Abstract

Competencies, in both academic and professional fields, are currently of interest as a framework for human performance development. Personal Financial Services, a business unit within Royal Bank Financial Group, has turned to competencies as a tool for supporting its business strategies. With the assistance of The Hay Group, external consultants to Royal Bank Financial Group, this business unit has developed and begun implementation of competency models. These models draw from the McClelland/McBer job competence assessment methodology. This thesis applies a qualitative research approach to determine whether or not the expectations for the initial implementation process of the competency models were fulfilled as intended. A secondary purpose is to determine if the competency supporting tools are being used by employees, as planned, for personal development purposes at the time of this study. This thesis therefore profiles the competency model development and initial implementation experiences of Personal Financial Services. It also examines the results of the initial implementation process to date upon a select group of branches. The resulting analysis suggests a number of gaps between the results of the intended and actual initial implementation. Additionally, the analysis suggests that competency supporting tools are, in some cases, being used by branch employees for personal development purposes, and in other cases these same tools are being used for evaluative purposes. This study discusses these gaps, and advances recommendations, primarily in the areas of future research.