Policy and Standards Design and Development
Designs and develops effective and transparent policies, taking into consideration the strategic direction and operations of the organization.
Level 1 Introductory: Demonstrates introductory understanding and ability and, with guidance, applies the competency in a few, simple situations. Can direct people to the appropriate source for further information.
BEHAVIORS
- Identifies the benefits of corporate requirements for policy design/modification.
- Identifies sources of relevant data or information from within the organization.
- Assists in the collection of contextual information relevant to the development of policies.
QUESTIONS
- Discuss a time when your manager asked you to gather information to be used in the development of changes to organizational policy.
Probing Questions
* What was the identified requirement that was driving the policy change initiative?
* What data did you determine would be necessary to support the development process?
* How did you gather the appropriate data?
* What analysis of the data did you do?
* What was the outcome?
- Tell us about a situation where you needed to determine how to highlight a particular policy to an employee.
Probing Questions
* What was the issue/situation?
* How did you determine it required reference to a specific policy?
* What did you do to find the appropriate policy and supporting data references?
* What did you do to ensure you were referencing the appropriate policy?
* Did your selection fill the employee's need?
Level 2 Basic: Demonstrates basic knowledge and ability and, with guidance, can apply the competency in common situations that present limited difficulties.
BEHAVIORS
- Identifies opportunities to align the organization’s interests and individual demands for policy.
- Suggests priorities for policy and standards development.
- Weighs the varied factors at all stages of data gathering.
- Recognizes patterns and connections in arrays of information.
QUESTIONS
- Discuss a time where you were called upon to participate in a policy development exercise.
Probing Questions
* What was the subject of the new policy?
* Describe your role and responsibilities?
* What steps did you take to gather and analyze information?
* What design activities did you contribute to?
* Was the new policy approved and implemented?
- Tell us about a time where you were asked to gather all the existing policy and standards information in the organization referencing a specific issue.
Probing Questions
* How did you identify all the sources of information in the organization's various data sources?
* What guidance did you receive?
* What search techniques did you employ?
* How did you ensure that you gathered all of the pertinent materials?
* What did you learn from this exercise?
Level 3 Intermediate: Demonstrates solid knowledge and ability, and can apply the competency, with minimal or no guidance, in the full range of typical situations. Would require guidance to handle novel or more complex situations.
BEHAVIORS
- Defines corporate requirements for policy design and development.
- Recommends policy options by highlighting implications to the organization and its stakeholders.
- Consults stakeholders in the development process.
- Identifies linkages, overlap and shared understanding and interests in the policy development process.
- Considers a broad and diverse range of factors at the various stages of policy development and implementation.
- Identifies policy principles that are consistent with the organization’s strategic directions, mandate, values, vision and mission.
- Reconciles the multiple concerns of people, stakeholders on issues.
QUESTIONS
- Describe a time where you were called upon to develop policy alternatives to address a new or modified strategic business model.
Probing Questions
* What new model drove the need for a change or additional policy?
* What information did you identify as required and how did you acquire that information?
* What did you do to identify any impact the alternatives would have on other policies or standards?
* How did you determine which of the alternatives you chose to recommend?
* What approval activities were you involved in?
- Describe a time when you were called upon to handle stakeholder involvement as part of the policy development process.
Probing Questions
* What policy was being developed?
* What did you do to ensure that all stakeholders were identified?
* What actions did you take to determine what type of input was the most appropriate for each group of stakeholders?
* How did you ensure that all stakeholders actually had the opportunity to provide input, make suggestions and review the draft policy?
* How did you measure the success of your efforts with stakeholders?
Level 4 Advanced: Demonstrates advanced knowledge and ability and can apply the competency in new or complex situations. Guides other professionals.
BEHAVIORS
- Utilizes industry-wide standards and global best practices to optimize the policy development process.
- Evaluates the policy development process to ensure effectiveness.
- Identifies financial implications and challenges the risks of program/business decisions (e.g. cost-benefit analysis).
- Anticipates potential short, medium and long-term consequences for stakeholders/clients of policies/programs/ projects.
- Translates upcoming critical social and people trends into policies and programs that really matter to the business.
- Makes recommendations for policy and/or program changes based on analysis of evaluation and performance data.
QUESTIONS
- Discuss a time when you assessed the impact of changes to policies or standards from the perspective of risk management.
Probing Questions
* What were the changes?
* How did you determine what risks existed with the new or modified policy or standard?
* What were those risks to the organization?
* What methods did you use to identify, analyze and mitigate the risks?
* Did your review assessment result in significant changes to the policy or standard?
- Tell us of a time when you took specific actions to develop and/or augment your understanding of industry standards and best practices in policy development.
Probing Questions
* How did you obtain information on standards and best practices in the industry and in policy development itself?
* What aspects of those industry standards were of the most useful in designing a new policy for your organization?
* How did you analyze the industry level data that you gathered to see how closely it fit your needs?
* How did you make use of this information in policy development work in your organization?
* What was the impact on the quality of your deliverables?
Level 5 Expert: Demonstrates expert knowledge and ability, and can apply the competency in the most complex situations. Develops new approaches, methods or policies in the area. Is recognized as an expert, internally and/or externally.
BEHAVIORS
- Makes policy recommendations to support strategic decision-making based on solid evidence and a broad understanding of the organization’s direction.
- Enlists input at strategic points from executive departments, clients/stakeholders and relevant external organizations (e.g. research institutions).
- Builds intellectual frameworks that provide a shared vision or approach to an issue that guides analysis.
QUESTIONS
- Describe a time and set of circumstances where you were charged with examining how the organization had developed policies and standards in the past and how this may require changes as a result of new business directions .
Probing Questions
* Why were you selected to address the policy and standards issues arising from a new business direction?
* How did you identify the shortfalls or issues with the existing policy development processes?
* What did you do to analyze what was different with the new business direction that might demand new development approaches?
* What change recommendation(s) did you make to senior management?
* What was the outcome?
- Describe a time when you led the development of a policy change that required a significant amount of input from a wide variety of stakeholders.
Probing Questions
* What was the nature of the particular policy you were tasked with developing?