Preparing for the C-Management Assessment

Transcription

1 Preparing for the C-Management Assessment This guide is one element in your preparation for the formal C-Management Assessment carried out by DMEL. Along with the Portfolio of Evidence guide, it forms the Preparation Materials for the formal assessment. This guide assists you to prepare yourself. This guide contains information on three topics: Introduction to the C- Management Assessment How to prepare for the C- Management Assessment: Assessment What is the STAR Interview Technique? What are Management Competencies? 1

2 Introduction to the C-Management Assessment Daimler launched its global C-Management programme to ensure that managers in its partners and its own retail operations meet a common standard of knowledge and skills in management across six key competencies no matter where they work in the world. These management competencies are assessed at the C-Management Assessment. The benefit is that managers who are C-Management certified have demonstrated their capabilities at managerial level with Daimler. Moreover, external candidates who wish to apply for positions within the retail organization know the standard that they need to reach. In fact, the C-Management standard is becoming increasingly recognized as the benchmark to achieve in retail automotive management. Assessment Aim: The C-Management Assessment provides a structured process for an objective assessment of a candidate s ability to operate as a manager within the retail operations of Daimler, irrespective of functional speciality, size and complexity of the business or its geographic location. The Assessment tests a candidate s core competencies through careful assessment of their own material their Portfolio of Evidence which are documents and real examples of work or understanding that demonstrates their capability. But, it is not just an audit of competence by looking at their Portfolio of Evidence materials. In addition, each candidate has the chance to explain what they have done, why they did it and what result they achieved. Taken together it helps Daimler to ensure a consistent standard of manager resulting in a corporate standard for all internal job holders and, eventually, external applicants. 2

3 How to prepare for the C-Management Assessment: Assessment using the Portfolio of Evidence The Portfolio of Evidence focuses on seven core competencies: Thinks Strategically, Drives Innovation, Focus on Customer & Market Needs, Executes Decisions and Delivers Results, Develops a Collaborative & Learning Culture, Challenges and Develops People to Top Performance and Demonstrates Accountability & Credibility. The material is used to demonstrate these competencies are in six major topic areas: Strategic Planning, Marketing Planning, Business Performance Analysis, Process Improvement, People Development Plan, and the Management Presentation. For each one of these topics you will receive a description of the evidence required and guide notes on items to provide. You should make copies of the documentary evidence and reports asked for or provide links to the material - and enter them in a Portfolio of Evidence file. Ensure that the file has an index so that you can find material easily. Review the Portfolio of evidence carefully before you begin. In many cases the same information may be used or referenced for more than one topic. By careful selection and planning you can ensure that the portfolio is of a manageable size and does not take excessive time to put together. In addition, review the management competences listed later in this guide. Keep in mind that the Portfolio is assessing management competencies not detailed knowledge of your local market or operation. In the assessment session, your portfolio will be reviewed in detail and you will be assessed on it using a blend of structured questions and requests to explain or demonstrate your knowledge or skills in a particular area. The assessment is rigorous and intended to ensure that a candidate possesses and can demonstrate and use core management skills, rather than simply gather together a convincing body of material. Once you have completed the Portfolio of Evidence, the assessment does not end. It begins. One useful tip is to practice the STAR interview technique. The STAR interview technique is a universally recognised technique used in competency assessments. Used effectively, it enables a candidate to provide a meaningful and complete answer to questions asking for examples, with the Portfolio of Evidence providing many of them. At the same time, it has the advantage of being simple enough to be easily learnt. The acronym STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action and Result. Management Passport Keep in mind that success at the formal C-Management Assessment demonstrates that you have reached the global standard set by Daimler; it does not imply that you have no further training needs. Please contact your Training Department to ensure that you attend other training to maintain your C-Management Certified status. 3

4 The STAR Technique Situation: give an example of a situation you were involved in that resulted in a positive outcome Task: describe the tasks involved in that situation Action: talk about the various actions involved in the situation s task Results: what results directly followed because of your actions Before the formal C-Management Assessment, identify two or three of your most important management events related to each topic within the Portfolio of Evidence. Then, decide how you will explain these events (with planned STAR answers) during the assessment. It is helpful to frame your answer as a story that you can tell. Typically, the assessor will address specific aspects of the story to try to get at the specific competences that they are seeking to assess. The assessor may ask you open ended questions to allow you to choose which examples you wish to use. For example, Can you give me an example of how you managed a performance of a member of staff not meeting their objectives? When a part of your story relates to a skill or competence the interviewer wishes to explore further, he/she will then ask you very specific follow-up questions regarding your behaviour. These can include "What were you thinking at that point?" or "Tell me more about your meeting with that person." or "Lead me through your decision process." Whenever you can, quantify your results. Numbers illustrate your level of authority and responsibility. For example: "I trained managers because I was the After Sales Manager." could be "As After Sales Manager, I trained and evaluated 6 Department Managers. Be prepared to provide examples of when results didn't turn out as you planned. What did you do then? What did you learn? Your Portfolio of Evidence will serve as a good guide when answering these questions. Review the Portfolio of Evidence carefully before the formal C-Management Assessment. Demonstration of the desired competences may be proven in many ways. Use examples from past and present projects, training, activities, meetings as well as more general work experience. Behavioural questions can be difficult if you are not prepared. Here are some examples of the format that they can take: Describe a situation in which you were able to use persuasion to successfully convince someone to adopt your marketing plan. Describe an instance when you had to think on your feet to extricate the business from a difficult situation. Give me a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and logic in solving a leadership problem. By providing examples, convince me that you can use the same Key Performance Indicators to manage a wide variety of people, situations and environments. 4

5 Management Competencies Management competencies are the behaviours that individual managers must have, or must acquire, to perform effectively at work. Competencies focus on the personal attributes or inputs of the individual. They encompass demonstrable performance outputs as well as behaviour inputs and, in the case of Daimler, relate to a framework or set of minimum standards required for effective managerial performance at different levels in the organization. There is now a wide degree of agreement about the core management competencies, not just in Daimler but across many organizations, both business, government and non-profit. The seven competencies assessed by Daimler assessors in the formal C-Management Assessment are listed below: 1. THINKS STRATEGICALLY AND ESTABLISHES DIRECTION: The candidate is assessed on his or her analytical and complex thinking and on how they think and act strategically. 2. FOCUSES ON CUSTOMER AND MARKET NEEDS: The candidate is assessed on their market orientation appropriate to their job function and their customer orientation. 3. DRIVES INNOVATION AND LEADS CHANGE: The candidate is assessed on their evidence of innovation and creativity, their productive efficiency and personal willingness to take initiatives and perform. 4. CHALLENGES AND DEVELOPS PEOPLE TO TOP PERFORMANCE: The candidate is assessed on their ability to persuade others, their demonstration of a dynamic approach and willingness to lead the team to improve performance. 5. BUILDS A DIVERSE CULTURE OF COLLABORATION AND LEARNING: The candidate is assessed on their ability to develop people by passing on professional and operational management skills and manage information so that is shared widely as needed and builds empathy with others. 6. EXECUTES DECISIONS AND DELIVERS RESULTS: The candidate is assessed on their revenue and results focus, their ability to steer and control the business and their willingness to assert themselves to a leadership role. 7. DEMONSTRATES ACCOUNTABILITY AND CREDIBILITY: The candidate is assessed on their openness to learning and change and their willingness to take responsibility and act consistently. 5