USING UCAM
The UCAM may be used to carry out competency assessments for a variety of reasons. In each case, although the four core UCAM processes will always be needed, the order in which they are executed and, indeed, the number of times each one is executed may vary. Each reason for carrying out a competency assessment may be thought of as a different scenario for the application of the UCAM. This section briefly discusses three such scenarios and shows how the processes to be used and the order in which they are executed can be documented. It should be stressed that these scenarios show a few possible examples and do not, as such, represent an exhaustive list of possibilities.
Using UCAM for self-assessment
A common use for competency assessments is to undertake self-assessment, perhaps in order to establish personal training needs, as represented by the ‘Assess competency for self-assessment’ requirement in Figure 4.1 above. One such scenario is shown in Figure 4.25.
Figure 4.25 Scenario showing process execution for self-assessment
Figure 4.25 shows that in order to assess personal training needs for CPD, it is first necessary to execute the ‘CPD Planning’ process. This is one of the pre-UCAM support processes discussed above and is used here to establish which CPD aspects are to be assessed and hence to help identify any source frameworks that are needed for the assessment. The four core UCAM processes are then run in the order ‘Framework Definition’, ‘Framework Population’, ‘Assessment Set-up’ and ‘Assessment’ so as to understand any frameworks against which the self-assessment is to take place, set-up and then carry out the self-assessment.
Once the assessment is complete, it is necessary to use the results of the assessment to determine and then conduct the training that is required. The post-UCAM ‘Personal Training’ process is responsible for this aspect of the scenario.
Note here that the first such self-assessment exercise may be quite time-consuming due to the amount of work typically required by the ‘Framework Definition’ and ‘Framework Population’ processes. However, subsequent self-assessments should be much quicker as, although these two processes should still be executed, they should only take significant time if the source frameworks or applicable competency sets have changed. Such changes to the frameworks and applicable competency sets will typically be needed for self-assessments that are undertaken after a change of job role or responsibility. Also, if the organisation has already modelled the relevant competency frameworks, and so on, then the self-assessment burden is reduced.
Using UCAM for recruitment
The UCAM requirements shown in Figure 4.1 include the requirement to be able to ‘Assess competency for recruitment’. When using UCAM for this purpose, a typical scenario is shown in Figure 4.26.
Figure 4.26 Scenario showing process execution for recruitment
The scenario shows that in order to use the UCAM for recruitment, the first process that should be run is the ‘Framework Definition’ process. This ensures that the framework’s defining competencies that are relevant to the work undertaken by the organisation are clearly understood. The pre-UCAM ‘Job Description’ process is then executed, taking the framework information and information on the job to produce a job description described in terms of the competencies contained in the source frameworks. These competencies and the job description then feed into the ‘Framework Population’ process in order to help establish the applicable competency set and evidence types that are needed in order to carry out competency assessments as part of the recruitment process. The ‘Assessment Set-up’ and ‘Assessment’ processes are carried out in order to undertake the assessments, with the job description helping to define the competency scope as part of the ‘Assessment Set-up’ process.
Again, as with using UCAM for self-assessment, the first time it is used is likely to be time-consuming due to the nature of the ‘Framework Definition’ and ‘Framework Population’ processes. However, the time required will reduce with subsequent uses of the processes for recruitment as more and more frameworks are captured and the applicable competency sets, evidence types and even competency scopes are developed and enlarged with continued use.
Using UCAM for appraisals
When using the UCAM processes to meet the requirement to ‘Assess competency for staff appraisal’, then the scenario in Figure 4.27 applies.
Figure 4.27 Scenario showing process execution for appraisals
When using UCAM to conduct staff appraisals, it is first necessary to ensure that any source frameworks are understood, competencies identified and evidence types defined. The ‘Framework Definition’ and ‘Framework Population’ processes are run first to ensure that this preparation is carried out. The ‘Assessment Set-up’ process is then executed to define the various competency scopes that will be used as the basis of the assessments. The pre-UCAM ‘Assessee Preparation’ process is then executed. This informs the assessees of the purpose and scope of the assessment and of the types of evidence that will be required. The assessees can then gather such evidence and even familiarise themselves with the framework(s) against which they will be assessed. Once all are ready, the ‘Assessment’ process is executed in order to carry out the assessments.
This scenario describes what is, perhaps, the most common use of competency assessment. As with the other scenarios described above, repeated use of the UCAM processes will require less time as competency frameworks are understood and the supporting information such as applicable competency sets, evidence types and competency scopes are defined and reused from assessment to assessment.
Scenarios for the remaining two requirements of ‘Assess competency for accreditation’ and ‘Assess competency for education’ are not given here. Their definition is left as an exercise for the reader.