Training Industry Magazine - Summer 2023 - 35

When a terminal step is missed or
improperly performed, this automatically
identifies the employee's inability
to demonstrate competency in
that
particular skill. The employee will
receive remedial training before being
reassessed for competency.
Each job-related core task must have
one performance objective per skill
being evaluated. To personalize
the
evaluation, you must identify the
conditions needed to complete the task,
including the minimum passing score, as
well as the steps that must be correctly
demonstrated. Employees, whenever
possible, should have their skills
assessed in a real-world setting. This is
referred to as authentic assessment.
Stage 5: Train Evaluators and
Pre-test the Rubric
Employees will say they are
not
against change, but experience has
shown they are against changing.
This goes for the evaluators, too. Prior
to using a newly developed rubric
to quantitatively measure employee
competency, it is imperative to train the
evaluators (i.e., trainers and managers)
on how to properly explain and/or use
it. The integrity of competency-based
assessment depends largely upon the
rubrics and how well they are used
by evaluators.
Consider using hypothetical employee
examples of core tasks to train the
evaluators on how the relevant job tasks
and/or skills were identified and how to
measure them using the quantitative
rubric. Develop three or four different
hypotheticals for various work-related
skills to make sure the evaluators
learn to use the measurement system
consistently and objectively. After
each hypothetical skill assessment,
ask the evaluators to discuss how they
measured competency. This is a great
opportunity to address any confusion or
ambiguity, and to seek rubric feedback.
Amend the rubric or the evaluator
training based on their feedback.
Hypothetical Situation and
Quantitative Skill Rubric
Assume a high school requires its faculty
and staff to know how to properly apply
an automatic external defibrillator (AED).
Annual competency assessment and
documentation of these employees is
required (psychomotor domain), along
with a written assessment (cognitive
domain). A singular skill competency
quantitative rubric is shown in the sidebar.
Stage 6: Communicate
the Quantitative Rubric to
Employees
Discuss the quantitative competency
rubric with employees so they will
understand how it will be used to
objectively evaluate their competency
about job knowledge and/or skills (for
example, the correct application of
AED pads to the chest area). No one
likes surprises, unless it
is a birthday
party or gift, so educate them about
the assessment process. Explain how
the quantitative rubric was designed to
objectively measure and determine their
job-related competencies.
Failing to measure
the job and skill
competencies
of employees
objectively and
quantitatively is
not a problem until
it becomes one.
training and reassessment, make sure
these are explained in a positive and
encouraging manner.
Employee Hurdles
Keep in mind that today's employees may
not speak English as a first language or
may have a learning or other disability that
may impact their knowledge and/or skill
assessments. Depending on the hurdle,
evaluators may need to make reasonable
accommodations for those employees. If
an employee has trouble taking an online
or written cognitive domain assessment
because of vision impairment or dyslexia,
for example, a reasonable accommodation
may be reading the question and possible
answers before asking the employee to
verbally identify the correct answer.
Risk Management
In summary, competency-based
assessments help organizations manage
risk through quantitative measurement
of employee core tasks. Should a
customer claim an employee caused a
personal or property injury because of
incompetency, providing competencybased
assessments will help to mitigate
these allegations. Of course, there is
always operator error, even when the
employee was deemed competent in
job knowledge and/or skills. Similarly,
reviewing a quantitative competency
rubric with a disgruntled employee and
explaining the competency assessment
was objective and not subjective, may
eliminate further legal action.
Stage 7: Review Outcomes with
Employee
Following
the
competency-based
assessment, review its results with the
employee regardless of the outcome
(pass or need remedial instruction).
Focus on the positive and how the
quantitative rubric helps all employees
improve their job knowledge and/
or skills, and how this impacts their
career and the organizational mission.
For those employees who need remedial
TRAINING INDUSTRY MAGAZINE - SUMMER 2023 I WWW.TRAININGINDUSTRY.COM/MAGAZINE
Developing competency-based
assessments takes time, but after they
are developed, these assessments
can be used until there are changes
in job knowledge, skills or training.
Evaluator favoritism of the employee
and/or implicit or actual bias are
also minimized or eliminated using
quantifiable and objective rubrics to
measure, determine and document
employee job competencies.
John G. Peters, Jr., Ph.D., has over 30
years of experience as an instructional
designer and in developing job-related,
competency-based
skill
rubrics. He holds a post-doctoral M.A.
in career and technical education
from California State University, San
Bernardino. Email John.
35
assessment
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