This week HR.com is hosting an HR track at FOSE.   One of the educational sessions taking place at FOSE will be focused on Competency Identification. Part of the presentation will be dedicated to an innovative skills inventory program developed by the U.S. Department of State.  The benefits of competency identification are numerous, but some suggest that the greatest ROI to be obtained from their use will be related to the ability to quickly and accurately assess the skills and competencies held by the workforce at any specific time.  The U.S. Department of State has created such a system.  Participation in the process is voluntary and it has achieved high participation rates quite successfully.   An article outlining this program can be found in the 2006 issue of State Magazine, pg 45, (Article "Win-Win Department Earns Half of the 2005 Presidential Quality Awards," by David B. Dlouhy).   The article outlines how,  in December, the Department of State won two 2005 Presidential Quality Awards; one for  an innovative skills inventory Employee Profile Plus (EP ) and the other for Strategic Management of Human Capital.  (For more information on the Department of State EP competency management system contact: John D. Long at:  longjd@State.gov)

For those of you who are interested in finding out more, slides for the presentation are available on the HR.com website under events/government/educational sessions.