INTELLIGENT DATA CENTRES
do something and does not necessarily
recognise the deficit. They may deny the
usefulness of the skill. The individual must
recognise their own incompetence, and the
value of the new skill, before moving on to
the next stage. This usually applies to new
staff who are unaware of what they don’t
know. However, as an organisation, you
usually know who they are and where they
are, so it can be managed.
Conscious incompetence.
Individuals realise that they don’t know.
This is less risky, as these people will not
carry out a task as they realise they do not
know how to do it.
Conscious competence. These are
good people. They are capable and know
of what they are capable, an example
being those who have recently passed their
driving test.
Unconscious competent. The
individual has had so much practice with a
skill that it has become ‘second nature’ and
can be performed easily without thinking
about it. As a result, the skill can be
performed while executing another task.
However, this hierarchy follows a
cyclical process. It is a fact that when
people perform the same role for a period
of time, initially they are highly confident
and highly competent (the conscious
competent) but, over time, they sway into
the unconscious competent zone as the role
becomes easy for them as they have been
doing it for a period of time.
Usually these are people who have been
in the role or function for a very long time,
yet, due to the ongoing automatic nature
of their actions, they could sway into the
unconscious incompetence zone and pose a
risk to the organisation.
Analytical tools and
effective intervention
Today there are new tools that measure
individuals’ competence and confidence
levels and on a very detailed scale,
allowing specific knowledge and skills gaps
to be identified and addressed accordingly,
with the objective of mitigating
organisational risk. These are tools such
as CCAM (Competency & Confidence
Assessment Modelling).
CCAM provides real-time analysis
of both competence and confidence
for individuals; it exposes root causes
of employee behaviour (positive and
negative) in network infrastructure and
datacentre facilities. Ultimately, it helps to
identify the ‘unconscious incompetent’.
The powerful tool uses proven
complex software that is supported
by a team of psychologists operating
within International Test Commission
guidelines. It guides employees through
various criteria to identify where
individuals’ real skills, knowledge and
ability gaps are and, through subsequent
targeted intervention, behaviour can be
positively changed.
Each question is answered by the
individuals who then rate how confident
they are with their answer. With valuable
insight and analytics of each employee,
the results of each assessment allow the
right course of development action to
be planned and implemented to address
individuals’ actual weaknesses.
It may just be one technical area
that requires a manager to nurture the
individual through knowledge gaps,
or professional education to confirm
knowledge and skills with sector-recognised
qualifications and official certification.
The key, and most valuable, element is
that the intervention can be planned and
targeted to address specific weaknesses.
Then, the chosen intervention can be
measured for success too as the CCAM
assessment can be taken again post-
development and therefore help to ensure
that the newly learned behaviour or
knowledge has been utilised effectively,
thus maximising the opportunity to
achieve a return on investment and ensure
risk is reduced.
Types of intervention
Internal tools
• Having a drink and a chat with a
colleague or manager
• Mentoring by a more experienced and
skilled individual
• Shadowing by watching someone
undertake the job correctly
• Auditing by working together to assess
on-going improvements
• Improving by monitoring progression
and learning
External tools
• Instructor led, classroom-based
education
• Virtual learning
• Hybrid learning
On the flip side, the tool identifies the
organisation’s key performers, allowing
effective succession planning to take place
to help protect the future of the business.
This analytical approach can also
form a valuable part of the recruitment
process, allowing managers to know
and understand potential strengths and
weaknesses within potential recruits and
plan budgets accordingly to work towards
mitigating any slight risk that they could
pose to the organisation. Or it can simply
help rule out individuals thus saving time
and effort.
While the complexities of these
advanced analytical tools are of huge
benefit to organisations, the ideal scenario
is to use them alongside other more
general education. There is no substitute
for the more traditional education
methods and professional classroom-
based, instructor-led programmes provide
essential vendor neutral education.
Naturally education and development
does involve investment but this spend
needs to be put into perspective. Millions are
spent on datacentre equipment, and some
of that may never be used, yet the people
who work in a datacentre every day are not
considered with the same importance.
Yet a competent and confident team
reduces, and could mitigate, business
risk; training also increases productivity
(employee contribution), and helps with
staff retention and loyalty as employees
gain more satisfaction from their jobs.
Finally, think about the cost of just
one minute of a datacentre outage and
how this money could be used to educate
and develop people to significantly reduce
future outage risks. With forward thinking
and development planning, the benefits far
outweigh the potential risks.
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