This is one fast-paced world we live in, and the IT Industry seems to be changing most quickly. Technological advancements are more radical than ever and this is influencing changes all around. What used to be is no more and even those things we thought would last forever, like Pagers, Nokia, Pay Phones, MySpace, Print Media etc…, are long gone. Just think about how many new technologies were created in the past year, how many new jobs exist and how many have gone extinct, what is popular now and how your life has changed … crazy isn’t it?!
While there is no way of knowing what will happen in the next few years, one thing is certain: we will be part of this change, whether we are ready for it or not.
So, it’s probably better to be ready than to be caught by surprise. As Talent Managers, we need to recognize that the nature of our job is changing just as quickly as the jobs we manage. Traditional HR is based on creating job descriptions and processes, it analyses the job and defines duties and tasks accordingly. The problem with this is that you end up playing catch-up with changes occurring on a global level. Think about it, defining the job of a taxi driver was a lot easier before the availability of car-sharing apps like Uber came along – now, it’s not just about getting people from place A to B, but the experience as well.
So, if you want to become the one that leads the change and not simply follows it, you must invest your time and energy not in job descriptions, but in the people doing the job and the core competencies needed to get the job done right.
Core competencies are competencies that make you successful at doing your job. They are identified by observing specific behaviors, skills, and characteristics of people that are successful in their jobs. They support personal development, provide us with information on how to improve our ability to recognize problems, how to learn and how to react to new situations. Ultimately, core competencies allow us to focus, not on what we should do, but on the quality of our work. It forces us to keep an open mind and open eyes to everything that is happening around us.
At Atlantbh, we recognized five core competencies that make us who we are:
While every Atlanter has all five of these competencies, we admit that none of us are perfect. Some Atlanters exhibit one competency more than others, but all Atlanters have every competency developed to some degree even if one or two may be stronger than the rest. One thing we have in common at Atlantbh is that we all love the thrill of being part of a team that is on the verge of change, creating something new and contributing to the world we live in … and our core competencies help us do this one day at a time.
In September, Atlantbh organized a Retreat Day for all Atlanters and this was a perfect opportunity to get to know each other a bit more. Besides hanging out, talking, laughing, playing games, sports, we also talked about us and our competencies. For a few hours, we were gathered in a circle and shared with each other our perception of ourselves.
Each Atlanter shared what he or she thinks it is their strongest competency and why, while holding a ball of yarn, and then would throw the yarn to another Atlanter who would do the same. In the end, we formed our ABH competencies web.
It was a unique experience to hear Atlanters talking about the weaknesses and competencies they want to develop as well as their strengths and the competencies they feel they possess. Atlanters were also able to thank their mentors and colleagues for helping them succeed, because the only way to develop ourselves is with the support of the people we work with.