Repeatable Practices

To achieve the Managed Level, Maturity Level 2, managers begin performing basic people management practices.such as staffing, managing performance, and making adjustments to compensation.as a repeatable management discipline. The organization establishes a culture focused at the unit level for ensuring that people are able to meet their work commitments. In achieving Maturity Level 2, the organization develops the capability to manage skills and performance at the unit level.

The process areas at Maturity Level 2 are Staffing, Communication and Coordination, Work Environment, Performance Management, Training and Development, and Compensation. These six process areas are briefly described in the following paragraphs. High-level relationships among these process areas are depicted in Figure 3.2.

Staffing
The purpose of Staffing is to establish a formal process by which committed work is matched to unit resources and qualified individuals are recruited, selected, and transitioned into assignments. Staffing is positioned as the primary process area at Maturity Level 2 since staffing decisions provide an organization’s greatest opportunities to influence performance. All other practices designed to improve the capability of the workforce must start from the baseline of talent brought into positions within the organization. Managers balance the unit’s work commitments with its available staff, since few organizational processes are able to demonstrate their potential benefits in organizations that are chronically overworked. Managers take responsibility for recruiting talent for open positions and they coordinate with organizational recruiting activities, both internally- and externally-focused. A formal selection process is developed to ensure thorough and fair evaluation of the skills and other qualifications of each candidate. Mechanisms are established for transitioning people into new positions, among assignments, or if necessary, out of the organization.

Communication and Coordination
The purpose of Communication and Coordination is to establish timely communication across the organization and to ensure that the workforce has the skills to share information and coordinate their activities efficiently. Communication and Coordination establishes the initial basis for developing and empowering workgroups. This process area establishes a culture for openly sharing information and concerns across organizational levels and among dependent units. Prior to having the defined processes that aid the development of workgroups at Maturity Level 3, workgroup performance depends on people having the skills required to coordinate their activities and manage shared dependencies. Prior to the availability of defined processes, the interpersonal communication and coordination skills need to be developed to provide a foundation for the structured development of workgroups at higher levels.

Work Environment
The purpose of Work Environment is to establish and maintain physical working conditions and to provide resources that allow individuals and workgroups to perform their tasks efficiently without unnecessary distractions. The work environment must be managed to ensure it supports the committed work of those in the organization. This process area focuses on both the resources provided for performing work, and the physical conditions under which the work is performed. Management must balance expenditures on resources and environment with justifications based on the work being performed. Managers monitor resource needs and environmental conditions that affect their unit and mitigate those problems judged to present serious risks to health, safety, or efficiency.

Performance Management
The purpose of Performance Management is to establish objectives related to committed work against which unit and individual performance can be measured, to discuss performance against these objectives, and to continuously enhance performance. The primary focus of performance management is on the continual discussion about the performance of work to identify ways to improve it. Discussions of performance focus not only on the individual, but also on work processes, resources, and any other issues that can be addressed to improve performance. The discussion of performance occurs in the context of measurable objectives those individuals or workgroups are trying to achieve in their work. These objectives are linked to committed work. The role of performance appraisal is primarily to record the results of performance for use as input to decisions about adjustments to compensation, personal development planning, staffing, promotion, and other workforce activities. Performance problems are managed and outstanding performance is recognized.

Training and Development
The purpose of Training and Development is to ensure that all individuals have the skills required to perform their assignments and are provided relevant development opportunities. The primary focus of Training and Development is on removing the gap between the current skills of each individual and the skills required to perform their assignments. Each unit develops a training plan to ensure that all individuals have the skills required by their assignment. Once individuals have the necessary skills to perform current assignments, they may focus their development activities on other objectives.

Compensation
The purpose of Compensation is to provide all individuals with remuneration and benefits based on their contribution and value to the organization. The organization must formulate a compensation strategy that motivates and rewards the skills and behaviors the organization considers vital to its success. Compensation represents the only process area at the Managed Level whose execution is coordinated by actions at the organizational level. Compensation must be coordinated primarily through centralized activity in order to establish a sense of equity in the system. Once the workforce perceives the system to be equitable, it can be adjusted to motivate the development of needed skills and better alignment of individual performance with that of the workgroup, unit, or organization. Periodic adjustments to compensation are reviewed to ensure they are equitable and consistent with the organization’s strategy and plan.