New model of assessment by competencies

First implemented in 1998, the competencies model has evolved with the aim of aligning professional development and skills with the strategy and directions defined by a changing economic and social landscape, in a manner that is consistent with the Group's culture and values.

Special attention is placed on the various stakeholders, such that customers and professionals appear in competencies such as customer service, commercial administration, management and personal development, amongst others. The overarching principle of comprehensive engagement with society is made explicit.

The design, discussion and implementation of this corporate model has drawn on the active participation of people from all functional and geographical areas in the Group.

The key new developments include:

• The definition of new competencies and the redefinition of other competencies in line with changing market requirements.
• Changes in the competency measurement system to base it on the assessment of observable behaviours.

The system has been implemented using the following communications channels:

• Direct presence: the new model was presented to members of the Management Committee, trade union sections and different levels of management, so that they could explain it to the members of their respective teams.
• Online through the e-personas portal: all employees have ready access to a catalogue of all competencies and their content at the organisational level.  After the 2008 competencies evaluation has been conducted, each employee can see his or her individual results.
• Other communication channels: report published in the La Caja magazine and review inserted in the En 30 segundos internal newsletter.
• Training
  • Direct presence: a programme was designed and implemented to train new evaluators. It can also be obtained through the general catalogue of training actions.
  • Online: three multimedia training clips were produced. A general introductory one describes the new competencies model, while the other two are intended for persons with experience and explain the assessment by competencies process — one from the viewpoint of the evaluator and the other for the person being evaluated.