Telenor’s business development unit, Corporate Development, worked with TPG to develop a structured approach to secure critical competence necessary to realise their strategic business goals.
Important elements were to define and prioritise strategic competence areas, then to set down behaviours for differing levels in each area. In practice this involved describing a range of activities, progressing from incompetence to competence – and further, to expertise (where a person is competent to train others).
In addition to definition of critical competences, an overview of job-specific competence was developed for each unit. To enable leaders to make use of this, leaders were trained in dialogue and implementation in relation to competence. “Competence dialogues” were made an integral part of personnel reviews.
Close cooperation
Leaders in Telenor cooperated closely with TPG in development and implementation of this process. Mutual involvement was central – this took place through interviews of leaders and other key personnel, workshops with the leader team and with all the leaders in Corporate Development.
“TPG managed to engage with a business with a strong knowledge component in a way that created acceptance and ownership. Through the autumn of 2011 we performed competence dialogues with almost all of the approximately 280 employees,” reports Linda Kayser, HR responsible in Telenor Corporate Development.
An effect for Telenor is that competence has become important to discuss, and really has found a place on the agenda of both managers and employees. Leaders in Telenor have seen that they need to improve their own capabilities to engage in meaningful dialogue with their colleagues and employees. Individuals are more conscious of their roles and associated competences. At the same time, leaders have become more conscious of competences needed to delivery strategic goals.
“Employees take initiative themselves to achieve a better match between their competences and their roles in the organisation. We experience proactivity and drive among our worker which ensure better utilisation of competence, and not least, increases engagement and motivation,” underlines Kayser, who adds: “In sum we can say that we are in a better position to retain, recruit and develop competence necessary to reach our goals.”
