Rather, taking an appreciative perspective, the employee should only report on their enrollment in courses and programs in which they clearly acquired new SKAs or in which they were particularly successful. There is no guarantee that someone who has acquired new SKAs can use these competencies in their organization simply because they have completed a course or program. When attention is directed exclusively to an employee’s most successful and useful learning experiences, then the HR Bank is likely to gain greater credibility. Employees will be selected for specific assignments or provide training in areas for which they are fully qualified.
Experiences Gained outside the Organization
The skills, knowledge and aptitudes that an employee acquires during her tenure in the organization often come from sources outside the organization. She may be active in her church as a board member, fund-raiser or teacher. She may sit on the local school board or assist a local human service agency in keeping their books or preparing publicity material. An employee may be involved as a volunteer human service provider on a hotline or in a shelter for battered women.
Each of these experiences will inevitably yield new wisdom and new SKAs related to the operations of the organizations, how to effect organizational change, how to help other people in an organizational setting, how to balance income and expenditures, or how to set up a desktop publishing operation. Where appropriate, an organization should gather information about these volunteer activities, and, in particular, the competencies that this employee has acquired.
Maturation
Specific competencies are acquired on the job, through training and educational programs, and through projects conducted outside the organization; however, wisdom comes through many sources, not just the workplace. In living complex and challenging lives as curious and thoughtful human beings, we are all lifelong learners. The process of maturation is inherently wrapped up in the process of learning new skills, acquiring new knowledge and exhibiting new aptitudes.
