Billing Systems, Billing Mediation, Customer Relationship Management and Fraud Management. Operations Support Systems including Inventory Management, Traffic Management, Fault Management, Workforce Management and EAI Solutions. Network Management Services including Network Planning, Provisioning, and Deployment, Intelligent Networks, Managed Network Services, Assurance Services and Mobility Computing. Security Management and Business Continuity Services including Security Audit, Analysis, and Proposal Services, CIRT Services, Business Risk Analysis and Continuity Planning. Next Generation Services including VoIP, Intelligent Networks and Mobile IP Business Process Management

Creating dedicated, in-country teams of business professionals, combined with a synchronized Middle Office and efficient delivery teams, HCL works closely with customers to deliver the right combination of offshore, onshore, and onsite support needed to deliver solutions, savings, and service.

Our Vision
To be amongst the most admired and most trusted integrated utility companies in the world, delivering reliable and quality products

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O R G A N I Z A T I O N C H A R T C S O M a n a g e m e n t T e a m

C E O R A K E S H A G G A R W A L
C E O S U P P O R T C E L L

O P E R A T I O N S & M A I N T E N A N C E V K K h u l l a r ( G M ) D . K . P u r i ( G M )

H V D S

S I N G L E P O I N T D E L I V E R Y T . N . S u b r a m a n i a m ( V P )

B U S I N E S S

K E Y C O N S U M E R C E L L R a m e s h N a r a n y a n ( A V P )

S H A R E D S E R V I C E S

E N F O R C E M E N T O p e r a t i o n R a n j a n L o h a r ( G M ) S U N I L S H O R I E ( C h i e f M a n a g e r ) M a i n t e n a n c e Y A S H P A L M E H R A ( G M ) A K B a n s a l ( A G M ) 3 3 M a n a g e r s

C O R P O R A T E C O M M U N I C A T I O N . K A M A L J E E T R A T T A N ( V P ) C U S T O M E R C A R E P A N K A J A R O R A ( S r . M g r . ) C O R P O R A T E A F F A I R S

B r e a k D o w n A . K . G a r g ( D G M ) 3 M a n a g e r s

P r e v e n t i o n A . K . S h a r m a ( D G M ) 1 S r . M a n a g e r Y . M . S a x e n a ( A G M ) 1 4 B u s i n e s s M a n a g e r s B R P L H e m a n t S o n i ( A G M ) 1 9 B u s i n e s s M a n a g e r s B Y P L

S . L . C H I N C H A N S U R K A R ( A V P ) I T K B S I N G H ( H E A D ) C O M M E R C I A L P A N K A J K U M A R ( A V P ) H U M A N R E S O U R C E S H C S H A R M A ( A V P ) A D M I N I S T R A T I O N A M U L Y A K . B E H E R A ( C h e i f F I N A N C E A J E E T C O N T R A C T S A S G A U T A M ( C h i e f M a n a g e r ) L E G A L R A J A R O R A ( M a n a g e r ) I N T E R N A L A U D I T S . D . J A I N ( A V P ) B S R A M A N ( C F O ) R E G U L A T O R Y A F F A I R S R C N A T R A J A N ( O S D ) M A T E R I A L S R S S S E N E G A R ( C h e i f M a n a g e r ) V I G I L A N C E R E G I N A L D W E S L E Y ( C h i e f M a n a g e r ) M a n a g e r ) ( Y e t t o j o i n ) A C C O U N T S

and services to all customers at competitive costs, with international standards of customer care - thereby creating superior value for all stakeholders. To set new benchmarks in standards of corporate performance and governance through the pursuit of operational and financial excellence, responsible citizenship, and profitable growth

Statement of Values
We believe that any business conduct can be ethical only when it rests on the nine core values of Honesty, Integrity, Respect, Fairness, Purposefulness, Trust, Responsibility, Citizenship and Caring. These values are not to be lost sight of by anyone at HCL COMNET LTD under any circumstances irrespective of the goals that are intended to be achieved. To us, means are as important as the ends.

COMPETENCE AND COMPETENCY

Competency-based approaches have developed quite rapidly since their introduction 25 years ago. David C. McClelland is credited with introducing the idea of competency into the human resource literature. In response to a growing dissatisfaction with intelligence testing and the

24

traditional

job

analytic

approaches Testing for

to

personnel

selection,

the

competence-testing movement was described by McClelland by study of foreign-service officers. Competence Rather than Intelligence-McClellands landmark paper has continued to stir debate even after a quarter century. Competency-based approaches gained popularity and acceptance within the human resources community through the work of McClelland and his associates, particularly Richard Boyatzis, past president at the McBer and Company. Boyatzis is credited with popularizing the term in his book The Competent Manager (Woodruff, 1991). Boyatzis suggested that a competency was a combination of a motive, trait, skill, aspect of ones self-image or social role, or a body of relevant knowledge. In other words a competency is any characteristic of an individual that might be related to successful performance. Kleins (1996) offered one more definition which diverges the most from the others by suggesting that competencies are a collection of observable behaviors, or behavioral indicators. These Behavioral indicators are grouped according to a central theme, which then becomes the competency. Klein suggests that the behaviors underlie the competency; this is contrary to other definitions, which suggest that competencies underlie behaviors. Woodruff raised the issue of distinguishing between competence and competency and proposed that competence is performance criterion while competencies are behaviors driving the competence.

More recently, Rowe raised the same issue and discusses competence in terms of a skill and a standard of performance and defines competency

25

as a behavior needed to achieve competence. This is similar to Kleins argument that competencies are not psychological constructs thematic groups of demonstrated observable behaviors that discriminate between superior and average performance. These behaviors require no inference, assumptions, or interpretation.

Definitional and boundary delineation issues exist at a number of levels within the competency literature. This confusion exists primarily for two reasons: difference between countries and differences arising from pedagogical theories of how people learn. The former is largely historically determined and reflects differences in relationships between education and labor market in different countries. Pedagogical differences, on the other hand relate to issues of how behavioralists, cognitivists and constructivists theorists consider notions of competency. Levels of definitional confusion and differences in perspective exist: Conceptualizations of competency in terms of its function. Differences in the context of competency and competence.

However the gurus in this field feel very strongly that it is necessary to distinguish between competence (hence competences) and the competency (hence competencies). Disaster, they claim, will overtake anyone who confuses the two terms. Whether this is true or not, the received view of the distinction between them should be understood Competence Defined. Competences describe what people need to be able to do to perform a job well or how the required results are achieved. They are about stripping the jobs down into their component parts and linking together the two basic elements of performance- what is to be done and to what standard.

26

Competences are concerned with effect rather than effort and with the output rather than inputs. Some people adopt what may be called the output model of competence, based on the proposition that the concept of competence is meaningful only when it is demonstrated that competences have been applied effectively. Competences can be defined at three levels: 1. Core competences- these apply to the organization as a whole. They refer to what the organization has to be good at doing if it is to succeed. This could include such factors as customer orientation, producing high quality goods or delivering high quality services, innovation, adding value through the effective use of resources and managing costs. Core competences can be linked with balanced score card of measuring organizational success as developed by Kaplan and Norton. 2. Generic Competences-these are shared by a group of similar jobs- financial accountants, system analysts, team leaders etc. They cover the aspects of work that they have in common, and define the shared capabilities required to deliver the results they are expected to achieve. 3. Role-specific competences these are unique to a particular role. They define the special tasks that they have to be able to do; in addition to any generic competences they may share with other people carrying out broadly similar roles.

Competency defined

27

Competency is defined as referring to the dimensions of behavior that lie behind competent performance. These are often called behavioral competencies, because they are intended to describe how people behave when they carry out their role well. When defined as competencies ,these behaviors can be classified in such areas as the following:

Understanding what needs to be done- critical reasoning,

strategic capability, business know- how

Getting the job done- achievement drive, a pro-active approach,

confidence, control, flexibility, concern for effectiveness, persuasion, and influence. Taking people with you motivation, interpersonal skills, concern for output, persuasion, and influence. Competencies are behaviors that individuals demonstrate when undertaking job-relevant tasks effectively within a given organizational context. (Steve Whiddett and Sarah Hollyforde) Lyle Spencer, director of research and technology worldwide at Hay/McBer, has been a font of data and wisdom about the competencies of star performance and the value of stars for organizational performance in coauthored classic Competence at work: Models for Superior Performance. McClellands 1973 paper Testing for competence Rather than Intelligence shifted the concentration from just intelligence. He argued that traditional academic aptitude, school grades and advanced credentials simply did not predict how well people would perform on the job or whether they would succeed in life. Instead, he proposed that a set of specific competencies including empathy, self-discipline and

28

initiative distinguished the most successful from those who were merely good to keep their jobs. His paper launched an entirely new approach to the measure of excellence, one that assesses peoples competencies in terms of specific job they are doing. A competence in this tradition, is a personal trait or set of habits that leads to more effective or superior job performance --- in other words, an ability that adds clear economic value to the efforts of a person on the job. The terms competence and competency are attributed to multiple meanings depending on the context and the perspective adopted. Although all these definitions look different on their own way, they have the following things in common 1. Competencies are Knowledge, Skill, Attitude and Other Characteristics such as personal motives, traits that are observable and measurable. 2. The underlying attributes must be observable and measurable 3. They should clearly differentiate superior performers from others for a given position. There are two levels of job competence and two kinds of job competence models. One assesses the threshold competencies, those that people need in order to get the job done. These are the minimal skills needed to carry out the tasks associated with a given position. Most organizational competence models fit into this category. The other kind of job competence model describes distinguishing competencies, the capabilities that set star performers apart from average ones. These are the competencies people already in a job need in order to perform superbly.

29

At a simplistic level, competency models seek to identify the ideal combination of skills, knowledge, attitudes and experience, the possession of which enables employees to become high performers with the potential to add value to the organization.

APPROACHES TO DEFINE COMPETENCY Competency can be defined through three approaches. They are1. Worker- oriented 2. Work-oriented 3. Multidimensional

Worker-oriented definitions:
The behavioral characteristics of an individual that are causally related to effective and/ or superior performance in a job. This means that there is evidence that indicates that possession of the characteristic precedes and leads to effective and /or superior performance on the job.(Boyatzis,1982) An underlying characteristic of an individual that is casually related to criterion referenced effective and/or superior performance on the job. (Spencer and Spencer, 1993) A high performance or H-competency is a relatively stable set of behaviors, which produces superior workgroup performance in more complex organizational environments. (Schroder, 1989)

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Work-oriented definitions

Occupational competence- the ability to perform the activities within an occupation or function to the level of performance in the employment. (Management Charter Initiative, 1990)

The ability to perform the activities within an occupation (Nordhaug and Gronhaug, 1994) An action behavior or outcome which the people should be able to demonstrate (Training Standards Agency)

Multidimensional definitions

The ability to apply knowledge, understanding, practical and thinking skills to achieve effective performance to the standards required in the employment. This includes solving problems and being sufficiently flexible to meet the changing demands. (NCVQ, 1997)

The skills, knowledge and understanding, qualities and attributes, sets of values, beliefs and attitudes which lead to effective managerial performance in a given context, situation or role (Woodall and Winstanley, 1998)

The conceptualizations of Boyatzis and Spencer and Spencer are predominantly input-based and worker oriented and focuses on person related variables that individuals bring to the job. Another perspective argues that competency options should be output based or work-oriented and considers outputs associated with effective performance.

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Multi-dimensional definitions tend to draw on the best of both approaches.

CONCEPTUALISATIONS OF THE FUNCTION OF COMPETENCY The literature reveals that competencies are defined in terms of three distinct perspectives: competencies as individual characteristics; competencies as characteristics of organizations; and the notion that competencies as a tool to structure and facilitate communication between education and labor market. Competencies as characteristics of individual This perspective argues that competencies are essentially related to the characteristics of the individuals. The most important difference in emphasis here relates these characteristics can be learned or whether they are innate. The dominant view is to emphasize the trainability dimension of competency. A more traditional view emphasizes that competence and competencies are given. They argue that characteristics such as emotion, attitude and cognition originate from innate abilities and therefore cannot be learned; they can only be developed. A related perspective here is the notion that competencies do not relate to capacities, but instead to the willingness and ability of the employee to use his/ her capacities in specific situations. Competencies are characteristics of organization This perspective takes as a starting point the view that human competencies are one of the resources available to the organizations. This origin of this notion of competencies can be attributed to the work of Prahlad and Hammel (1990), who analyzed the competitiveness of the

32

organization and attributed it to the core competency of the organization. They postulated that organizations can possess unique clusters of factors that allow the firm to be competitive and human capital is one of those factors. The resource-based view conceptualizes the organization as a collection of competencies and draws attention to the issues of learning, including knowledge accumulation and experience. A further consideration here is whether competency frameworks should be based on current organizational priorities or should be based on current organizational priorities or should be future oriented and derived from organizations vision statement. Such a dualistic choice is dependent on whether one views competencies as a tool enabling organizational change through direct communication with employees or whether one believes that competencies should be used as a behavioral modeling mechanism to deal with current organizational problems and difficulties.
Competency as a mode of discourse between education and labor market

This perspective argues that competences represent a tool to improve communication in education and labor market. It conceptualizes competencies as a framing device- a model of discourse- and it in no way attempt to specify of what competencies consist. This perspective is commonly advocated in Continental Europe and to a certain extent in the UK. The need for such a discourse arises from two sets of developments. The first relates to the changing nature of the labor market with its emphasis on flexibility, employability, the potential for obsolescence of knowledge and skills and the emergence of knowledge as a production factor. These changes in the requirements of the labor market in turn influenced views on how people are educated and trained in educational institutions. COMPETENCY FRAMEWORKS

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A Competency Framework is a model representing the required skills, knowledge, experience and personal qualities for the people in an organization. They can be grouped under the generic title of Competencies. The Competency Framework is developed for an organization through the competency mapping process.

Typologies
Sparrow and Hilltrop suggest that competencies fall into three categories: behavioral, managerial and core. Behavioral competencies are defined as behavioral repertoires, which employees bring to and input on the job. The level of analysis is the individual and the job and there is a clear specification that these competencies are what employees need to bring to the role /job to perform at the required level. Managerial competencies tend to be defined as knowledge, skill and attitude and small number of personal behaviors. The unit of analysis is the organization and it is assumed that such competencies are generic; are externally transferable and there is an entry-level threshold. Core competencies derive from within the realm of strategy and competitive advantage. The unit of analysis is both an organizational and individual. Boyatzis(1982) made earlier attempts to specify competency frameworks when he distinguished between threshold and high performance level competencies. The Kioto people management model, for example (Devisch,1998) categorizes competencies as core, functional and specific competencies. Devisch argues that the concept of core competency refers to the means by which employees adjust to the corporate culture of the organization. Functional competencies are linked to job roles and the way in which they interact with other roles. They can be both technical and organizational in nature. Specific competencies are defined as attributes that a person is required to bring to a job, in order to ensure successful performance.

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Kujipers (2000) adopts an even broader perspective and proposes a typology of competencies which consist of three levels: 1. General working competencies, which she defines as competencies required for different working situations and at different time periods. 2. Learning Competencies, which consist of bundle of competencies, which facilitate the development of working competencies. 3. Career related competencies, which are defined to manage working and learning competencies within a personal career path. Nordhaug (1998) advocates a more robust classificatory framework of work-related competencies. It utilizes three levels of analysis: taskspecific, firm specific, and industry specific. He suggests the three categories here. He uses the term meta-competencies to encompass a broad spectrum of knowledge, skills and aptitude such as analytical capabilities, creativity, knowledge of culture and capacity to tolerate uncertainty. His additional categories include intra-organizational competencies which include knowledge about organizational culture, informal networks, the political dynamics of the organization and general industry competencies such as knowledge about industry and the ability analyze the activities of the competitors.

COMPETENCY MODELS
THE OUTPUT MODEL

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The most radical model and by far the most powerful in impacting current managerial education and training is the output model. It is at the heart of Management Charter Institute work. This model is primarily concerned with: Deciding what outcomes you want managers to achieve. MCI has analysed, defined and published generic occupational standards called management standards for four levels of management: supervisory, first line, middle and senior. They are what MCI calls Benchmarks of best practice. Generally the standards are defined in this way: Occupational standards are not descriptions of the performance itself (specific activities or tasks), nor the means of achieving competence (knowledge and skills learned through the training program) not the means of measuring quality or achievement (assessment) nor the process by which the achievement is recognized publicly (qualifications). Standard are bench marks: descriptions of the expectations of employment against which the actual performance of individuals will be compared and assessed as competent, or not competent as appropriate. In the output model, descriptions of competence are derived from a top down analysis of a job function called functional analysis. This entails a cascade of questions. The first question for each level of management is: What is occupations key purpose?

To achieve the organizations objectives and continuously improve its performance.

What key roles are entailed in fulfilling that key purpose? Manage operations Manage finance

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Manage people Manage information

What are the outcomes, which must be demonstrated in each of those key roles? The outcomes are first defined as units of competence. These describe in broad terms what is expected of a competent manager is particular aspects of a job. It is these units, which are certified within NVQs (National Vocational Qualification). The units of competence are then broken down further into their into their elements of competence (something you are able to do as part of that achievement).

Each element of competence is backed up by performance criteria. Onto the performance criteria are tagged range statements or indicators. These suggest the areas and circumstances within which employees must be able to perform satisfactorily against the elements of competence and provide evidence of achievement.

Covering the five performance criteria are four range indicators. The elements of competence are complemented by assessment guidance.

This completes the output model. The basic conceptual model developed by Mansfield and Mathews is given below

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THE MANAGEMENT STANDARDS MODEL

The Managers Key purpose

Key roles

Units of competence

Elements of competence

O U T P U T

Personal competence model

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As an extension to its work on the output-based sets of management standards, and for use as a complement to them, MCI developed the Personal Competence Model. The MCI model consists of four clusters and against thirteen dimensions. Shown in the following figure.

Clusters of personal Competence. 1. Planning to optimize the achievement of results.

Dimensions of personal competence.

Showing concern for excellence Setting and prioritizing objectives. Monitoring and responding to actual against planned activities Showing sensitivity to the needs of others. Relating to others Obtaining the commitment of others. Presenting oneself positively. Showing self-confidence and personal drive. Managing personal emotions and stress Managing personal learning and development Collecting and organizing information. Identifying and applying concepts. Taking decisions.

2. Managing others to optimize results.

3. Managing oneself to optimize results

4. Using intellect to optimize results

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The input model The input model is concerned with deciding what qualities you want in managers, who the manager is and what the manager knows. Here competence is thought to depend on the possession of combination of personal characteristics, expressed in clusters, such as the following: Intellectual ability, knowledge, logic, creativity, etc. Social language, ability to relate to others, etc. Emotional stability, confidence, motivation, etc. Physical prowess, dexterity, keen senses, etc.

Work undertaken by the McBer Corporation in conjunction with Harvard Business School has also resulted in a widely used model. Hayes and Boyatzis include references to the following: Knowledge: Content knowledge. e.g. facts or procedures , technical or interpersonal. Motive: The underlying need or thought pattern that drives an individuals beheviour. Trait: a general disposition to behave or respond in a certain way. Self-concept: attitudes or what people value or are interested in doing. Items in the input model such as these are sometimes called soft skills, compared with the tangible outputs required from the output model. When selecting or developing managers, these factors

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lead to questions about the kind of person they are, their level of education and what skills they have. This model of competence is the prevalent approach in the USA.

Process model The process model takes the model of personal inputs a step further. It is concerned with deciding what tasks you want people to carry out. The process model is easily recognizable in the design of many traditional training and selection activities, but nowadays it is the least discussed of the three models at this level, being more relevant for low- level, mass occupation.

The Integrated Model

Roger Stuart (Stuart Associates) and Philip Lindsay (ACL

Consulting) tentatively tried to integrate paint a more complete picture by bringing together and integrating the input and output models into a coherent whole: a model competence comprising of competencies. Since neither approach adequately defines managerial competence in terms of the context of the organization, its culture, market place and business environment.

ORGANISATIONAL ENVIRONMENT

O R O G A N I S A T O 41 N

C O M P E T E N C E

COMPETENCE DOMAINS

M A N A G E R I A L

C O M P E T E N C E

COMPETENCIES

ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE

COMPONENTS OF COMPETENCIES

The central propositions underlying the above framework are as follows: Competence is a statement of value that is placed on the manger who is able to perform and be in ways that are highly valued and required within a particular organization. Organizational competence is a lens on the world of managerial competence. The lens is in part shaped by organizational culture. In turn, organizational culture is based on and derived from prior experiences, learning, assumptions, beliefs and preoccupations. The lens of organization competence is malleable. The lens is changeable in response to varying circumstances, enabling reconstrual of competence over time. The lens of organizational competence will bring areas of key concern- the competence domains- into focus and enable their definition. The lens of organizational competence will bring into focus and define the key competencies, capabilities and attributes required to perform successfully within the key competence domains. COMPETENCY LEVELS

MASTERY

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RECOGNISED STRENGTH (Conscious of unconscious competence) INDEPENDENT COMPETENCE (Unconscious Competence)

SUPPORTED COMPETENCE

(Conscious Competence)

UNDERSTANDING

(Conscious Incompetence)

UNAWARE

(Unconscious Incompetence)

OBSERVABLE BEHAVIORS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH LEVEL OF COMPETENCY.

Unaware (UA) Fails to recognize the relevance of competency to their job. Yet to acquire knowledge or experience in the area.

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Insensitive to issues related to competency, failing to bring them to the attention of others inappropriately trying to deal with them Doesnt not recognize own limitations, unwilling to learn

Understanding (U) Acquiring insight and knowledge in the competency. Has sufficient understanding to answer general questions or enquiries with confidence. Has not yet fully demonstrated competence in practice. Ready for closely supervised delegation Recognize own limitations and is ready and willing to learn. Supported Competence (SC)

Succeeds in applying the competency Requires regular supervision of

performance in this particular competency

Still requires direction and coaching to

translate theory into practice.

Not yet fully confident in their ability to

work independently in the area.

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 Seeks out opportunities to apply their

developing competence in challenging situations.

Seeks to demonstrate that they can

work more independently Independent Competence (IC)

Usually succeeds in applying the

competency.

Confident in own ability in this

competency.

Generates trust in others in their ability

in this competency

Guides and coaches others Can be delegated to with confidence

Recognized Strength (RS)

Succeeds in applying the competency

even in challenging situations.

Responds intuitively to challenges

utilizing their breadth of experience in this competency.

Strength in this area is clearly

recognized by the firm and clients

Uses strength in this area to

compensate for relative personal weakness in other competencies than necessary.

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 Is actively involved in the transference

of knowledge and expertise to others with respect to this competency.

Mastery

Succeeds in applying the competency

in challenging, unusual or highly sensitive situations.

Achieves a degree of capability most

would aspire to but rarely achieve, distinctive within and recognized within their peer group.

Generates the absolute trust of others

inside or outside the firm in this area.

Used as a point of reference within the

firm, people going out of their way to seek advice or counsel.

Able to use mastery in this area to

compensate for relative personal weaknesses in other competencies when necessary.

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The Development Curve

The scale below illustrates the development of an individuals levels of competence.

E V E L S O F

C
O M P E N T E N C E

EXPERIENCE

NEED OF THE STUDY

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Competency mapping had not been hitherto used as a Human Resource Management tool. HCL COMNET
LTD took the charge of Telecom Solutions in India as well as across the world in the year 1992, It has constantly felt the need to increase its manpower to meet various customer expectations. However, The organization has been undertaking this function without due deliberation into the Competency Mapping, which can actually aid them in finding specific selection parameters of eligible candidates for particular designations. Thus this was the right time to conduct a sample study on Competency Mapping at this juncture in the organization. Thus far, no studies on the same have been conducted in the organization. The findings of my research would initially be used in the process of Recruitment & Training purposes & later the scope would extend to other HR functions viz. Performance Management Systems by carefully defining Key Result Areas (KRA) for different departments & Effective Pay & Grading System for increased employee satisfaction.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

To find the competencies requirement at various designations in IT, Customer Care and Business department of HCL COMNET LTD.

1. To understand the working of above-mentioned departments. 2. To gauge the training and development needs of these
departments as realized by the employees based on competencies.

3. To explore the specific selection parameters (competencies) for

different designations in these departments to assess eligible candidates. 4. To develop comprehensive base for HR department for conducting competency study for whole organization in future.

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5. To provide the functional heads with parameters for drawing well

rounded and effective performance management processes.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The scope of my study encompasses IT, Customer Care and Business Departments of HCL COMNET LTD. IT department It covers Head IT, Head Systems, Manager, Additional Managers, Officer, Sr. Officer etc. It has not covered Billing technical and functional teams. Customer Care Department It has also covered IT automation part of customer care also. Head Customer Care, Sr. Officers, OSD (Officer on Special Duty), Assistant Manager etc. Business Business Managers of various divisions in India e.g.,Mumbai,Noida. The findings of this study are initially used by Recruitment & Selection Department and Training Department and later on can be used as effective tool in comprehensive Performance Management System (PMS) and Pay and grading scales. Descriptive research design, most suitable for studying Competencies was used. A primarily qualitative study was conducted. Types of Data: Primary Data Primary data was collected through various methods1. Interviews- Comprehensive interview of job holders and their immediate bosses were conducted ascertaining purpose of job, job profile, reporting structure, number of subordinates,

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interrelationships, external linkages, skills requirement for higher performance and training needs etc. 2. Observation- Employees were observed as they perform their jobs and information is collected and analyzed. The observation method is most commonly used especially in studies relating to the behavioral sciences. Observation becomes the scientific tool and the method of data collection for the researcher, when it serves a formulated research purpose, is systematically planned and recorded and is subjected to checks and controls on validity and reliability. Under

the

observation method, the information is sought by way of investigators own direct observation without asking from the respondent.
Working profile of employee Dealing with customers both internal and external etc.

3. Critical Incident Techniques- This technique developed by Flanagan (1954) requires observers such as supervisors, peers or subordinates or person himself. Observers are asked to describe incidents of effective and ineffective behavior of a person over a period of time. It is a particularly effective technique in competency mapping since it gives an idea about the person oriented characteristics at particular designation, which are needed to perform a job well.

Secondary data
Secondary data means data that are already available i.e., they refer to the data, which have already been collected, recorded and analyzed by someone else.

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This data has the advantage of being Cost and time effective It provides a reference base to the study

Can

be

extremely

useful

for

comparison

purposes
In my study I have data used the the following of sources shall of be

secondary

details

which

given in later part of our report (bibliography):

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UTILITY OF STUDY
The study of competency mapping in few departments such as IT, Customer Care and Business of HCL COMNET LTD would act as a concrete base for taking the concept to Top Management to undertake this project for whole organization. Initially, the findings are given to Recruitment & selection and Training functions of Human Resource Department of HCL COMNET LTD. Later on, these will help making an effective Performance Management System, which will be both goal and competency based. These will aid the training department to improve Return on Investment (ROI) on training. The study has helped in training need analysis (TNA) of these departments and added the behavioral dimension to all elements of training and development which will help in designing modules and selecting events and activities for the same. For recruitment & selection function, it will be used in making selection criteria for various designations, to assess eligible pool of candidates in interviews and for giving assessment feedback to candidates. It will also explore the working of various departments to be helpful to HR department in a number of ways. In short, it will act as a new relevant and wellinformed knowledge base. .

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Activities of Commercial Department are the following -New order Client Solutions Billing Consumer care center Recovery HCL COMNET LTD is committed to be the best fully integrated electric supply utility and leading provider of value added services. It is fully geared to fulfill or exceed the customer expectations by continuously improving the quality of all services.

Findings mentioned are developed on the basis of interview conducted and observation with six business managers as Sample.

CADRES & DESIGNATIONS

Officers are in the Grade ranging from A-1 to A-10. Officers have been classified as follows: Top Management Senior Management Middle Management Junior Management CMD, Directors A-7 to A -10 A-4 to A-6 A-1 to A-3

Grades and Designations of the officers are as follows:

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Grades and Designations of the officers S No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Grade A-1 A-2 A-3 A-4 A-5 A-6 A-7 Designation Officer/Engineer Sr. Officer/Sr. Engineer/Asst. Manager Dy. Manager Additional manager Manager /Business Manager Sr. Manager Chief Engineer/Chief Controller of Finance & A/Cs/ Chief Personnel Manager/ Chief of Management Training and Development/Chief Manager 8 9 10 11 12 13
.

A-8 A-9 A-10 A-11 A-12 A-13

Dy. General Manager*/Addl. vice President General Manager/ Vice President Executive Director/Group General Manager/ Senior Vice President/ Chief General Manager Board of Directors/CEO Vice Chairman Chairman

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Business Manager (Commercial) Hierarchy and Reporting structure

BUSINESS MANAGER
Accountant

Commercial Officer

AMPS
Telecom Solutions IT Mgt.

SupporT support

Commercial BAM
front desk

Cust. Mgt.

Back support Data center

Metering Recovery Records

Consume r C o

N/W M Energisationo
Inspection

Division Level-1 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Division Level -2 -------Customer Assistance

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WORK PROFILE OF BUSINESS MANAGERS

Department Head of District / Division Office (Grade-A5) Responsible for various functions Internal administration of staff and all other infrastructure facilities in Office eg. Furniture. Material Management (cables quantity, meters with seals, blank bills, PCs , infrastructure etc.) and also complaint handling related to same. Recovery of pending dues from consumers. Bring new customers into net. Quality upgrading of services etc. Performance Measures in terms of Increase in revenue collection and recovery from clients. Increase in number of new clients

COMPETENCIES FOR BUSINESS MANAGER

BEHAVIORAL / GENERIC COMPETENCY SET 1. PATIENCE :To remain cool and poised with every type of client in any condition. To have composure, maturity and self control in dealing with all types of customers-external as well as internal.

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 To remain ready to hear any absurd word from disturbed consumers. 2. COPING WITH CHANGE- The power to overcome difficulties or problems in any modifications in past scenario of system or way of working and acclimatize in new system. To be non-resistant for any reengineering process in system. To be accustomed to a new situation or climate variation in shortest time frame. To learn new upcoming technology and make it a part of system. 3. WORKAHOLICNESS The behavior of compulsive work with no constraints of time and effort devotion. To remain ready for dedicated work with no time limitations. To be enthusiastic to work in all relevant activities of job profile. To give the job utmost importance and priority. 4. CUSTOMER SERVICE ORIENTATION The ability to anticipate, recognize and meet customer needs by understanding their perspective. To provide best service to customers by taking active interest in their concerns. To satisfy customer needs in present applicable guidelines of system. To grasp customers perspective, acting as a trusted advisor. To resolve customer problems by empathizing with him and taking quick initiatives. 5. COACHING AND DEVELOPING SUBORDINATES- The ability to sense subordinates developmental needs, bolstering their

57

abilities and instruct, direct or train them for high performance. To identify peoples needs for further growth and give pertinent training in this regard. To offer timely and correct feedback to subordinates for improvement. To acknowledge peoples strengths and coach them to concentrate on same. TECHNICALCOMPETENCY SET 1. UNDERSTANDING OF BUSINESS- The sound knowledge of commercial aspects of business to deliver improved results and solving consumer problems. To possess in-depth knowledge of IT business in whole. 2. ATTENTION TO DETAILS- The ability to focus on all minute aspects of any issues of assigned job.

details and

To be meticulous in finding and using relevant intricacies of problem or task. Use of clear-cut guidelines for department reference in all scenarios. Develop plan of action to get things done quickly. To meet all deadly requirements of work assigned under commercial aspect. 4. PROBLEM SOLVING- The ability to find knowledgeable, workable and fast solution or explanation for any consumer grievances. To fix or resolve any type of consumer query in shortest possible time.

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 To work out justified reasons for the issue cropped up. To hit upon a solution to consumer questions within novel and updated technology framework. As Business Manager is responsible for each and every penny calculated from consumer and overall revenue efficiency for his division, he should posses above-mentioned skill set. The business of HCL COMNET LTD is related to tangible commodity of use for everyone .Business manager should be knowledgeable and possess maturity and patience to deal with consumers of all profiles and solve their problems as consumers problem is escalated to him it was not resolved at other levels. SUGGESTIONS FOR TRAINING AND RECOMMENDATIONS o Training should definitely be imparted in initial years of joining for greater effect. o Training is more of information dissemination. o Interested in following trainings o Human Resource Management Motivation How to take best out of employees Customer orientation New process or system automation knowledge Group induction and orientation should be introduced prior to joining at front office. o On the job training is avoided in technical aspects and customer dealing as mistakes are sometimes very heavy and department needs to pay heavy for it. o Communication skills and customer goodwill should be regularly provided to employees of district offices.

For Subordinates

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o Training should be regularly undertaken with new aspects attached related to new technology in use etc. Favorable time 4-5 days prior to four due dates in a month and training dates should be informed well in advance for more attendance, effort and zeal.

IT DEPARTMENT
The Information Technology (IT) Department at HCL COMNET LTD is involved in modernizing the present computing infrastructure and providing assistance to the other department employees to use advanced techniques and emerging technologies in a secure and reliable environment. Softwares related to Database maintenance & monitoring, Data collection for billing, Consumer billing and attending to online consumer grievances are successfully developed and implemented in all circles and districts. The functional divisions under IT are 1. IT Support/Helpdesk 2. Monitoring / Networking 3. Execution 4. Software 5. Training IT department at HCL COMNET LTD provides support for internal communication and information flow by Team HCL COMNET LTD MAHINDRA Intranet site Microsoft Exchange

Softwares for business support and consumer support Computer Application System Billing Amendment Module Document Management System

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SAP (System Application Products) SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) GIS (Geographic Information System)

For working towards a world class electric utility.

HEAD IT
WORK PROFILE
Department head of Information Technology Department Monitoring of all projects and activities in terms of time of completion (daily, weekly and monthly) as per activity times defined, cost limits etc. undertaken by IT dept. Approvals for different new projects/technology and annual budget decision for dept. Negotiation with vendors for discounts and extra facilities for unlisted items by HCL COMNET LTD. Understand software or automation requirement by all other departments of HCL COMNET LTD Careful scrutiny of all ongoing projects. Responsible for providing better IT service to whole organization with optimization of all costs. Pre and post release testing of all IT modules. Enhance improvement in all ongoing projects and pushing ahead. Technology is same for whole organization as per corporate planning, Resource planning. Requirement is to review the planning, give new ideas and discuss the relevance of all projects in present scenario. Role of Head IT is of a facilitator and not inspector so that no havoc is created.

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REPORTING
Dual reporting Administration wise: In NOIDA office Technically: To Corporate office in NOIDA

COMPETENCIES REQUIREMENT FOR IT HEAD BEHAVIORAL COMPETENCY SET 1. LEADERSHIP- It is the ability to lead, give direction, motivate within team context for goal attainment by doing right things within policy framework. Monitors boundaries and defines limits for working. Provides direction and inspiration to all team members. Finds a sense of purpose in larger mission. Guide the performance of others while holding them accountable. Operates openly and is accessible to others. 2. TEAM BUILDING It is the art of building a foundation to bind members harmoniously using their capabilities for the achievement of shared goal. Creating team synergy in attainment of collective goal. Model team capabilities of collaboration, respect and cooperation. Work cohesively in team, unleashing every members energies and abilities to give best output. Build effective team spirit with people of diverse abilities, perspectives and talents.

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3. LEVERAGING DIVERSITY It is the ability to cultivate opportunities through different kinds of people and their skill set. Respect and relate well with people See diversity as opportunity and blend well to Understand every member as crucial and give possessing different technical skills. get best out of people. due importance. 4. NEGOTIATION It is the art to confer with another to reach at a solution via mutual agreement. run. Compromising with other party more or less equally. Reaching a consensus based on mutual Listens attentively to second party and using varied Magnanimous spirit will be winning strategy in long

understanding of each others needs. styles to put point.

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES 1. IT INRASTRUCTURE AND SUPPORT KNOWLEDGE- Sound understanding of all networks, interfaces, softwares and technologies blending. Knowledge of connectivity, LAN, WAN, typologies, leased lines, wireless etc. Understanding of various connectivity protocols. Full information on Lotus Notes 6.5 and its working Exposure to all modules in use under SAP e.g. payroll, finance etc.

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2. PLANNING- It is the art of setting plans and agreeing for department to complete goals in calculated time and resources. Ensures all plans are achievable in constraints. Sense risks and manage them in time and least effort Plans well so that system will not stop working in any scenario. Scheduling of all activities and working according to priority. 3. UNDERSTANDING OF SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE- It is the ability to use all steps of SDLC in all software projects for optimization of costs. Developing Information systems through a multi-step

process from information requirement through analysis, design, implementation and maintenance. Use of rational unified process for each critical Appropriate model combined into hybrid methodology software development activity. to make best fit for every project. 4. PROJECT MANAGEMENT SKILLS It is the ability to plan and manage temporary endeavor undertaken to create unique product / service in time and resource constraints. Proper planning and scheduling of all activities to accomplish aim of project. Taking calculated risk to maximize project output. Monitor the progress of project activities as per plan.

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 Management of all aspects related to project e.g. costs, time, manpower etc. Head IT is responsible for system integration at TECH MAHINDRA, development of consumer support model and satisfying software needs of all departments at HCL COMNET LTD and of all offices. At such designation, technical vision and encompassing technology in phases viz knowledge of system integration, IT infrastructure, support and monitoring are critical for high performance. On the other hand, behavioral competencies of team building and leadership are essential to get work done from collaborative teams and task forces. Negotiation skills are add-ons resulting in win-win situations for dealing with outside vendors.

HEAD SYSTEMS
WORK PROFILE
Responsible for Software development in commercial areas of business. SDLC requirement fulfillment of whole Delhi region. Development, testing, implementation of various software . And later on providing support for similar modules. Imparting of training to end users of software created. Successful Business Process Reengineering (BPR). Bridges the gap between user of new system and software developer through interactions. Revenue Cycle Generation module in billing by 20 lakh customers.

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 Deals with finance, administration, legal, enforcement and customer care department for any software requirement. Understand internal customer needs and acts as an interface with software programmer. Building different cross functional teams of diverse talents and capabilities according to quantum of work. Monitoring the progress of projects undertaken to complete them in least possible time and resources.

COMPETENCIES REQIREMENT
BEHAVIORAL COMPETENCY SET 1. UNDERSTANDING OF BUSINESS- It is the ability to grasp the working and knowing the gaps of all aspects of power sector. Knowing business capabilities and growth parameters. Improving the business performance with every decision taken. Focus on consumer support model with system integration and automation. 2. ANALYTICAL SKILLS- It is the art of weighing the pros and cons in very uncertain and ambiguous situation and developing optimal and creative solution. Judging any situation with proper analysis. All perspectives should be considered before making any decision. Business relevance and all post effects are taken care of. Logical understanding of any issue crop up. 3. TIME MANAGEMENT SKILLS- It is the art of utilizing the

available time to its optimum, thus making it the greatest available resource.

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 Using every minute available in useful work. Scheduling all the activities with strict time frames. Execution of all projects by sticking to planned schedule. 4. COMMUNICATION- It is the technique of providing and verbal or written messages in precise manner to

receiving

ensure proper understanding by receiver. Articulate the ideas in a manner that is properly understood by receiver. Effective utilization of different channels to provide full information to everyone. Delivery of message to receiver in time and taking acknowledgement. 5. SELF-CONFIDENCE- It is the art of sensing self worth and capabilities to enhance performance. Presenting oneself with self-assurance. Take a stand on what is right. Decisive despite uncertainties and pressures of different constraints. Make ones presence felt in any business scenario. 6. PERSEVERANCE- It is the skill of persisting with an endeavor inn spite of all hassles. Pursuing a standard of excellence in every work. Never leave a task unfinished. Generating alternatives in any difficult situation. Reminding the purpose of task to team in the face of obstacles. FUNCTION COMPETENCY

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1. SOFTWARE DEPLOYMENT- It is the ability to use system thinking in all stages of software development to implementation. Understanding of how software can be implemented in current system. Feasibility of automation of any work process Analyzing the optimal capability of software in any framework. Interface between user needs and software developer for better understanding and use of resources. At Designation of Head Systems, comprehensive set of behavioral skills are essential as systems perspective and holistic view is a key. Dealing with internal customers in organizations, understanding their needs and guide subordinates for automation are the requirement. Technical vision is necessary but soft skills and managerial skills weigh heavy on technical competencies. Person should be aware of technical updatings but imbibing every new technology is not essential.

TRAINING NEEDS AND SUGGESTIONS

Communication skill (verbal as well as written) training by all channels is essential for whole organization. Team building exercises or outbound learning programs should be started with good management games. Trekking in teams with minimal constraints will be quite beneficial. For Subordinates o Good technical knowledge and understanding of ins and outs of all new software is essential. So, training is required for oracle, D2k and any new platform or database should be provided.

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o Communication skill training is the cry of hour for this organization. o Time management training can be imparted. o Leadership and negotiation skill training. o Induction program should be launched and implemented in HCL COMNET LTD. o In-house trainers should be employed who will take care of all training needs of departments as follow up is necessary and essential for greater effect. o Technical modules should be provided on intranet site for effective and ease in learning.

MANAGERS AND ADDITIONAL MANAGERS (IT)

DESIGNATION GRADE AREA Manager A-5 Infrastructur e WORK PROFILE(Responsibilities) Monitoring of all IT RELEVANT EXPERIENCE 12 + Years

Manager

A-5

Data centre

infrastructure components in all divisions and offices of HCL COMNET LTD . Connectivity , P.C.s ,Telecom Voice, data & hardware maintenance and execution Server management at NOIDA office. Disaster recovery strategy development and implementation. Providing back up and recovery (no data loss) during exigency. Business continuity by IT support systems. Implementing new and best practices.

12 + years

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Manager

A-5

Projects

IT support by software development, procurement and implementation except billing. Finding relevance of applications of new technology areas. Studying, evaluate and analyze new software tools for use in organization. Planning and providing various trainings both internal & external Training module and calendar preparation. Training needs analysis of basic IT support in division offices and technical in IT deptt. Conducting and organizing workshops, seminars, guest lectures.

15+ Years

Additional Manager

A-4

Training

16-17 Years

COMPETENCIES REQUIREMENT
BEHAVIORAL COMPETENCY SET 1. INITIATIVE- The ability to seize new opportunities and take advantage in development of business. Take anticipatory action to avoid problems before they happen. Acting before being forced to by external environment. Displaying proactive approach in taking action with awareness of consequences. 2. OPTIMISM- The ability to operate from ray of hope rather than fear of failure. Persistent in achieving results despite any hassles and setbacks. See setbacks as due to manageable rather than a personal flew. See the positive side of every situation and circumstance. Work with full charm in work and confidence.

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3.

LEADERSHIP SKILLS- the ability to provide vision to the teams, Plans for the teams and delegating work to them. Making every individual move towards mission. Channelising team towards increasing productivity.

inspiring and guiding individuals to goal accomplishment.

4.

INTERPERSONAL UNDERSTANDING- The art of developing and

maintaining positive relationships with others with proper understanding of others perspective. Understanding the attitudes, interests and needs of others. Knowing what motivates others Understanding reasons for others behavior in particular situation. Giving regard to others feelings, emotions and moods. 5. QUEST FOR LEARNING- the urge to continuously find, imbibe and use systematically information and knowledge. Continuously seeking out information on any new updating technology. Observe the pattern of system and learn from the same. Translates new concepts into new applications. TECHNICAL COMPETENCIES 1. PROBLEM UNDERSTANDING AND SOLVING- The ability to understand any issue in current state from all perspectives and finding applicable solutions. Distinguishing symptoms from causes of any issue. Anticipating ideas to resolve the issue quickly. Understand the needs of internal customers of organization and apply systems approach to find a workable solution by technology.

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2. UNDERSTANDING OF NEW TECHNOLOGY- The ability to understand and appreciate the new tools and techniques with hybrid applications. Bent of mind to imbibe new technology. Appreciate use of new tools in current system to improve business performance. Awareness of environment in terms of networking, databases, storage systems etc. 3. SYSTEMS APPROACH- The ability to integrate all components of a system With support of information technology and see the effects in totality. Dont divide the process into sub processes. Find solution with integration approach. Holistic way of understanding any problem scenario to find solution.

SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TRAINING

HEAD TRAINING INTERSTED IN For himself subordinates Overall management processes o Team building skills. o Manageme nt skills SUGGESTIONS AND VIEWS Trainings dont change people overnight. Training is helpful in initial years of joining.

Infrastructur e

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Projects

Communication

o Communic ation o Team behavior skills o Office discipline o Communic ation o Information sharing skill

Praised Transformatio nal leadership workshop by external trainer.

Data-centre

Achievement motivation Stress management

How much a person learns and gains from behavioral training depends on person to person.

INFERENCES
In competence mapping self appraisal is also an important feature for it provides a perspective from employees point of view. It communicates his contributions, accomplishments and reflections on various facilitating and inhibiting factors which played a role on attaining or otherwise of the goals he set for himself. Analysis of performance of the employee through mutual discussion is a very crucial aspect where the design of the Competency Mapping format is of less importance than the process of conducting it. Reporting officer should not let their

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own biases creep in, put the subordinate at ease, set a constructive tone, listen to subordinates self appraisal, present his own evaluation of subordinates on the job performance, discuss areas of difference of opinion and arrive at mutually agreed workable solutions for realizing future goals and for the fulfillment of professional goals of the subordinate and the organizational goals. Application of performance management practices that enable organizations to improve the performance and bring in a performance driven culture is the need of the hour rather than Competency Mappings only. No doubt without the commitment of the top management it would just be very very difficult to bring this sort of change. This in fact calls for a cultural change wherein emphasis is not only given to the outcome or the end result but also on the process and effort made to achieve the result. While discussing of the process and effort we need to focus on the leadership style, his approach of consulting others, his ability to learn, his approach as a team member, his effort in planning his days and week, and his overall orientation for subordinate development. For this what can be done is that once in a month or two an effort can be made by the supervisor to sit with his subordinate and have a face to face interaction in a non threatening atmosphere. What I have personally observed that it changes the motivation level of an individual considerably and in fact the employee makes all out effort to achieve the Organizational goals.

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If you want the employee to do something, you must tell him/her exactly what you want: important, what skills and what jobs or tasks are most are required and behaviors

acceptable, what goals should be accomplished, and what result you expect. There are two (2) primary ways to accomplish this: providing the employee with a job description and setting goals and performance expectations. Goals should be SMART: Specific. Measurable. Attainable. Realistic. Time-limited. Remember: initiating and maintaining positive communication about work expectations and work performance is managements responsibility!

RECOMMENDATIONS
To achieve the objectives of Competency Mappings in HCL COMNET LTD., the need to initiate the individual review require as once appraisals are filed away, people pay little attention to the process. Performance reviews are intended to measure the extent to which an employees performance meets the requirements of that individuals employment position. A yearly review may not be enough to elicit the high level of performance from employees. What can be used throughout the year to train and motivate the employees? Performance management sessions held throughout the year with each employee can help

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accomplish the set goals.

Competence mapping through

Performance management is an ongoing process that involves regular goal-setting, communication, evaluation and allocation of rewards or consequences. A good performance management program has a number of advantages. employees know that attention is A good program can being paid to their help you get the best from your employees, because when performance, they are generally motivated to work better. Performance management helps redirect employee efforts. An employee may be working hard, but working on the wrong things. Sessions throughout the year will enable a manager to keep tabs on what employees are working on, in order to direct efforts to better fulfill company goals. Periodic performance management gives managers a measuring tool by tracking whether employees are achieving specific goals set for them and with them. Holding informal reviews once in two three months is ideal all staff. There are several benefits of reviewing frequently and informally: The manager is better informed and more up-todate with his or her peoples activities (and more in touch with what lies beyond e.g., customers, suppliers, competitors, markets etc.) Difficult issues can be identified, discussed and resolved quickly, before they become serious. Help can be given more readily people rarely ask unless they see a good opportunity to do so the regular informal review provides just this.

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Assignments, tasks and objectives can be agreed completed and reviewed quickly leaving actions more than a few weeks reduces completion rates significantly for all but the most senior and experienced people.

Objectives, direction, and purpose is more up-todate modern organizations demand more flexibility than a single annual review allows priorities often change through the year, so people need to be re-directed and re-focused.

Training and development actions can be broken down into smaller more digestible chunks, increasing success rates and motivational effect as a result.

The fear factor, often associated be many with formal appraisals, is greatly reduced because people become more comfortable with the review process.

Relationships and mutual understanding develops more quickly with greater frequency of meetings between manager and staff member.

time. appraisal.

Staff members can be better prepared for the formal appraisal, giving better results, and saving management Much of the review has already been covered throughout the year by the times comes for the formal Frequent review meetings increase the reliability of notes and performance data, and reduces the chances of overlooking things at the formal appraisal. Self-assessment : It involves review actively in the review process.

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It is likely to reduce defensive behavior. It provide scope to run review meeting as a constructive and open dialogue by reducing the top down developments of traditional performance approach.

It helps to generate less irritate and more positive discussion.

Training and Development Competency Mapping offers an excellent opportunity perhaps the best that will ever occur for a supervisor and subordinate to recognize and agree upon individual training and development needs. Competency Mapping can make the need for training more pressing and relevant by linking it clearly to performance outcomes and future career aspirations. From the point of view This data In of the organization as a whole, consolidated appraisal data can form a picture of the overall demand for training. may be analyzed by variables such as sex, department etc. efficient training needs audit for the entire organization. The scope for improvement lies in identification of training needs and such training are taken care of on a timely basis. It should be made more frequent because training of any kind is always helpful be it profile oriented or personality oriented. There must be proper dissipation of training schedule so that nobody skips these programs.

this respect, Competency Mapping can provide a regular and

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The perforated sheet in the appraisal format which contains the area of training required by the employee to enable agreed action to happen, must reach HR Division and it becomes the responsibility of the Reporting Officer to ensure that such training needs are taken care of on a timely basis. If not provided, next years appraisal report should highlight it and the employee should be given due weightage on his performance.

*****

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Working with Emotional Intelligence Daniel Goleman 2. Competence at work :Models for Superior Performance Lyle M. Spencer and Signe M. Spencer 3. The Competent Manager: A model for effective performance Richard Boyatzis 4. A Practical Guide to Competencies Steve Whiddett Sarah Hollyforde 5. The Handbook of Competency Mapping Seema Sanghi 6. Andres Drejer Organizational Learning and Competence Development

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The Learning Organization, Volume 7. Number 4,2000, pp206-220 7. Competency Frame Work, Ernst & Young 8. Pearn Kandola (1996) Tools for Assessment and Development Centres Institute of Personnel and Development.

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