IWF Blog Archive

Using the IWF to review skill mix within a research team

Michele Eve, Workforce Development Lead CRN: East Midlands

Having been involved in the development of the IWF and attending a national Practitioner event where the IWF was launched, I was really looking forward to sharing it with colleagues across the East Midlands. We arranged a local engagement event and invited Pippa Hodgson* to come along and introduce the framework and then held a workshop so delegates could get their hands on the tools and see it in action. There was a real buzz in the room as our research workforce started to think about ways in which it could be used.

It was after this event that I started to think of applications for the framework within our core team and this is where it really started to come to life for me. We have had some staff turnover within our Research Support Team and this give us an opportunity to look at skill mix within the team. By using the IWF to map out the roles within the existing team it provided a very clear visual profile and more importantly highlighted the skills gaps. Rather than replace like for like, it helped us to have a more strategic approach to workforce planning. As a result we created a new developmental Practitioner role within the team.

As a manager I have also used the tool to enable discussions with staff regarding their personal development and career progression. By mapping out an individual’s current profile and comparing it with a profile based on their long-term career aspirations it enables a conversation around areas for development.

Plans are in place to develop an electronic tool and I’m looking forward to putting away my felt tip pens and rulers! However if you haven’t had a chance to use the paper based tool yet, I would definitely recommend you have a go. One piece of advice I would give is not to overthink it. It isn’t an exact science, don’t spend too much time worrying about the finer detail, just have a go!

October 2017

*http://www.pippahodgson.co.uk/