In the current economic climate, many companies are having to be more innovative and flexible. One of the keys to achieving innovative products or services is ensuring you have the resources and capabilities in place to deliver them.

You need a clear definition of the capabilities of your leaders and managers, and procedures for how individuals will be reviewed and supported. Some organisations develop formal competency frameworks, but what is most important is that the capabilities defined reflect the needs of your organisation and that you have an appropriate way of monitoring and improving performance.

Leaders and managers need to be reviewed regularly to understand their strengths and areas for development. And there needs to be support in place for them to develop and practice the necessary capabilities – whether through formal training, coaching, shadowing or other techniques.

When reviewing your peoples’ skills, you may wish to consider:

• Communicating at all stages – make sure that all your employees understand what is required of them or you may not get their full support.
• Identifying a benchmark – review how your people stack up against it – perhaps through self-assessments, or peer appraisals.
• Ensuring you have effective leaders and managers – you need to be clear about what capabilities and skills you need managers to have. Ensure you integrate these attributes into a formal appraisal system and into your reward and recognition programme.

For more information on how Investors in People can help you to review capabilities in your organisation, register for Interactive here.

Interactive is a free online advice tool which features a simple diagnostic, plus a wide range of case studies, good practice downloads and hints and tips.