Análisis de las tramas y direcciones asignadas

As stated in Section 5.2.1 above, competences is used in many HC definitions (OECD, 2001, 2011b; Roos et al., 1997; Tovistiga & Tulugurova, 2009); thus the findings detailed below support such previous definitions. One bank in New Zealand published their view of competencies as:

Measurable characteristics of employees that are related to their success at

work. (Website, Bank H)

Similarly, Bank G also gave an indication about how they measure competency.

We don’t think about the number of years of experience. It is a level of competency. We do check how long an employee has been with the bank.

We do check it on a quarterly basis. (Respondent G1)

Highlighting the importance of competences, some banks commented that a competency model (framework) consisted of many measurable characteristics or behaviours which help in defining each employee’s job role. These behaviours are not limited to one or two aspects of employees but include wide varieties of employee qualities or characteristics, for example, the ability to focus attention on detail, to build and maintain effective relationships with key stakeholders, to work under pressure, and to have leadership capabilities (Refer to Appendix B). As Bank H noted, owing to the complex nature of human behaviours, the characteristics that describe their employees are many and diverse and this situation results in a library of 67 competences (see the following comment).

As people are complex, the characteristics that describe their behaviour are

many and varied, resulting in a library of 67 competencies (Website, Bank

H)

Similarly to banks in Sri Lanka, the New Zealand banks interviewed also classified the broader list of competences into just a few major elements. Typical comments which help to identify the main theme are:

Competencies are measurable characteristics of a person that are related to their success at work. They may be behavioural skills, technical skills,

attributes (such as action oriented), or attitudes. (Website, Bank H)

There are probably a number of elements to it: one is related to the specific role so that would be determined by that role; so there will be particular competencies that we’d be looking for, particular skills, abilities, particular experience that we would be looking for from the employee. Ideally, we hope that someone would be able to demonstrate experience or relevance in each of those areas so that when they start the role they are actually

performing in a very short space of time. (Respondent H1)

Competences mean skills, abilities, and experience of employees.

(Respondent K1)

Based on these statements, this study defined the term "competences" in the New Zealand banks as “the combination of skills, attitudes, abilities and experience”. Of these four attributes, two: skills and attitudes, were in line with the literature (Glajchen & Bookbinder, 2001; Van Loo & Semeijn,

2004). Further, experience agrees with Sveiby’s (1997b) definition of competences while ability supports the study by Nordhaug (1993).

Among the four categories of competences, it could be observed that the experience of employees is more important than the other three components of competences, which was not supported in previous studies. According to banks' views, experience means not only the prior experience in a similar position or profession, but also experience with a particular job, the banking business, customer service, or other banking experience (Refer to Appendix B). Confirming the banks’ views, Gill, Sharma, Mathur, and Bhutani (2012) noted that experience includes the diverse set of experience as above. This wide range of experience provides the learning and required skills for employees to perform in the job successfully. This is evident in the response below.

When I think of skills, it really relates to how I go about executing my role, delivering on the requirements of my role. So if I think about the skills set which is particularly important for someone like me in my role, it is the ability to manage stakeholders. I think experience helps you build that skill

set. (Respondent H1)

The importance of experience was further emphasised by Respondents G1 and J1.

Just because you’ve done something lots of times it doesn’t necessarily mean you're good at it. Actually a bit of an area of interest for me is developing people through experience; the knowledge of learning, and I think you actually need a number of things in place to learn from

experience. (Respondent G1)

The experience is much more important than anything else for upper levels

especially. (Respondent J1)

Other than experience, respondents highlighted the importance of having employees that mirror positive attitudes. Typical comments published by the banks include:

Creating a workforce that reflects the attitudes and needs of the

communities in which we operate is a priority for us. (Annual Report, Bank

G, p. 5)

Your outstanding communication skills will be utilised and your positive,

motivated attitude will add real value to the team (Website, Bank H)

Self-motivated with a positive can do attitude (Website, Bank J)

To join this team you'll need to have strong interpersonal skills and a

The literature provides that employers in the service sector such as retail and hospitality industries are generally looking for soft skills, including attitudes, rather than hard skills (Gustafsson et al., 2005; Murthy, 2013); thus the banks’ views confirm previous evidence.

Though banks specifically noted the importance of having people with a positive attitude and the experience to execute a job successfully, no specific comments were given about skills and abilities, other than specifying a list of such desirable attributes of applicants and employees (Refer to Appendix B) and the way of developing them. In terms of developing skills and abilities, the New Zealand banks emphasised that they provide training and development for employees, based on need. If banks recognise weak areas of employee performance or where they need development, then the banks decide to provide the required training. As Interviewee H1 specified:

All the employees are entitled to this training and development program. Yes, it really is based on need. At the moment and this is a piece of work that my team will be involved in; we don’t have a leadership development program for all of our leaders.

Thus, it seemed that the New Zealand banks take responsibility for developing their employees.