What with the Oscars, BAFTAs, Emmys, Grammys and the good old Brits, it’s that time of year again when the great and the good receive their respective special gongs for outstanding achievement in their field. So let’s not forget that Qdos has also been handing out its own awards for 2013 this week at a low budget and mostly pastry-based apology for a free lunch in the office rest room.
The nominations in the various categories were enthusiastically and warmly applauded by those staff who happened to be on their lunch break at the time. However, the constant pinging of the microwave oven throughout the ceremony did disrupt the proceedings from time to time although it did mean that the pastry based offerings were at least lukewarm. So here goes with a selection from the list of this year’s winners, as chosen by our Managing Director:
Best Director Our esteemed Managing Director (5TH year running)
Best Picture The one of our MD at the end of the Christmas party
Best Costume design The tie worn by our MD at the Christmas party
Best Actor in a leading role Our esteemed MD, week in, week out
Best Foreign language film The Swedish one he gave to a fellow director
The winners of our awards are beginning to become a little repetitive but wait - the award for outstanding performance by a female in a leading role goes to a 67 year old Belgian lady by the name of Sabine Moreau, a lady driver of unique talent. Hers was a story of ineptitude of the sort that other humans can only dream of. The question of whether a man could have achieved such a level of performance in similar circumstances is one we may never be able to answer and is probably an issue that we should, if you will, park for another day.
In brief, Sabine set off one day to travel some 30 miles to a nearby station in Belgium to collect a friend and set her satnav to assist her journey. She trusted her satnav and followed its guidance so faithfully that it took her through six different COUNTRIES before she eventually arrived in Zagreb, Croatia after a trip of 900 miles. Three cheers for Sabine! The return trip to her home in Belgium was eventually negotiated safely by which time she had spent 60 hours on the road, apart from multiple fuel stops and some short catnaps in various laybys.
Her gross incompetence leads us to examine the elements that might be used by employers in competency based performance appraisal methods or other applications. A competency is a behaviour or attribute that an individual needs to perform their work tasks effectively. The analysis of one or more competencies can be used by employers for a number of related purposes, including:
- As a basis for employee performance reviews/appraisal
- Improving employee effectiveness in their role
- Greater overall team/organisation performance
- Training needs analysis
- Basis for job descriptions and job evaluation
- Career development and management
A competency framework is an analytical tool that describes the individual competencies required by the individuals working within an organisation. Competency frameworks will often contain a description and specific references within a job role to:
- Problem solving skills
- Internal/external communication skills
- People/team management skills
- Financial acumen
- Customer orientated service skills
- Results/ outcomes focus
Do contact Qdos for any advice on the development of competency frameworks for your business.
As for Sabine, her award was accepted on her behalf by one of the Qdos HR consultants as, unsurprisingly, she failed arrive in time to collect it in person and was last heard of boarding a ferry en route to the Orkneys. Women drivers, eh?
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