HE Laila Al Suwaidi, Executive Director of Programs & HR Planning, said that the Authority has introduced some updates on the electronic Performance Management System available through BAYANAT System. The most important of these are: updating Behavioral Competency Framework based on the UAE Government Leadership Model and automation of Professional Competency Framework launched by the Authority in 2016 within the Federal Government’s Professional Competency Guidelines.

She emphasized the importance of both update and automation, especially as they coincide with the launch of the first phase of the Performance Management System for Federal Government employees 2019.

“These competencies are an integral part of Performance Management System and an employee’s skills and abilities are considered the most important criteria in evaluating his performance;, this becomes even more important when it comes to specialized jobs that require high skills”, she said.

HE's remarks were made on the sidelines of the training workshops organized by the Authority in its headquarters in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, targeting dozens of representatives of 30 ministries and federal entities applying e-Performance Management System, to familiarize them with the latest updates on the system and to train them on its developed screens.

She explained that the automation of Professional Competency Framework as part of Performance Management System helps in increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of federal government employees’ performance appraisal, acts as an incentive for outstanding employees, ensures taking account of the technical aspect of employee's performance as well as behavioral competencies, and contributes to attract talents to the Federal Government.

She added: “Professional Competency Framework includes 99 specialized competencies for 20 job families. It aims to identify the knowledge, skills and abilities required to carry out specific tasks, duties and responsibilities that contribute to the performance requirements and the level required for each category

“The Authority has developed Professional Competency Framework Guidelines in the Federal Government to help line managers and employees to recognize the concept of specialized competencies and their applications, which will help them to carry out their duties and develop their skills to required levels”.

The guidelines represent a sourse of knowledge, skills and capabilities expected of employees to upgrade their performance to highly advanced levels. It includes a thorough explanation of the professional competencies expressed in technical terms and helps to identify the standard competencies of an employees in order to achieve the strategic objectives of all ministries and federal bodies and build a workplace culture characterized by high productivity.

The Professional Competency Framework in the federal government is integrated with the other initiatives and systems launched by the Authority at the federal government level during the past years, such as: the performance management and training & development systems for federal government employees, job evaluation and description, and Behavioral Competency Framework.

4 skill levels

Lulaa Al Marzouki explained that FAHR had identified four competency levels each with distinct skill set. First, Junior/Entry Level:  basic understanding or knowledge needed for the job, basic understanding and knowledge enough to handle routing tasks, requires some guidance or supervision when applying the competency. Second, Intermediate Level: moderate understanding of job duties, including responsibility for monitoring the implementation of the strategy, and limited cooperation with co-workers. Third, Advanced Level: greater understanding of the institutional environment, operational plans and current strategic orientation. Possess high capacity for analysis to choose options available for work, responsibility for supervising subordinates, as well as taking decisions with wider impact. Fourth, Expert:  The expert performer is able to see what needs to be achieved and how to achieve it. This level of performer is able to make more refined and subtle discriminations than a proficient performer, tailoring approach and method to each situation based on this level of skill.

Employee Performance Management System (EPMS)

 EPMS, which was launched in early 2012 at the Federal Government level, and automated via BAYANATI System in 2014, is considered one of the best in the field of human resources development, as it links an employee’s individual goals to the objectives of the organization, and therefore to the human resources strategy in the federal government and UAE Vision 2021.

EPMS is a process which evaluates an employee’s performance against objectives/ KPI’s set jointly with his/her line manager for the period being assessed. These objectives will be set at the beginning of the review period and will be subject to continuous review and feedback throughout the year. The System seeks to establish a scientific approach to link performance with reward achievements and outstanding results; improve and increase UAE Federal Government employees’ productivity; encourage individual achievements and teamwork spirit; create a culture of continuous learning and professional development opportunities; allow UAE Federal Government entities to identify and recognize high performers; and set clear foundation for measurement of real contribution to the achievement of an entity’s strategic objectives

EPMS is based on five principles: fostering a performance-oriented culture; engaging the employee in planning and setting individual objectives; encouraging fair, accurate and proactive feedback from line managers in respect to the performance of their direct reports; establishing a clear link between on-the-job performance and incentives such as annual increase, promotions and training and development opportunities; and providing a consistent, fair and credible employee performance management system, through setting clear standards, policies and procedures.