HR@UW Competencies Passport & Certificate Program Every cohort meeting has great topics, engaging activities. I learn so much from my colleagues! Clickable Index Founding Vision Mission Program Benefits What Does Success Look Like? Program Format, Stages & Requirements Learning Stage Practicing Stage Demonstrating Stage Competencies Passport & Certificate of Completion Expectations of the Cohort How to Participate Testimony: Why this is Worthwhile!
Founding Vision The purpose of HR Design was to build a more effective HR System to meet the needs of UW-Madison, our employees, and the campus community to whom we are ultimately in service. An important element of that system is the creation of an HR Competencies Program to facilitate a shift among UW-Madison HR & Payroll professionals to a consultative way of working in the spirit of business partnership with our stakeholders. The learning framework for the UW-Madison HR Competencies Program asks us as HR & Payroll professionals to consider what motivates us in our daily work. Why did we choose this work? Traditional HR competency models have considered what we do as the answer to that question. If we are to be successful, however, in shifting our practice from a traditional, compliance-minded, transactional model of HR to the consultative partnership model envisioned within HR Design, we must be able to engage, fully include, and honor the differences of the people with whom we work and serve. For this reason, the Engagement, Inclusion & Diversity (EID) Competency serves our program s foundational competency our WHY, or reason for doing this work. WHAT we do (HR Technical Knowledge & Expertise) and HOW we do what we do (Change Management, Collaboration, Ethics & Integrity, Execution and Problem Solving) reflect EID as integral, in service to developing ourselves as consultative partners. As we do this successfully, we fulfill the vision of HR Design. Mission In order to realize the consultative vision for HR@UW in which we in the HR community function in partnership with each other and our stakeholders, HR and Payroll professionals across campus will need to cultivate a certain level of competency. The program distinguishes among three levels of competence: (1) Developing Competence the initial stage involving exposure to concepts, learning, and the cultivation of self-assessment and reflection habits that serve our ongoing development (2) Cultivating Fluency the stage in which we knowledgably influence others thinking and allow ourselves to be influenced as we work in consultative partnership with others (3) Mastering Competence the stage in which we accept responsibility for and begin to influence HR systems on campus These levels indicate increasing stages of impact as our competence grows from self-to-self, self-toothers, and ultimately self-to-system. We acknowledge that not all HR and Payroll professionals at UW-Madison will wish to work at the highly visible level of influencing system. Consultative partnership requires us to work with, influence, and be influenced by others, however, which demands fluency in the competencies. Thus, the mission of the HR Competencies Program is to support our entire community in achieving competence minimally at the level of Cultivating Fluency. HR@UW Competencies Cohort Program Page 2 Last updated August 2, 2017
Program Benefits 1. We as individuals can leverage the program to enhance skills and advance professionally. 2. Our schools and colleges can leverage the program to identify areas in which there are opportunities for strengthening HR processes and practices through delegated authority and credentialing. 3. As the program fulfills its vision, it supports UW-Madison in achieving and upholding a consistent standard of excellence within our HR and Payroll Community and for our customers. What Does Success Look Like? We asked for feedback during the HR Design process and from HR Reps in the creation of the program. How will we know the program is successful? Here s what success looks like: Engagement, Inclusion & Diversity (EID) We re more engaged, e.g., we feel excited about working in HR at UW-Madison, and want to collaborate and be visible ( on the radar ); this is further reflected in improved customer service. We re more inclusive, e.g., we feel that we and others matter and that our professional values are aligned with our organizations values; if they don t, we have an avenue for speaking up. We re more diverse, with increased responsiveness to the needs of our community. HR Technical Knowledge & Expertise Our abilities, confidence in those abilities, and increasing delegations of authority supported by credentialing increase across our community; these are reflected in both objective and anecdotal measures (e.g., fewer items flagged by UWSC, WISCITS in HRS). We document processes when possible; when we respond differently to similar questions, we communicate the reasons transparently. We know where to find resources for performing our work. Change Management We as a community proactively prepare for needed change, think critically, and understand various change management models to choose from when implementing change. We develop a culture of change, such that we become comfortable with and embrace change as a natural process in our organizations. Collaboration At all levels, we cultivate leadership skills, emotional intelligence and the habit of serving in business partnership with each other and stakeholders. Communications, networking, and relationships within our community improve; units, departments, divisions, and OHR become more inter-dependent. Ethics & Integrity We generate an ethical decision-making process for solving HR-related dilemmas on campus. We see increased confidence in our decision-making, judgment, and integrity. Execution The delegation of accountability for results is appropriate and fosters professional growth; resources are well utilized and managed. Our communication of information is proactive, consistent, and cultivates trust in HR. Problem Solving As a community, we develop a decision-making framework for solving problems at UW-Madison. We see increased efficiencies (i.e., fewer problems going to OHR) and more innovative/ creative approaches to HR-related challenges. HR@UW Competencies Cohort Program Page 3 Last updated August 2, 2017
Feedback also suggested overall impacts and markers of success, such as that the program will meet the needs of HR & Payroll professionals at all levels. There will be increased credibility and support for the program from campus leadership and our customers, who may see possibilities for applying this approach to other areas (e.g., Finance, Purchasing). Retention in HR and Payroll will improve due to provisions for training and the delineation of career paths. Competency language will be reflected in HR and Payroll position descriptions and in performance management goal-setting, etc. Turnover will reflect more promotional opportunities than departures. Finally, there will be an increased sense of trust within the HR & Payroll Community and respect for HR at UW-Madison overall. Program Format, Stages & Requirements The program format utilizes a cohort model, which emphasizes learning face-to-face in community over time. Engagement in online discussions foster continuity of relationships in between face-to-face meetings. Each cohort may have up to eighteen (18) people in roles ranging from HR and Payroll to Department Administrators and other roles with ongoing, significant HR and/or Payroll responsibility. Implementation of the program will progress in three stages: Learning Stage (7 months) There are six elements of the Learning Stage: 1. 360-Degree Competencies Inventory. Prior to the first face-to-face meeting, enrolled cohort participants will be asked to complete a 360-Degree Competencies Inventory ( 360 ) related to the HR competencies. 360-degree feedback tools collect and compare an individual s self-assessment with feedback from one s manager, colleagues, customers and employees whom one manages (if applicable). Using this tool can help you understand how you perceive yourself and how others perceive you in terms of the seven HR@UW Competencies. Additionally, with information from the 360, you ll be able to identify which of the competencies might demand more of your focus. Postcohort 360 feedback will be used to help discern progress. 2. Cohort Meetings. Each cohort will meet face-to-face seven (7) times over 7 months for 3 hours each. Meetings will be organized around the following core content modules: (1) Welcome & Program Overview; Introduction to our Foundational Competency: Engagement, Inclusion and Diversity (2) Collaboration (3) Ethics & Integrity (4) Change Management (5) Problem Solving (6) Execution (7) Integration & Celebration of Completion HR@UW Competencies Cohort Program Page 4 Last updated August 2, 2017
3. Readings. Each face-to-face meeting will be accompanied by relevant reading assignments. It is not expected that you will read every page in great depth, but rather scan some and read others in depth. This expectation is a guiding norm for adult learners, whom we assume seek relevance and meaning in readings according to respective needs and interests. Readings can be expected to take up to 2 hours per month. 4. Online Discussions. You ll be asked to synthesize thinking and share learning and insights gleaned from face-to-face meetings, readings, and day-to-day work experiences by participating in online discussions. Questions will be prompted weekly or biweekly. For each question, you ll be expected to post an original response as well as respond meaningfully to the post of at least one other participant in the cohort. Online discussion participation can be expected to take up to 3 hours per month. 5. Small Group Presentation. You ll sign up in your first cohort gathering to do an informal presentation on the topic of one of the seven competencies. Presentations will be done in small groups of 2-3 cohort members. These presentations are opportunities to takes risks and learn versus operate from already established strengths. 6. (Optional) HR Technical Knowledge Consultation Sessions. Lastly, optional individual or small group consultations for the competency, HR Technical Knowledge and Expertise will be available to you in the Learning Stage to gauge technical learning needs. In summary, the monthly time commitment during the Learning Stage will require 8 hours per month: 3 hours attending face-to-face meetings 2 hours scanning outside readings (spread throughout month, tied to online discussions) 3 hours participating in online discussions, generally around required readings (prompted weekly/ biweekly, spread throughout the month), and preparing for your small group presentation. You may choose to engage additional time in readings and online discussion as your time allows. Cohort participants who meet the objectives and expectations listed above will receive a Certificate of Development (see page 8) at the end of the Learning Stage. Practicing Stage (3 months) There are two key elements in the Practicing Stage, one of which is required (the other optional): 1. Professional Development Plan (PDP). Throughout the Learning Stage, we ll introduce the concept of the PDP. As we focus on each competency, we share what practicing a given competency might look like. You ll develop a draft of your own PDP, starting anytime over the seven (7) Learning months and completing the written plan by the Integration & Celebration session, with a week or two after the Integration & Celebration session to revise `as needed. The PDP affords significant opportunity for self-authorship, along with networking and collaboration within and beyond the cohort community to emphasize the habits of partnership. You ll have the Practicing Stage to fulfill your PDP. Drafting the PDP prior to the completion of the Learning Stage will enable you to begin engaging in respective practice opportunities sooner, and is recommended, but not required. HR@UW Competencies Cohort Program Page 5 Last updated August 2, 2017
Ideally, your PDP will connect with your performance management plan within your division/ department, and will focus on the competencies requiring the greatest development, in support of your efforts to achieve a Certificate of Fluency (see page 8). A Learning Catalog will be compiled and updated by the HR CoP Office as a place to start. 2. (Optional) HR Presentation. The second element of the Practicing Stage is an optional presentation (solo or in a small group) to our HR or Payroll Community. Presentations may be offered at HR Reps or HRS Coordinators meetings, at the monthly HR@UW Monthly Learning Series, or at the annual HR@UW Conference. Presentations afford an opportunity to teach others critical and timely topics that you ve learned, and to practice all seven of the competencies: HR Technical Knowledge & Expertise: Choose from your collective real-world work experiences a case study, a program improvement opportunity, consultation process, or similar project with legitimate potential for application as the context of the presentation. Assessment of HR Technical Knowledge includes answers to the question: How well do you understand the problems/ issues that you face? Engagement, Inclusion & Diversity (EID): Present an analysis of the HR technical problems/ issues through the lens of EID, as well as reflect on individual EID learning processes. Collaboration, Ethics & Integrity, Change Management, Problem Solving, and Execution: Demonstrate competence in these facilitative competencies through the substance of the presentation. Collaboration: If presenting in a small group, demonstrate this competency explicitly via the group s process of working together to plan, develop and implement the presentation. You ll have an opportunity to discuss how each group member collaborated throughout the presentation project. Presentations will be evaluated using a rubric that will define criteria for exemplary, satisfactory and non-satisfactory work. This rubric will be clarified and communicated to participant presenters as well as evaluators prior to engaging in presentation preparations. The evaluation of presentations will primarily be elicited from an evaluation panel that may include the HR Competencies Visioning Team as well as others in leadership roles within HR and Payroll who seek an opportunity to contribute their experience and wisdom. Presentations will be open for the larger HR and Payroll community to attend (i.e., if offered as part of the HR@UW Monthly Learning Series or the HR@UW Conference), and feedback from colleagues may supplement the panel s evaluation. The monthly time commitment during the Practicing Stage will likely vary between participants given the depth of each individual s PDP. We estimate 8 to 10 hours per month between activities sought to fulfill the PDP and small group presentation planning activity. HR@UW Competencies Cohort Program Page 6 Last updated August 2, 2017
Demonstrating Stage (individualized timeline) This is still in development. We envision that the program s assessment and evaluation mechanisms will be accessible through rubrics and a portfolio of assessment opportunities: 1. Rubrics. Each competency is defined through behavioral attributes which can be seen and observed and which show progression among three different levels of knowledge and performance: Developing, Cultivating Fluency, and Mastering. Note that these levels are described in language that reflects a deliberate emphasis on the journey as an ongoing process, versus one that ends and which requires no ongoing development over the course of one s career at UW-Madison. It s worthwhile to reiterate that Engagement, Inclusion and Diversity is the foundational competency, and is defined within and integral to each of the other six competencies. 2. A portfolio of assessment opportunities, which may include but aren t limited to: 360 inventories, both pre- and post-cohort Formative assessment throughout the program, such as: Contributions to online discussions and small group presentations with a rubric for exemplary, satisfactory and unsatisfactory participation Periodic open-book concepts quizzes, which encourage attentiveness and note-taking in the information-sharing portion of the Learning Phase (note: information-sharing is comprises a minority of the face-to-face meetings so this need not be overwhelming) A cumulative individual project built over the course of the cohort and open to one s cohort at the end for sharing one s learning/ insights, soliciting informal feedback/ inquiry (guided by a rubric), such as an: e-portfolio or website Teaching video Traditional report A real-time, real-world group project, assessed by a panel as well as informally by one s colleagues (guided by a rubric) Public opportunities to disseminate knowledge (likely on a volunteer or nomination basis), such as: A showcase similar to the Teaching and Learning Symposium at UW-Madison, for the entire HR@UW community to attend Selected presentations highlighted in the December 2018 HR@UW Conference Summative assessment reflecting self-reflection and self-assessment of effort and impact, along with external feedback and input regarding the sum of all demonstration activity, such as: Reference checks Private consultations with cohort participants and their managers and/or teams The method for tracking progress in the program will include a Passport in which you ll track achievements along the way, marked by visa stamps to track your journey through respective competency explorations. HR@UW Competencies Cohort Program Page 7 Last updated August 2, 2017
Competencies Passport & Certificate of Completion The HR@UW Competencies Program is designed around the concept of a passport to emphasize the ongoing journey of learning and practice. Visa stamps will be issued to mark achievement of individual competencies at each of the three levels: Developing, Cultivating Fluency, or Mastering. Throughout the cohort learning process, your demonstrations of learning and practice will be assessed, with a recommendation to pass or encourage more work to be completed for respective competencies at the designated level. The HR Competencies Program Coordinator has final review and approval, in consultation with the HR-CoP Director and HRS Training Coordinator, who will ensure that technical learning opportunities align with acquiring certificates that result in changes in oversight, authority, and security roles. A Certificate of Completion will be awarded when you successfully demonstrate all seven (7) competency attributes at a designated level. This may or may not occur in a single Learning Practicing cycle. By design, this is an opportunity for continuous improvement, professional development, and contribution to the campus HR community. Three types of certificates may be awarded: Certificate of Development: This certificate celebrates the HR & Payroll professional who successfully demonstrates Developing level competence of the seven competencies through commitment to learn and practice the competencies in one s own work. Certificate of Fluency: This certificate celebrates the HR & Payroll professional who demonstrates Cultivating Fluency level competence of the seven competencies through the influencing of attitudes, knowledge, skill and work of others, and through commitment to learn and practice the competencies in collaboration with others. One must demonstrate competency at this level or higher to be considered as a mentor and subject matter expert (SME) who influences others in any given competency. Certificate of Mastery: This certificate celebrates the HR & Payroll professional who demonstrates Mastering level competence of the seven competencies in a visible leadership capacity. This certificate signifies a leader who influences the system of HR and Payroll at UW-Madison in the context of the seven HR@UW Competencies. The program is designed to be highly personalized and individualized, while simultaneously being accessible, easily administered, and at low- to zero-cost. There may be HR & Payroll professionals on campus who can successfully test out of a given competencies, for example, those with outside HR certifications and/or significant on-the-job experience. Testing out requires successful completion of all assessment processes associated with the competency. Assessment processes will incorporate ongoing dialogue with and input from various HR & Payroll communities of practice. HR@UW Competencies Cohort Program Page 8 Last updated August 2, 2017
Expectations of the Cohort The program is rigorous and demanding. In the Learning Stage, you ll need to be able to commit to attending all face-to-face meetings (3 hours/month), doing out-of-class readings (2 hours/month), and participating in online discussions (3 hours/month). In the Practicing Stage, you ll be expected to develop a Professional Development Plan (PDP) and subsequently complete the objectives of your plan with a high degree of self-direction. There will be program support for PDP work, but you ll take responsibility for your own learning in the PDP process. In the Practicing Stage, you ll also work with one to three colleagues to develop a presentation. Again, there will be program support and coaching for presentations, but you ll be expected to take initiative and ownership of the presentation process. The time commitment for PDPs and presentations will vary. We expect high quality work within the realm of what s reasonable in the context of one s work responsibilities. It is reasonable to expect to spend 8 to 10 hours per month fulfilling one s PDP and collaborating with others to develop the presentation. How to Participate Complete a Declaration of Interest. If you re interested in joining an upcoming cohort, and have successfully completed your initial one-year probationary period, please complete the Declaration of Interest. Your manager will be asked to confirm support for your participation given the time commitment. The Declaration of Interest is designed to help program organizers learn more about who will be joining the cohort. Those who declare interest will be accepted on a first come, first served basis until capacity of eighteen (18) has been reached per cohort. Cohorts will be limited to enable meaningful engagement, interaction and reflection, with individualized attention available to each cohort member. To access the form see https://www.ohr.wisc.edu/cop/docs/hr-at-uw-declaration-of-interest.pdf. Take the 360-Degree Competencies Inventory. Once admitted into the program, you ll be given a link to complete the electronic 360 to complete on one s own, as well as to send to others for their completion. Your 360 will need to be completed by you, your manager, and a minimum of three others: your colleagues, customers who know your work well, and for those of you who manage others, at least one of your employees. Responses of the manager, colleagues, customers, and employees one manages will be anonymous and presented in aggregate form ( Others ) for purposes of comparing with one s own assessment ( Self ). HR@UW Competencies Cohort Program Page 9 Last updated August 2, 2017
Testimony: Why this is Worthwhile! The experience of the participants in the pilot cohort suggests that the HR@UW Competencies Cohort Program is a transformational program unlike anything they expected. While we don t ignore the transactional challenges that HR and Payroll professionals face day-to-day, we focus our learning on competency development in ways that offer an opportunity to transform our ways of being and thinking, so that we might solve problems and innovate in new ways. I walked into the first Cohort meeting wondering what it was about and what I could learn. I walked out with a sense of excitement for the knowledge and ideas I garnered and especially for the camaraderie and trust developed with all of my fellow cohorts. Kathy Mather "Old dogs can definitely learn new tricks! Even if you've been around the block a time or two, you will learn a lot about yourself and build new relationships from which you will continue to learn. Lifelong learning people!" Bethany Pluymers The cohort has provided great connections with colleagues and an incredible breadth of learning opportunities that are impactful in my role. I have absolutely no regrets about my choice to participate and feel that I will benefit from the experience for years to come! Todd Schry The open discussions and sharing of experiences as they pertain to real life for all of us [have been most meaningful]. Anonymous Every cohort meeting has great topics, engaging activities. I learn so much from my colleagues! Anonymous What s been most meaningful so far includes the space for engaging in self-reflection, both collectively and individually, and focusing on those Quadrant II things [from the Covey time management grid]. Anonymous For more information, email communities_of_practice@ohr.wisc.edu. HR@UW Competencies Cohort Program Page 10 Last updated August 2, 2017