One of the primary roles of an HR executive is to ensure talent sustainability across the organization. This is usually accomplished through a number of HR processes such as job design, compensation, recruiting, posting and internal selection, promotions, learning and growth feedback, skill development and succession planning. Each of these processes requires information to support the process.

Informational Requirements

The informational requirements vary based on the process. Recruiting, for instance, requires information about the job, which is then matched to the candidates’ information. Learning and Growth Feedback requires information about the job expectations (duties of the job and specific goals of the individual), as well as, capturing information about the employee’s learning and growth relative to the job expectations.  Typically, each process collects information independently of other HR processes. The recruiter collects job information from the hiring manager to develop the recruiting criteria. The manager develops and assesses employee goals for purposes of learning and growth feedback but often does not explicitly consider the broad deliverables of the position (this assessment is usually done implicitly). Succession Planning requires a separate set of inputs related to the job and candidates.

It would be much more effective to have a central data-bank of job information and employee information (such as employee goals, employee learning and growth, employee competencies and job history) that can be merged to support these HR processes. For example, a central data-bank and the appropriate algorithms could compare the job requirements of a vacant position with the experience of employees (job history, employee learning and growth, employee competencies) to help identify the best candidates for internal selection or to assist succession planning. Similarly, a central data-bank could identify the job requirements of a vacant position to expedite dialogue with managers to establish recruiting criteria. A central data-bank could suggest skill development ideas to fill competencies gaps identified in learning and growth feedback discussions.

Data Management

This common sense approach to data management is at the core of Encompassing Visions. Encompassing Visions (ENCV) uses a competency based multiple-choice questionnaire that collects job information (e.g. knowledge, responsibility, etc.) but also cultural attributes that may be inherent in the job (e.g. integrity, leadership, etc.) The later criteria are customized based on the cultural attributes that are important to the organization. The database can also house technical requirements of the job as well as the related training vehicles associated with those technical qualifications. ENCV’s central database also houses employee information based on these competencies and technical qualifications.  For example, the employee’s learning and growth relative to the competencies of the position (as well as employee goals), and the employee’s job history and the competencies related to those jobs are all stored in the database. The software merges these streams of data to provide powerful information to operationalize HR processes such as internal selection, succession planning and recommends training vehicles to address learning and growth gaps and many others. The organization still needs the process architecture to use this information and to make decisions; however, the use of a central database and system-generated recommendations facilitates the decision-making.

ENCV enables greatly improved efficiencies by centrally collecting and storing job and employee information in terms of competencies then merging data to provide powerful information to inform multiple HR processes.

ENCV is a significant breakthrough in HR efficiency.

Chris Howe is the Principle of CJ Howe & Associates. Prior to establishing his company, Chris worked for major Human Resource consulting firms (Tower Watson, Hewitt and Mercer) and led the Human Capital practice for Hewitt for a number of years. In addition, Chris led the Compensation function for two major Canadian companies and served as a senior HR leader in a global energy company.