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LeaderShift Job Modeling

Developing a Job Model is much more than just a job spec, position description or performance profile. The maxim, you can't manage what you don't measure, is certainly true in business. The LeaderShift Job Model enables us to identify and accurately measure the specific Behaviors, Motivators, and Competencies required for success on every job.

LeaderShift Job Modeling Process

If a job could talk, it would tell us exactly what sort of person it required for superior performance. Because jobs can’t talk, we've had to find other ways to work out what's important. The hard skills for a job are fairly easy to determine: things like level of education, experience and technical skills. What is sometimes harder to determine is what “type of person” would be most successful — one that would fit the role as well as the organizational culture.

What is Job Benchmarking?

The job modeling process identifies the traits and qualities that an ideal candidate needs in order to be successful in a particular position.

How does the Process Work?

What follows is an explanation of how benchmarking works with the LeaderShift Job Model using a real benchmarking example of a Vice President Business Development for a branded CPG company.

1. Identify the Specific Job to be Benchmarks and Begin with the Job.

To start, we would already have some idea about the kinds of traits that a successful candidate would need to have, but we're not completely sure which ones — or the level of importance of each trait. Benchmarking is used to identify the most important traits (e.g., the top 7 personal skills, the top 3 motivators, the top 3 behaviors) and define the required score in each.

Job Example: Vice President Business Development

 2. Identify the Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)

SMEs are the people that have a clear understanding of what the job is and what is involved in superior performance within that role.

Number: 5-7 SMEs.

Example: 1x CEO, 1x HR Director, 1x SVP Sales, 3x VP Sales.

3. SMEs Review / Create the Job Description

Creating a benchmark can take between 3 hours and a whole day, face-to-face with the SMEs and the hiring manager. The first step is to create (or review) the job description for the position with the hiring manager and SME group. There are 3 key components to every job description:

Duties: Create a list of all the activities/tasks involved in the job. (e.g., "Maintaining database records, meeting sales targets, meeting store visual presentation standards.")

Key Result Areas (KRAs): Group the list of duties together that are similar, then give them a title. (e.g., “Sales Management, Customer Service, Store Presentation.”)

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): A specific and measurable statement for each KRA. (e.g., "Achieving sales target of 50 widgets per month.") You can have multiple KPIs for each KRA.

4. SMEs Complete the Job Profile and Job Questionnaire

It is important to remind the SMEs to keep in mind the KRAs of the role as they complete the questionnaire.

Profile: “LeaderShift - Job”.

Time: 30-45 Minutes.

5. Create the Benchmark

The administrator produces the benchmark by combining the SME's responses together to produce a new report.

Profile: "LeaderShift - Multiple Respondent Job".

6. Validate the Benchmark

Once the benchmark has been produced, it must be reviewed and validated to ensure that it is accurate. This can be done by the following:

Compare high performers’ profiles to the benchmark.

Compare low performers’ profiles to the benchmark.

Debrief results with SME group.

Refine the benchmark if needed.

7. Profile the Candidates

After the benchmark has been finalized, it's time to start profiling candidates.

Profile: "LeaderShift - Talent Report".

Time: 30-45 Minutes.

8. Compare Candidates to the Benchmark

You can have multiple candidates' results compared to the benchmark in a single report.

Profile: "LeaderShift - Job/Talent Comparison".

9. Analysis & Recommendation

The final part of the process involves debriefing the hiring manager/stakeholders on each of the candidates' results and how they did in comparison to the benchmark.