The
new CIO of one of Canada’s premier financial institutions recognized the
IT unit within his organization was not enabling the business units to
meet their targets. LSM Consulting was engaged to define the required
competencies of the new mandate and implement a process to allow
employees and managers to manage their competency development. Our
search practice was also engaged at the executive level to recruit seven
executives to fill new and redefined positions. In addition to the
normal challenging selection criteria at this level, the CIO, also
wanted his new team members to be able to work effectively together from
day one and live the values that were felt to be critical to the unit
meeting its new mandate.
We
used our extensive database of competencies and jobs to build draft
competency job profiles for all positions in the IT department. We
developed a general classification structure of five levels, from
analyst to senior consultant and applied this template to all
positions. This not only simplified the previous structure of jobs, it
improved management’s ability to deploy staff in more effective ways.
The draft profiles were reviewed by employees and management teams for
accuracy and completeness prior to being implemented. The process
provided an objective basis for determining required learning and
development activities. In terms of the re-organization, the profiles
of employee competency provided useful input along with other data for
deciding re-assignments.
The seven executive positions
covered all functions of IT. The assignment was conducted using project
management methodologies. We met weekly with the client to review the
status of all applicants being presented, the status of interviews and
to review changes in the nature of the duties of the various jobs as
their roles shifted during the re-organization. Candidates of interest
were also presented to give the client an opportunity to take advantage
of any talent that might be of a fit into their future plans. These were
candidates that did not fit the profile of the vacancies but in our
opinion were excellent candidates for the operating environment of the
client. We conducted a salary survey in order to assist management in
understanding the differences in compensation between average and median
and for those candidates who previously led significant change
management initiatives.
Using our strength in building
compelling stories that accurately portray the client’s situation and
articulate why quality candidates should consider our client as their
next employer, coupled with our strong research capabilities and
selection criteria, all seven positions were filled within the time
schedule set by the client.
