Embedding inclusive and successful behaviors in an ever-changing environment

Client challenge

As part of its strategic plan, this intergovernmental organization wished to enhance and develop the competence of its current and future staff. To do this, the behaviors and attributes that lead to success across all levels and roles needed to be clarified. 

The outcomes of this clarification process could then serve as a starting point to continue successfully providing services around the world, while responding to an ever-changing environment.  It was essential that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion behaviors were included in this framework to enable them to meet their ambitions.

The organization sought to define what great looks like both now and in the future

Solution

The organization partnered with Talogy and launched the project with their People and Strategy team. The Talogy team conducted 15 focus groups with staff across the world at all levels and from a broad cross-section of roles. Talogy also conducted 12 visionary interviews with senior leaders across the organization to understand their future vision and direction. Behaviors arising from the focus groups and interviews were then grouped into eight competencies across five organizational levels. To ensure the design was inclusive an organization-wide validation survey was opened out to all staff, offering them the opportunity to comment on the draft competencies and their relevance to their daily roles. Through an iterative process, the framework was adjusted and perfected.  A cross-cultural review ensured that the language in the framework was accessible and relevant across countries and cultures.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion behaviors are embedded throughout their people processes, enabling positive systemic change

Outcomes

The competency framework was launched to a group of HR leaders from across multiple countries with an interactive train-the-trainer session on both the framework and competency-based interviewing. These HR leaders were then mandated to arrange local training sessions to introduce the framework and the best practice principles of competency based interviewing to their teams. The integration into various HR processes has then gradually started: Introduction of the new Competency Framework into vacancies announcements, tailored learning and development offers to develop these new competencies and the full integration into the performance management system.  This has meant diversity, equity, and inclusion behaviors are embedded throughout their people processes, enabling positive systemic change.