Amanda Johnson

HR Project Manager – Succession Planning

Aims of session

• What was I aiming to do and why

• My approach

• What went well….

• What are the bits I don’t really want to admit to – but where the real learning is

My journey

• How on earth did I end up here……..?

• You are getting the short version!

• I hope to illustrate how persistence, leadership and a positive approach can bring about tangible benefits, even during difficult times.

The first set of lessons….

1. Never admit to something in the Police sector, you become the subject expert

2. Never have a bright idea and take it to the Deputy Chief Constable unless you are prepared for the consequences

3. Decisions are not made quickly.

Lesson 1

• Headhunted

• Assistant Training Manager

• Succession Management guru.

Succession Management in

Hertfordshire

Succession

Planning

Recruitment

PerformanceDevelopmentRe

view

Replacement Forecasting

Promotion Development

Integrated Competency Framework

Career Pathway

Management

Organisation

Development

Retention

Chief Officers

Constable

Sergeant

Inspector

Chief Inspector

Superintendent

Chief Superintendent

Rank Structures

What was the problem…Identify and develop the right people to be in

the right posts at the right times.

But…..

The Force was and still is at full establishment for Sgts and Insps

i.e….

No longer jobs for everyone who wants promotion

How identify right people…

• Actual question – How identify potential leaders

Other problems were:

• National exam has a ‘shelf life’

• Some officers who had been most strongly promoted by their managers were demonstrated, with substantive evidence, to be weaker than others

Lesson 2 – My MSc

• Regional Collaboration with Leicester Business School, De Montfort University

• MSc in Management programme to “specifically meet the needs of senior professionals across the Justice Sector”

• We were invited to join the first cohort to pilot the programme and elected to fund two places – a Police Officer and a member of Police Staff.

• Guess who ‘won’ the Police Staff place!

My dissertation

• Lots of research on both Leadership and ways of assessing those who have the ‘potential’ for leadership

• Interviews and focus groups to determine the competencies which underpinned our leadership charter

What I found….

• Identified five competencies which underpin our leadership charter

• But the five competencies are difficult to assess in traditional ways (AC’s/SJQ’s)

• Needed an assessment method which provided enough discrimination if it were to be used it for selection.

What I decided…

• Determined 360 feedback was best way to identify Leadership Potential

• But, it all said “should only be used for development” – quandary…

• The maverick in me said “Why not….?”• The need to be fair, open and robust in

selection process was paramount.

A ‘diagnostic’ tool which would:

• Be accepted by the participants and the Police Federation as a fair, objective process

• Provide greater differentiation between candidates, on specific competencies, than other methods used in the past

• Validate the Leadership model for the Constabulary

• Provide constructive developmental feedback for all participants irrespective of outcome

• Did not take excessive time to complete.

What did we need…

Wanted to use the Performance / Potential grid

Already had national annual appraisal process – PDR – Performance Development Review

360 established as best method for identifying potential – but how to use for selection purposes not just developmental

Head Light Communications helped achieve this.

Lesson 3 – it takes time…

• It takes a long time from concept to action (unless it’s a critical incident of course)

• My first e-mail to Ian was on 25th April 2007

• I had my five competencies but how create a short enough questionnaire.

ICF• National standards of

performance and behaviours

• Forms basis of PDR and role profiles

• Activities – what• Behaviours – the how

PLQF• Leadership model

around styles, values, ethics, standards and competencies

• Evidential framework• Three ‘new’

behaviours

The PLQF behavioural indicators were rolled into the 12 behaviours of the ICF as revised or new behavioural indicators – It still meant I had over 160 indicators in my five competencies to choose from

Creating the Questionnaire

Our Leadership questionnaire

Behavioural Indicators PLQF and C/Insp level

Leadership Charter

ICF and PLQF

New Lesson

• Not really a lesson but a potential show stopper

• The Police is a Command and Control culture

• This is a key strength but not for what I needed!

How did I move it forward…

• Needed a pilot

• Needed management buy-in (tricky one!)

• Needed benchmark data

Pilot it and setbenchmark data

= = +

+Leadership360

Review

How using it nowSeries of steps to get promoted

Good competent PDR and aspiration

Take and pass national exam

Selected for 360

PDR + 360 12 month Promotion

Development programme

360 + PDR

Potential: Overall 360 score

Perf

orm

an

ce

Overa

ll PD

R s

core

s

Obje

ctiv

es

+

Behavio

urs

*

*

* *

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Ch InspSet for rank

Variable to get highest performers & potential to meet demand

*

**

*

PDR + 360Officers in three categories:• Category 1 – those deemed ready for promotion now

(meet 360 benchmark). Invited to final selection process• Category 2 – those deemed ready for promotion within

the next 12 months (they will require a development plan, recorded on their PDR and will need to take the 360 within the next 12 months). Regarding “Acting” opportunities. Officers need to be selected from this pool.

• Category 3 – those who are not deemed ready for promotion within 12 months and require a detailed discussion with their line manager as to the development required. They exit the process at this point and will need to re-enter at a later date.

Where are we now..

• It isn’t perfect – have about 80% correlation with PDR+360 = Good performance on final selection

• Have had issues with performance on the 12 month development programme

• Our Federation and the national Federation love it!

• Officers consider it to be fair and they understand it….

My final messageStanly Kubrick illustrates one of the underlying challenges we face - “our ability to talk about a subject matter can create the consoling illusion that it has been mastered.”

Have I done what it said on the tin?

So it’s question time!