Creating Agility

Agile workforces don't just appear. Agility is possible when vertical structures are changed into competence meshes, and employees don't have to slog through a performance appraisal cycle to learn their value.

What does a competence mesh look like? In a competence mesh, employees act as intrapreneurs, producing valued outputs rather than their own perfect (in their mind) constructs of their mastered skill. 

You can't achieve full agility with your standard employee evaluation and development structures. 

Meaningful Competence™ is a dramatically different approach designed to build an agile workforce. Through the use of Meaningful Competence™ and its tools, employees:

• Clearly and continuously see the real value they bring to the organization and to themselves. Wouldn't that be more enjoyable than the annual appraisal rating of "meets expectations?"
• Discover ways to increase real value to obtain better pay, promotions, and opportunities. Can you see how that would increase employee engagement?
• Communicate their real value rather than hope to be discovered. Wouldn't it be nice to reveal hidden talent?
• Become intrapreneurs who are capable and vested in the organization and can contribute to the desired agility. This is a leader's dream.

Challenges addressed: Employee engagement, Business acumen

Using the Metric Microscope, employees develop their Relevant Business Results. With their Relevant Business Results:

• They always know the real value they're bringing to the organization.
• They're clear on what their supervisor and senior leaders care about.
• They have resumé material needed for more objective performance appraisals and to obtain a desired organizational move.

Challenges addressed: Unclear expectations, Rapid changes, Perception-based evaluation

Using the Value Detector, employees create Value-Added Outputs that contribute to favorable Relevant Business Results. 

• Their focus moves from being busy to producing results that move metrics. 
• They find strategies that produce even more Value-Added Outputs, increasing their contribution to your organization.
• They increase their personal sense of value, building a career rather than just performing jobs.

Challenges addressed: Rapid change, Organizational agility, Problem solving

It's amazing how one seemingly small organizational move can cause a ripple that destroys what was once efficient and effective. Using the Individual Mesh, employees will:

• Identify the relationship issues within the organization that inhibit the production of Value-Added Outputs.
• Create personal career problem statements that increase the relevance of their current and future Value-Added Outputs.
• Understand what they need to focus on to improve their current work situation and remain agile.

Challenges addressed: Self development, Competence growth, Personal deficiencies

There's no way you can provide all the training an employee needs. The Competence Levers tool turns employees into their own talent development consultants. Using this tool, they:

• Build personal competence development plans that include more elements than "attend company-required training."
• Know how to build competence even when resources are tight.
• Identify and create resources within the organization that accelerate growth.

Challenges addressed: Invisible value, Undesirable turnover, Poor hiring/promotion decisions

Most misunderstandings occur when communication is infrequent. With the Relevance Microphone, organizations:

• Conduct ongoing discussions around employee value rather than hold "annual surprises."
• Recognize key contributors and understand their true replacement cost.
• Integrate real time performance incentives into their employee recognition program.

For years training programs have focused on:

• Leadership development
• Employee skills relevant to job performance
• Safety and regulatory training

We've had some great results. Productivity increased. Workplace injury rates dropped. 

What's next? Expand on what you currently have to create a workforce that can successfully adapt and thrive in this crazy, changing world. The Agile Workforce Academy includes several resources that provide employees with the strategy and tools they need to remain agile and contribute real value to the organization.

Here's what you'll find in the Agile Workforce Academy.

When you look at the programs and their descriptions, you'll see that I don't provide program objectives. Instead I provide my Value-Added Outputs related to the program. My success is not based on getting wealthy by selling programs. As you will learn in these programs, my success shows up in the metrics that demonstrate production of my Value-Added Outputs.

It makes sense that success for a program such should be measured one individual at a time rather than using some vague Return on Investment or an irrelevant statistic showing number of clients served.

Here are the programs that will turn your organization into an agile workforce that's always focused on producing the value you really need.