Glossary of Terms

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Note: Terms marked with ** are terms that can be customized to match terms used within your organization. This is done through the Job or Employee Settings for Alternate Terms.

 

 

A B C D E F G  H I J  K L M N O P  Q R S T U V W  X  Y  Z

 

- A -

 

Access Control

The policy for enabling Domain functionality within Encompassing Visions, and (when enabled) for creating/viewing/editing specific Domains required by the organization.  

 

Access Level or Authorization Level        

Access level is the level of security or permissions provided to the user for a particular function. There are five possible values:

0 - No Access Rights. This allows no access to the related function.

1 - Read-Only Access Rights. This level allows a user to access a function and read the information but not to add or update it. Buttons that would permit adding/editing are disabled.

2 - Update Access Rights. This level gives a user the right to make some editorial changes in text fields but does not permit adding or deleting records.

3 - Update/Create Access Rights. This level gives the user access rights to add, edit and delete records in a function. This is the minimum level of access required to perform most data entry functions in the organization. e.g. Organizational Goals and Objectives, Completing Core Surveys, Completing Automated (Job) Questionnaires, Creating Employee Work Plans, Completing Learning and Growth Reviews, Creating Training Plans.

4 - Full Access Rights including Confidential. This level gives the user rights to add, edit and delete records in a function including access to Confidential Jobs.

5 - System Administrator Functions - Restricted Access. This level gives the user rights to add, edit and delete records in all functions including access to Confidential Jobs. This access level is necessary in order to view the Administration Level Functions on the System Menu.

 

Actions**

Introduced in Version 9.2, Actions are detailed tasks or action items represented by icons in the upper left corner of the Jobs, Business, and Professional Development Objectives modules. The icons in the Actions field, each with a unique tool tip describing the function, are enabled through the customization of Objective Field Configurations.

 

Active Job

An active Job is one that has been set as 'Active' in the Job maintenance function. Only active jobs can be linked to an Employee.

 

Active Skill

An active skill is one that has been set as 'Active' in the Skills/Certifications function. Only active Skills can be linked to an Employee or Job.

 

Administered Job Level **

Represents the salary range paid to the selected employee and may be higher or lower than the Evaluated Job Level.  

Note: If the term "Job Level" has been customized then the Administered Job Level will also reflect the customized term for Job Level.

 

Alpha-numeric

Alpha-numeric characters include all letters (upper and lower case) and numbers.

 

Alternate Terms

The Encompassing Visions application provides the ability for customization of many terms used within the application. These are referred to as Alternate Terms and are maintained in the Job or Employee Settings under Alternate Terms.

 

Approved Job

An approved Job is a job where the Approved flag has been set to yes. Jobs would typically be 'Approved' after a Job Evaluation Analyst or Committee has reviewed and agreed with the content of the Job Description and completed Automated (Job) Questionnaire. Only Completed Jobs can be approved. The Approved flag is only used if the Job Definition policy Use Client Job Approval Process is turned enabled.

 

Archived Learning and Growth Report

A Learning and Growth Report that has been generated, electronically approved by the Lead and Employee, and saved as an electronic report in the Archived Learning and Growth Reports section of the Employees module.  Only Leads and Administrators can Archive learning and growth reports. An “Archive Report” button will appear in the upper left of the screen when a learning and growth report has been generated. The Learning and Growth Report Policy: “Enable Learning and Growth Report Archiving” needs to be enabled for this functionality to be activated.

 

Audit Report-Selected Employee

Displays a report showing all changes to the selected Employee within a selected date range.

 

Audit Report-All Employees

Displays a report showing all changes to any Employee in the Organization, where the Employees are assigned, within a selected date range.

 

Audit Report-Selected Job

Displays a report showing all changes to the selected Job. After a job evaluation result has been approved by your organization, any/every future change to that job record (i.e., who made it, when, and to what effect) is automatically recorded in the ENCV’s database and available for viewing in the system-generated report.

 

Audit Report-All Jobs

Displays a report showing all changes to all jobs within a selected date range. After a job evaluation result has been approved by your organization, any/every future change to that job record (i.e., who made it, when, and to what effect) is automatically recorded in the ENCV’s database and available for viewing in the system-generated report.

 

Automated Import Service

The Encompassing Visions Automated Import Service is a small server application (service) that runs on the same server as the Encompassing Visions software is installed. The purpose of this service is to look for transaction files in a specific location, with a specific name and in a specific format that can be automatically imported and applied against the Encompassing Visions databases. The files are processed without any intervention by the Encompassing Visions System Administrator other than the initial establishment of the 'Service Parameters' that control the processing (e.g. when the service should look for files - daily, hourly, weekly - and how to report errors).

 

Authorization Key or Constraint Key

An authorization key is required in order to update a Job or Employee constraint (license) in the system. Authorization keys are provided by Encompassing Visions support staff and must be used on the day they are provided, as the key has a time stamp and will expire in one day.  Authorization Keys are applied to the system in the Administration Module in the Constraints function.

 

 

- B -

 

Baseline **

This field describes the measured, historical learning and growth that has already been achieved (against which an employee's learning and growth will be measured). It is used in Business Plans. The use of Baseline is turned on and off with the Objective Field Configurations screen.

 

Benchmark Clone**

A Benchmark Clone is any job that is created from a Benchmark job and is to be linked to that Benchmark job. Collectively, these are all considered to have the same job evaluation (questionnaire results & points) but not necessarily have the same general accountabilities, specific accountabilities, technical requirements, nature of the work definitions, technical skills or certifications.  These are the specific elements that make the cloned jobs unique.

 

Benchmark Job**

In Job Evaluation, the cornerstone of the process is to identify and evaluate particular jobs ('Benchmarks') from the organization that can be used as a common reference. They are typically found within an organization unit that has well defined operational objectives and responsibilities that are well established and understood. More specifically, Benchmark Jobs are jobs within the system that other jobs will be cloned from and be identified as the job the clone is linked to, as part of the "Benchmark Job Processing" functionality. See the Benchmark Job Processing section for more details.

 

Behavioural Descriptive Interview Guide**

The Interview Guide is a series of system-generated targeted-selection questions based on the specific Competencies and Technical Skills required in each Job. These questions are designed to seek information from candidates about how they have demonstrated particular Competencies in previous jobs. The questions can be customized to suit your organization and can be specific to a Job Group in order to create a set of unique interview questions for the same Competency based on the type of work to be done. The Behavioural Descriptive Interview Guide enables interviewers to stay focused on the key elements of the Job and produce a defensible record of the Job interview. This guide was formerly referred to as the Selection Interview Guide.

 

Bonus Eligible**

Bonus Eligible objectives would be special case results or goals that fall outside typical expectations but which, if achieved, would qualify the person for special recognition by the organization. The use of the Bonus Eligible flag is enabled within the Objective Field Configurations screen.

 

Business Objective**

A Business Objective is a specific task or goal to be achieved during the review period.  An employee’s Business Plan will usually have several Business Objectives attached to it. Often there will be specific time sensitive projects that need to be described for expectations and evaluated for accomplishments.

 

Business Plan **

A Business Plan is one of two types of Work Plans in the system (the other being a Professional Development Plan). It describes the work that an employee will complete in a review period. The Business Plan is made up of one or more of Business Objectives.

 

Business Plan Review

The evaluation of the Business Plan Objectives by one or more reviewers. The evaluation is done based on the Evaluation Option selected for the Objective. Results for all Objectives are averaged to determine an evaluation for the Business Plan.

 

 

- C -

 

Cache

A hidden storage of data for organizations who have high volumes of records.

 

Category**

(This was previously called Objective Type.)  For organizational planning purposes, it may be beneficial to know more about the nature of the Objectives being identified and reviewed across the Organization. The Category field is designed to provide a broad classification to which Objectives can be assigned.  The Categories are customizable in Core Tables. For example, Categories can be Balanced Scorecard  factors (Business Process, Customer, Financial, Learning & Growth) or the Four Pillars (Recruiting, Learning and Growth, Learning, Compensation).

 

Clone

The Clone action copies all of the details about the job and the evaluation (similar to the copy function) but also identifies the original job as the Benchmark Job Reference.  This links the two jobs and identifies that the new job is a Clone.

 

Competency (Objective Field configuration option)

Introduced in Version 9.2, Competency identifies the specific competency (or competencies) any particular Professional Development Objective is related to.  The Competency field is enabled by customizing the Objective Field Configurations screen for Professional Development Objectives.

 

The behavioural and technical skills attached to the job each person has been assigned. Determined and communicated in the Job Description, Job Posting and Selection Interview Guides, the relative importance of each competency is based on what the person is paid to do, as determined by responses recorded in the Job Questionnaire.  The specific technical skills attached to the job are also included in the learning and growth reviews of the job incumbent.  Competency reviews provide insight into the way the incumbent did their job, and how effective they were at applying the technical skill required in order to get the job done.

 

Competency Notes

Competency Notes are the specific comments entered by the reviewer at the time they were evaluating competencies demonstrated by the employee.

 

Competencies

Individual learning and growth behaviours that are observable, measurable, and critical to successful individual or corporate learning and growth. Distinct from Technical Skills which convey what is required for learning and growth, Competencies convey how the job is expected to be done.  It is often the competencies that differentiate superior learning and growth.

 

Competency Alignment Surveys (formerly Core Values Survey)

An on-line survey that gathers, tabulates and graphically displays opinions about what the various Job Groups within the organization think the behavioural characteristics of the organization are. The goal of the survey is to help identify what people think is important, and compare that with what the organization's executive would like to see.  Compiled results of this survey indicate how effectively corporate values have been communicated to and understood by the stakeholders of the organization.

 

Competency Alignment Survey Results

Shows the results of the Competency Alignment Survey, displayed as a comparison between any Job Group in the organization and the Value Setting Job Group, usually the Executive. In other words, the Competencies perceived as important to the selected Job Group are compared to the competencies defined as important to the organization by the Value Setting Job Group.

 

Competency Characteristics

Competency Characteristics are the 'sub-review' questions asked on the Characteristic Evaluations of the Competency review. They allow for more in-depth information to be gathered about an employee's learning and growth of the competency. The value of a competency in a particular job is determined by a combination of the Organizational Bias for the competency plus the responses to the Automated (Job) Questionnaire for that job.  Competency Characteristics (or sub-questions) appear when the value of a competency has met or exceeded the threshold established for Learning and Growth Feedback. The average of the responses to the Competency Characteristics for a particular competency will determine the score for that particular competency. If there are enough detailed competency-related questions answered, the system can generate a section in the Learning and Growth Report containing the perceived Work Style of the employee. This section can be turned on and off in Learning and Growth Report Options (Employee Settings>Reports) for Learning and Growth Reports.

 

The use of Competency Characteristics in the Competency Reviews can be turned on or off with the Competency Reviews Policy 'Enable Competency Characteristics Reviews?'

 

Competency Characteristic Threshold

The Competency Characteristic Threshold is the Importance Rating a competency must have for a job in order to enable Competency Characteristics sub-reviews in the Competency Review. The threshold is defined in the Competency Reviews Policy for Competency Characteristics Threshold.

 

e.g. If the threshold is set at 7 (the system default), detailed Competency Characteristics questions will be asked in the Learning and Growth Review only if the Competency Importance Rating in the Job of the Employee being reviewed is at least 7.  If the competency Importance Rating is 6 or less, no detailed questions will be asked about that particular Competency.  

 

Competency List

The Competency List report enables users to assess the relative importance of behavioral competencies for a single job to ensure that expectations for demonstrating organizational culture and/or competitive advantage are appropriately weighted.

 

 

Competency Review

The Competency Review is the portion of the Learning and Growth Review that deals with the evaluation of the Employee's learning and growth in terms of the Competencies for the organization. It may also include a Skills Evaluation (in the competency "Technical Competence/Utilization") if there are Skills linked to the Job. There are three types of Evaluations that can take place within the Competency Review:

Competency Evaluation: An evaluation based on the definition of the competency. There is only one 'question' to respond to.

Characteristic Evaluation: An evaluation with detailed questions (or characteristics) that relate to specific aspects of the competency being reviewed. All questions relate to the overall definition of the competency.  Not all Competencies have characteristic questions and the Competencies that will include Characteristic Evaluations may vary from Job to Job depending on the Job Group assigned to the Job and/or the Importance of the Competency in the Job.

Skill Evaluation: An evaluation of the Skills that have been assigned to the Job. This review is always completed under the Technical Competence/ Utilization competency. This competency may be renamed at your organization and it may or may not be active. If it is not active then no Skill Review will be completed. Skill reviews can also be turned on or off for specific Reviewer Roles.

 

Completed Job

A Completed Job is a Job that has at least one Automated (Job) Questionnaire completed. It is a flag that gets set automatically when the Questionnaire is completed and the Job Total Points are calculated.

 

Complex Password

Some organizational security procedures require complex passwords for access to software applications.  If that is a requirement for your organization, a policy can  be activated which requires a complex password.  The password must be a minimum of 8 characters and contain at least 3 of the 4 following character types: Uppercase, Lowercase, Numeric, Special Characters (such as #, $, %). If the policy is set to active (yes), when the USER changes their password, they are required to follow the above requirements.  It does not force an Administratively generated temporary password to follow the complex password policy.

 

Confidential Comments

Comments can be added to an Objective or Work Plan by an Employee or Lead that can be kept confidential.  These comments cannot be edited by any other User and cannot be viewed by anyone other than the Employee or Lead that added the comments, and Administrative Users who have access to Confidential information.

 

Confidential Job

A Job in the system can be set to Confidential status if access to view details about the job is to be limited to only senior members of the organization or System Administrators.  Only a user with Confidential access rights or an Administrative User  view the details for a Confidential Job. A job is given Confidential status by checking the Confidential check box on the Job Details screen. Only an Administrative User can update the Confidential status for a job.

 

Constraints - Employees

Constraints (licenses) are the default limits on the number of Employees that are purchased for definition within Encompassing Visions. The current count of Employees and the associated constraint can be viewed in the Administration Module under Constraints.

 

Constraints - Job

Constraints (licenses) are the default limits on the number of Jobs that are purchased for definition within Encompassing Visions. The current count of Jobs and the associated constraint can be viewed in the Administration Module under Constraints.

 

Core Competencies:

The knowledge and behaviours that will drive the achievement of your Organization's strategic goals.

 

Cross Browser

Version 9.3 introduces browser independence to our Supervisor/Lead security profile.  Certain modules within the application can now be accessed with Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Mac browsers.

 

Current Review Period

The Current Review Period is calculated by the application based on three factors:

1) The current system date,

2) The Core Table, Review Type setting for Period Start Month,

3) The Frequency of Reviews set in Core Tables, Review Type.

 

One final impact to the Current Review Period determination is a 'grace period' during the change-over from one review period to the next.  The grace period tells the system whether it should default to showing the previous period's information or the next period's information. If we didn't factor in this grace period then at the start of a new period (typically a new calendar year) then any review not completed before the end of the review period would no longer show by default and the new year's information would be there instead. While completing all reviews prior to the end of the Review Period is ideal, it is certainly not realistic. This grace period allows for time to complete the reviews after the end of the Review Period before switching the system over to the new period.  During the grace period, any reviews that are for the new year will be considered future reviews and, when looking at reviews on the Review List, can be found by filtering for Reviews for the Review Period "Future". For annual and semi-annual reviews the default grace period is 90 days and for quarterly reviews it is 30 days. There is no grace period if the review frequency is monthly.

 

Example #1: Annual reviews with Fiscal Year Start of January 1

Current date is: January 15, 2010

Using the Core Table set up, the system would determine that the current review period is 2010-01-01 to 2010-12-31.

However, January 15th is still within the 90 day grace period after the end of the previous period so the system will set the Current Review Period to  2009-01-01 to 2009-12-31 so that reviews from that period are shown by default.

If the current date was April 15, 2020 - a date that is outside the grace period after the end of the previous period - the system rolls over to set the Current Review Period to 2010-01-01 to 2010-12-31.

 

Example #2: Semi-annual reviews with Fiscal Year Start of April 1

Current date is: April 15, 2010

Using the Core Table set up, the system would determine that the current review period is 2010-04-01 to 2010-09-30.

However, April 15th is still within the 90 day grace period after the end of the previous period so the system will set the Current Review Period to 2009-10-01 to 2010-03-31 so that reviews from that period are shown by default.

If the current date was June 15, 2020 - a date that is outside the grace period after the end of the previous period - the system will set the Current Review Period to 2010-04-01 to 2010-09-30.

 

- D -

 

Dashboard Reporting

These reports allow you to: understand the competency makeup of high performing teams; identify early-stage high performers; recognize and act on development needs at an individual, team or organization-wide level; diagnose the reason(s) for year over year changes in individual, team and organizational learning and growth; quantify the impact on team learning and growth through the staff recruiting, training, and termination processes; find the best Mentor/Mentee matches; determine how current technical and behavioral capabilities of staff match up against future organizational needs;  and, implement the most effective way to maximize organizational learning and growth at minimal expense.

 

Default Reviewer/Default Review

By default, the system will assign the Incumbent and the Supervisor/Lead as the default reviewers for all three types of reviews (Competency, Business Plan and Professional Development Plan).  We often refer to this as a Default Review for the reviewer.

The Reviewers Policies dictate whether or not the default reviewers will be used.

 

Degree of Difficulty (DOD)**

This term denotes the extent to which problems, obstacles and objections will create challenges in accomplishing the expected result for an Objective.  An objective can have Some, Moderate,Considerable, High or Extreme Degrees of Difficulty.

 

Delimiter

A Delimiter is a character used to separate different fields in the Import file. The are many options but the tilde (~) character is used as the default within the Import screens. Files created in Microsoft Excel may use a comma (for CSV files - comma separated values) but caution must be used when using this delimiter because any commas within the data (e.g. in a Job Title like VP, Human Resources) will be mistakenly taken for field delimiters.

 

Describing Excellence

The Describing Excellence text describes what excellence looks like in the learning and growth of  a particular Competency. These descriptions appear in the Learning and Growth Review Summary as "Suggested Activities for Learning and Growth Enhancement". You can customize this text for your Organization. You can also customize it for each Job Group. That is, create a unique list of descriptions for learning and growth excellence, based on the type of work being done.

 

Due Date (Review Due Date - formerly Expected Review Date)

A date assigned by the system to denote when a Review is expected to be completed.  Work Plan Reviews default to 14 days after the Review Period and Competency Reviews default to the last day of the Review Period. These system assigned dates are based on the review period selected in the Employee Settings > Core Tables > Review Type screen. The Due Date is also used to determine when the next default review period will be generated by the system.

 

Domains

A secure subset of the ‘Jobs’ database that links jobs together based on common association through Organization, Job Family, Job Group and/or Location.

 

Due Date (Objective Field configuration option)

Introduced in Version 9.2, the Due Date in both Business Objectives and Professional Development Objective identifies the specific date the objective is expected to  be completed by.   The Due Date field is enabled by customizing the Objective Field Configurations screen for either Business or Professional Development Objectives.

 

- E -

 

Employee Settings

The Employee Settings defined in Encompassing Visions govern how the data in your system is processed. They allow options for many different variables such as how you name specific terms, features that you can turn on or off, and the number of items displayed in certain lists. Policies are customized in the Employee Settings function under the Employees Menu.

 

Employee Actions**

Introduced in Version 9.2, Employee Actions are the specific actions the Employee is required to complete in order to achieve a Professional Development Objective. The Lead Actions field is enabled by customizing the Objective Field Configurations screen for Professional Development Objectives.

 

Employee Number or Employee Reference Number or Employee ID

All employees must be assigned an Employee Reference Number. This is the primary key for the Employee table so it can not be updated and must be unique in the Employee table. If there are pre-existing codes for Employee Numbers, they should be used, especially if you will use the Import Data function.

 

Employee Skills Admin

A person who is in an administrator role in the selected Organization Unit or as an HR Admin. An Employee or Employees are designated as Employee Skills Admin on the Edit Employee screen.   Designating an Employee as an Employee Skills Admin enables the Employee to maintain the skills for all employees in their Organization Unit and any Sub-Units. A department admin will have an access level of "3" and an HR admin will have an access level of "4".

 

Employment Equity

The Employment Equity Code identifies specific groups of Employees that pertain to Employee/Pay Equity Legislation.

 

Evaluated Job Level **

Represents the points range associated with a Job that has at least one completed Automated (Job) Questionnaire. The points range is determined based on the calculated points for the Job. The Evaluated Job Level is attached to the Job and is automatically assigned to an Employee when a Job is linked to an Employee.

 

Evaluated Learning and Growth

On an Employee level, the evaluated learning and growth is simply that person's rating for the competency in question, averaged for all reviews completed during the selected date period of the report.  On an organizational level, the evaluated learning and growth is the average of all active employees who have had reviews completed during the selected date period of the report.(Evaluated Learning and Growth is the average of all Employee evaluations for the competency/skill.)

 

Expiry Date - Employees

The Date the Subscription terminates. Access to the software will no longer be available.

 

Expiry Date - Jobs

The Date the Subscription terminates. Access to the software will no longer be available.

 

- F -

 

Frequency

The number of employees who exhibited this strength or development opportunity.  Frequency is how often a review should be done.  The various options available for selection within each type of review (Bi-Annually, Annually, Semi-Annually, Quarterly and Monthly) will determine the default dates selected by the software for the review period.

 

Fiscal Year

The Fiscal Year is the period for which reviews are to apply. Encompassing Visions uses the Period Start Month in the Core Tables > Review Type to identify the start of the Fiscal Year for your organization. The settings contained in this Core Table are used to set default Review Periods and Expected Review Dates in the system.

 

 

- G -

 

Gap

The Gap is the difference between the employee’s learning and growth review score and the maximum possible score he/she could have achieved for the competency based on the importance of the competency and the number of reviews included in the analysis. This gap is then rationalized to a common standard so that competencies can be accurately compared regardless of the number of reviews completed for the employee.  The largest gaps identify the greatest development opportunities for the employee.

 

Gender

Pay equity requires that jobs usually done by women (female job classes) must be valued and compared to jobs usually done by men (male job classes). If they are found to be of similar value, the job classes must be paid the same.

 

General Accountability **

This term is used to identify the primary purpose, function, type and level of the work performed by a job. It answers questions such as:  

Why does the Job exist?

What is the most basic purpose of this Job within the Organization?

How does the Job differ from all other Jobs in the Organization?

 

Grace Period

When the user goes to Complete Reviews, the Review Period plus the Grace Period will be used to determine the current review dates. This impacts the default reviews that show up.

 

Goal **

This term describes the vision of the level of learning and growth that an Employee is striving to attain sometime in the future. It is used in Business Plans and Professional Development Plans. Goals are set as enabled in the Objective Field Configurations.

 

- I -

 

Import Data

Enables the transfer of data from other applications to Encompassing Visions to reduce the amount of data entry required by the Encompassing Visions Administrator.  This exercise can be done early in the implementation process as it can create your organization structure, set up your reference file tables, set up your employee and user information and begin the set up of your organization's jobs.

 

Import Type

There are two different Import Types that can be processed using the Data Import:

Transactional - each record in each file identifies a transaction type - an ADD, CHG (Change) or DEL (delete) transaction

Synchronization - there are no transaction types in the records and the Import determines, based on pre-existing data in the Encompassing Visions database, whether the transaction is an ADD or CHG

 

Import Run Type

There are two different Import Run Types that the Import History can display:

Manual - processed through the Manual Import

Automated - processed through the Automated Import Service

 

Importance Rating **

Importance Ratings are used in in the system to describe the 1 to 10 point value given to a particular Competency in a specific Job. "1" would designate an unimportant Competency; "10" would designate an extremely important Competency. Importance Ratings are calculated by Encompassing Visions based on responses to the Automated (Job) Questionnaire and any assigned Organization Bias for the Competency.

 

Inactive Job

An Inactive Job has been marked as Inactive in the Jobs function.

 

Inactive Skill

An inactive skill has been marked as inactive in the Skills/Certifications function (found in the Administration Module in the Maintain Reference Files section). Inactive skills cannot be linked to Employees or Jobs. Skills would be made inactive so that they still show up in historical Learning and Growth Reviews (if they were linked to a Job). Deleting a skill is not recommended because that would remove the skill from existing reviews and alter the calculated learning and growth results.  

 

Incomplete Job

An Incomplete Job is a Job that does not have at least one Automated (Job) Questionnaire completed. The status of complete or incomplete is set automatically by the system when Questionnaires are completed or all Questionnaires are deleted for a Job.

 

 

- J -

 

Job Approval Process

The Job Approval Process refers to the option to require that jobs be Approved before they can be linked to an Employee. The process is simply the identification of a job as Approved from within the Job maintenance function. The Jobs Policy 'Use Client Job Approval Process' determines whether the Job Approval Process is used for your organization.

 

Job Competencies

Job Competencies convey how the job is expected to be done. The behavioural and technical skills attached to the job each person has been assigned. Determined and communicated in the Job Description, Job Posting and Selection Interview Guides, the relative importance of each competency is based on what the person is paid to do, as determined by responses recorded in the Job Questionnaire.

 

Job Competency Cross Reference Report

The Job Competency Cross Reference Report enables users to assess the relative importance of behavioral competencies across multiple jobs to ensure the appropriate relative weighting of organizational culture and/or competitive advantage competencies. Data can be filtered by any combination of Job Family, Job Group, Job Level, and Organizational Unit.

 

Job Description **

The Job Description is the detailed report about a Job. It is printed from Jobs screen in the Job Related Reports. An alternate term can be supplied for this report (e.g. Job Profile). Job data captured by Envitae is used by ENCV to generate organizationally branded Job Descriptions which facilitate respect, integrity and accountability when shared with job incumbents.

 

Job Evaluation Committee

The group of people assigned the task of reviewing and approving Job information during the initial setup of Encompassing Visions. They  ensure all the details about the Job and the completed the Automated (Job) Questionnaires appropriately reflect the duties, skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions for a particular job and  in relation to other jobs in the organization.

 

Job Family **

A group of Jobs that have essentially the same core education and experience requirements (or background) or have similar key functions and responsibilities. Job Families are created to establish a logical and readily communicated structure for the administration and management of an organization's human resources (for example, Accounting,Computer Science, Engineering, Human Resources, Law, Marketing, Public Affairs) for identification, administration and management efficiencies.  Both Employees and Jobs should be assigned a Job Family status in ENCV.

 

Job Group **

Identifies Jobs at a particular level within the organization’s hierarchy that typically define the breadth and depth of responsibility (E.g. Clerical/Administrative, Technical/Professional, Supervisory, Executive Leadership, Senior Management, Management, Team Lead). Job Group may also identify a particular relationship with the organization (for example, Union Local 123, External Customer). Both Employees and Jobs should be assigned a Job Groups status in ENCV

 

Job Level **

The name used by the Organization to describe pay levels. It is established from Job evaluation points awarded to evaluated jobs and based on the Automated (Job) Questionnaire responses for each Job. Each Job Level (or point band) is assigned a minimum and a maximum number of points based on the Organization's value system. Organizations may change the default term "Job Level" to better meet their needs (for example, Pay Grade, Salary Level).  

 

Job Posting

The Job Posting supplies all the basic information about a Job for posting or emailing. It is printed from the Jobs screen in Job Related Reports.

 

Job/Points Matrix Report

The Job/Points Matrix Report displays the Job Evaluations results in the form of a grid. Job Points are calculated based on the answers to the Job Questionnaire using a proprietary formula defined by Encompassing Visions. Job Levels are established from Job evaluation points awarded to evaluated jobs and based on the Automated (Job) Questionnaire responses for each Job. Each Job Level (or point band) is assigned a minimum and a maximum number of points based on the Organization's value system. Jobs can be filtered within the Job/Points Matrix Report in a number of ways, including by Job Family, Job Group, Organization and Job Evaluation Points.  Within each cell of the Matrix Report, the order of the Job Title’s printed is based on each Job’s total job evaluation points.  Jobs that have been evaluated but not yet ‘Approved’ (based on Policy settings) are highlighted in the report.

 

Job Questionnaire or Automated (Job) Questionnaire

The JPS Job Questionnaire© is a series of multiple choice questions used to consistently and effectively gather information about what people are expected to do in their assigned work. The questions are linked to specific Competencies and define how important each Competency is for a particular Job. The responses to the questions also determine the point value for the job and allows it to be slotted into the appropriate Job Level in the organization.

 

The Questionnaire can be completed manually by printing the Job Questionnaire Input Sheet for a specific job (see Job-Related Reports) or online (see Automated (Job) Questionnaire).

 

Job Questionnaire Cross Reference Report

The Job Questionnaire Cross Reference Report shows the Questionnaire Responses, Job Total Points and Job Level for the selected Job. Displays a report showing the average Job Questionnaire results for the selected Job compared to individual results when multiple Questionnaires are completed for the job. As well as a report that provides a mechanism to review each Envitae question for multiple jobs, grouped under the categories of Skill,Effort, Responsibility and Working Conditions. Data can be filtered by any combination of Job Family, Job Group, Job Level, and Organizational Unit.

 

Job Questionnaire Progress Bar

Indicates if the questionnaire is in progress (red bar with white lettering) or completed (green with white lettering.  Displayed to the right of the toolbar, just above the questionnaire to identify the percentage of Questions that have been answered.

 

Job Reference or Job Reference Number

All jobs must be assigned a Job Reference Number. Please note: This is not the Position Identification Code. One job with a single Job Reference Number may be assigned to several 'positions' within the organization.

This is the primary key for the Jobs table so it cannot be updated and must be unique in the Jobs table.

If your organization does not already have a job reference numbering system in place, simply assign a unique number to each job in the organization. The simplest possible system is advised.

The number can be up to 10 alpha-numeric characters .

It is recommended that the assignment of job reference numbers be controlled by either the System Administrator or Human Resources.

If there is a pre-existing coding system for Job Reference Numbers, that should be used, especially if you will use the Import Data.

 

Job Reports

Job Reports are, collectively, the reports that Encompassing Visions can generate about Jobs. These include the Job Description, Job Posting and Selection Interview Guide. The reports are printed from the Jobs in Job Related Reports.

 

Job Settings

The Job Settings defined in Encompassing Visions govern how the data in your system is processed. They allow options for many different variables such as how you name specific terms, features that you can turn on or off, and the number of items displayed in certain lists. Policies are customized in the Job Settings function under the Jobs Menu.

 

Job Total Points

The total points are calculated based on the answers to the Job Questionnaire using a proprietary formula defined by Encompassing Visions. There are four major components:

Skill - the sum total of every kind of knowledge and learned capability, however acquired, needed for acceptable job learning and growth. This includes proficiency, facility, or dexterity that is acquired or developed through training or experience. It is broken down to Background (experience/education), Practical/Technical skill, Interpersonal skills, Problem Solving skills and Management skills.

Effort - something done by exertion or hard work that may be physical or mental in nature. It is broken down to Physical effort, Mental/Sensory effort and Technological/Environmental effort.

Responsibility - a measure of accountability for outcomes that may have safety, financial or social implications. It is broken down to Dollar Impact (responsibility for revenue/expense/budget), Taking Action and Other responsibilities.

Working Conditions - the physical environment and the mental/emotional conditions required to get the work done.

Data can be filtered by any combination of Job Family, Job Group, Job Level, and Organizational Unit.

 

 

- L -

 

Lead

A person who is in a leadership role in the selected Organization Unit.  Employees are designated as Leads on the Edit Employee screen.  The name of the Employee designated as Lead of the Organization Unit will appear in the Organization Structure function as a Lead of the Organization Unit. Designating an Employee as a Lead also enables the Employee to perform Supervisor Reviews, view/approve Employee Training Plans and view Strength and Development Opportunity Analysis for all employees in their Organization Unit and any Sub-Units.

 

Lead Actions**

Introduced in Version 9.2, Lead Actions are the specific actions the Lead is required to complete in order for an Employee to achieve a Professional Development Objective.  The Lead Actions field is enabled  by customizing the Objective Field Configurations screen for Professional Development Objectives.

 

Learning and Growth Rating Definitions/Factors

Learning and Growth Rating is used in the Learning and Growth Report to denote the overall level of learning and growth that the Employee has achieved.  Default categories are: Outstanding, Strong, Full Satisfactory, Needs Improvement, and  Unsatisfactory. These ratings are also used to determine the points ranges displayed in the Competency and Work Plan Details  section of the Learning and Growth Report. Learning and Growth Ratings can be customized in the Learning and Growth Ratings function in the Employees Module in Employee Settings>Reviews.

 

Learning and Growth Report

The Learning and Growth Report is the summarized information from all of the Learning and Growth Reviews presented in a hard-copy format for signing and filing. The sections printed in this report are identified in the Learning and Growth Report Options function.

 

Learning and Growth Report Archive

Introduced in Version 9.2, Learning and Growth Reports can be generated, electronically approved by the Lead and Employee and saved as an electronic report in the Approved Learning and Growth Reports section of the Employees cube.  The Learning and Growth Report Policy: “Enable Learning and Growth Report Archiving” needs to be set to Yes for this functionality to be activated.  

 

Learning and Growth Review

The Employee Learning and Growth Review is the process and/or printed report of the evaluation of Employee learning and growth for a given period. It can be completed by one or more people in varying Reviewer Roles to provide 360° feedback to the Employee. It can include a Competency Review, a Business Plan Review and a Professional Development Plan Review. Each of these can be weighted according to the value the organization wants to place on that particular review in the Learning and Growth Reports Policy.

 

Level of Importance (LOI) **

This term identifies the significance (or value) to the Organization that a particular Objective represents. An Objective can have Some, Moderate, Considerable, High or Extreme importance to the Organization.

 

Location Detail **

Specific details about where a training course is being held (i.e., a city or town, province, address, etc.).

 

Lock Date

A learning and growth review becomes locked (closed for editing) a certain number of days after completion.

 

Lock Period

The number of days after a review has been "Completed" that it will be locked so no further changes can be made.  If set to 0, the review becomes locked as soon as it is completed. Note:  If the review  is completed before the Due Date, it will remain open until after the Due Date and Lock Period has passed.

 

Locked Review

A Review gets locked a certain number of days (as determined by the System Administrator) after completion. Only a System Administrator can unlock a review. The Core Table Review Type, Lock Period determines when the completed reviews will be locked. The system default is 15 days. A review can be unlocked by a System Administrator on the Reviewers screen.

 

- M -

 

Manual Reviewer/Manual Review

When a Reviewer is manually added in the Maintain Reviewers function we call this a Manual Reviewer (as opposed to a Default Reviewer). We also commonly refer to this as a Manual Review for the Reviewer.

The Employees - Reviewers Policy dictates whether or not the default reviewers will be used.

 

Multiple Pay Lines

ENCV can be used to evaluate every job in your organization due to the granularity of ENCV’s job analysis, while its technology enables easy management of the data with transparent and equitable Job Evaluation results. It also enables your organization the opportunity to store multiple job level tables and manage multiple pay lines in one database.  

 

- N -

 

Nature of the Work **

For some organizations, there may be a need to have a text-based field that appears as the first section in the Job Description. If it is enabled it can be used to describe additional necessary information about jobs. For example, there may be a need to record what position the job reports to in the organization, etc.

Note: The Jobs policy "Do you use 'Nature of the Work' in your Job Descriptions" must be turned on in order for this field to be available in the system. The policy gets defaulted to 'No' during installation.

 

- O -

 

Objective **

Objectives are the details of a Work Plan. These are high level action plans to be accomplished during the Review Period. Objectives should be SMART – specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

 

Objective Field Configuration (OFC)

Introduced with Version 9.2, the Objective Field Configuration screen in the Administration module controls the fields that are enabled and/or required for all Business and Professional Development Plans.  Previously, many of these fields were customized through various Policies.  The configuration options are determined by the administrator and are universal for all objectives that will be created.  When enabled, the field appears in the Objective Details screen and can be completed by the Employee when the Objective is created.  When required, the field is marked with an asterisk (*) and must be completed in order for the Work Plan to pass the validation step.  

 

 

Organization Level Type

Level Types are the generic names you give to the different levels in your organization. Common names for levels are Division, Department, Branch and Section. You need to define the Level Types in your organization so that you can establish where in the hierarchy each organization unit occurs.

 

Organization Name

This is the name of your organization. See Organization Structure in the Administration Module under the System Setup functions for instructions on how to enter this information into Encompassing Visions.

 

Organization Reference

Organization Reference (Org. Ref.) is a user-identified unique code in Encompassing Visions to define the Organizational Unit. For example, a Division in your organization called Operations might have designated Org. Ref of OPS or 123. The reference system is designed by the organization to be meaningful to the organization.

 

If there is a pre-existing coding system for your organizational units, that system should be used, especially if you will use the Import Data function.

 

Objective Type **

The name of this item has changed to Category.  For organizational planning purposes, it may be beneficial to know more about the nature of the Objectives being identified and reviewed across the Organization. The Category field is designed to provide a broad classification to which Objectives can be assigned. Categories can be the Balanced Scorecard factors (Business Process, Customer, Financial, Learning & Growth) or the Four Pillars (Recruiting, Learning and Growth, Learning, Compensation).

 

Organization Unit - Employee

Specifies the specific area (Division, Department, Section, Team, etc.,) in the organization where the employee is currently assigned. It is used in conjunction with the Lead Indicator to determine who an employee’s supervisor is for learning and growth reviews and work plan approvals.

Organization Unit - Job

Specifies the specific area (Division, Department, Section, Team, etc.,) in the organization where the job is uniquely found.

 

Organizational Bias

Organizational Bias allows you to emphasize the importance of particular Competencies deemed necessary to achieving the Organization's strategies and goals.  Organizational Bias points assigned to any particular Competency will heighten the importance of that Competency across the Organization. Assigned points become the "starting" or minimum importance awarded to the Competency by the Organization. When the Automated (Job) Questionnaire is completed, Competency values associated with the Job are added to the organization minimum. This creates a blended value that reflects both Organization-wide values and Job-specific needs. Organizational Bias is maintained and applied in the Competencies function in the Jobs Module in the Job Settings> Competencies

 

Organizational Learning and Growth

The Organizational Learning and Growth function in the Analysis Module shows the competency and skill strengths and development opportunities for individuals and organization units based on the Employee Competency Reviews.

 

 

- P -

 

Pagination

The sequence of numbers assigned to pages - located at the bottom of the screen for quick access to specific Jobs, Employees and Users  in large databases .  Number of Jobs, Employees and Users retrieved on pages depends on screen resolution.  

 

Percentage Weighting**

The importance of a particular objective, assigned a percentage, relative to the other objectives in a work plan.  When Percentage Weighting is enabled it is mandatory that  each objective be assigned a weight which, when added to the other objectives in a work plan,  totals  100%.  

 

Policies

Govern how the data in your system is processed. They allow options for many different variables such as how you name specific terms, features that you can turn on or off, and the number of items displayed in certain lists.

 

Policy Group

A Policy Group is a collection of related system policies. e.g. Jobs Policies, Reviewers Policies, Reporting Policies etc.  The Policies screen, viewable only by the Administrator, is organized to mirror the Main Menu.

 

Priority

Introduced in Version 9.2, Priority is the ordering of Objectives for reports.  Objectives with a higher priority (1, 2 etc.) will print first on reports such as Work Plan and Learning and Growth Reports.  When the Priority field is enabled, and required, all Objectives in a Work Plan must be given a priority. This field is customized in the Objective Field Configurations screen for either Business or Professional Development Objectives.

 

Primary Key

A field or set of fields in the system used as a unique identifier. This means that only one record with that identifier can exist in a particular table. You will notice that you can only 'edit' (or type in) the primary key field when adding a new record. Once added to the system, the key field is locked. In order to change a primary key, the entry must be deleted and added back with the new key. For example, the Job Reference Number is the primary key of the job table. This means that only one job record with that job reference number can be entered when adding a new job. When editing the job, the field is locked. If you have a need to change a Job Reference you have to either delete the job and add it back or copy it to the correct Job Reference and delete the old one. (Of course, if you change a job reference number you also have to change all of the employees that had been attached to it so this is not a trivial effort. It is important to get the primary key right the first time).

 

Professional Development Objective**

A Professional Development Objective is a detail item of the Professional Development Plan which describes a specific career growth goal to achieve during the Review Period. (Measures of  personal development during a specific period of time that are important because of the employees current job responsibilities.)

 

Professional Development Plan **

The Professional Development Plan is one of two types of Work Plans in the system (the other being a Business Plan). It details the career growth planned for this Employee during the next Review Period (courses, seminars, etc.).  The Professional Development Plan is made up of one or more Professional Development Objectives.

 

Professional Development Plan Review **

The evaluation of the Professional Development Plan by one or more Reviewers. The evaluation is done based on the Evaluation Option selected for the Objective. Results for all Objectives are averaged to determine an evaluation for the Professional Development Plan.

 

Progress Bar

Indicates if the review is in progress (red bar with black lettering) or completed (green with white lettering.  Displayed underneath the Tool Bar of a Competency, BO or PDO review to identify how many Competencies have been reviewed so far.

 

Purge Email Logs

Purging email logs is when the messages you have marked for removal by the delete command are erased from the server or your local computer drive. Once email is purged it cannot be recovered.

 

- R -

 

Report Options (Job/Learning and Growth Report Options, formerly System-Wide Report Options)

Report Options allow the customization of information that appears on Job Reports (Job Description, Job Posting and Selection Interview Guide) and Learning and Growth Reports. In the Job Report Options function in the Job Settings and the Learning and Growth Report Options function in the Employee Settings an Administrative User will set the default options.

 

Report Viewer

Encompassing Visions no longer requires a SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) server for the premium versions of our reports.  These same reports are available to users using Microsoft's Report Viewer running in local mode, rather than remote mode, thereby eliminating the SSRS requirement.  This simplifies the set up, configuration, and maintenance of an installation of Encompassing Visions.   In addition, we have upgraded several of our older style reports to make use of the increased speed and more advanced paging and exporting features of Microsoft Report Viewer.

 

Required Proficiency

The necessary level of ability required for a particular Skill in a particular Job. The Skill Type for the Skill will identify whether the Required Proficiency is to be included when the Skill gets linked to the Job.

 

Reset Password

Failing to remember password which contains unspaced sequence of characters used to determine that a computer user requesting access to a computer system is really that particular user.

 

 

Resource **

Extra resources are sometimes required to enable an employee to accomplish an Objective. Resources are grouped into Resource Categories. Resources are used in Work Plans.

 

Resource Category **

The Category (Additional Equipment, Additional Staffing, Association Membership, Education, Mentor, Other Budgeted Costs) into which resources (or funds) for an Objective would be allocated.  Resource Categories can be customized based on your organizations' requirements.

 

Response Validation

This function is used to find inconsistencies in the job questionnaire responses.The report can be accessed by clicking the Validate Questionnaire Responses icon (ResponseValidation02) in the Actions bar on the Job Questionnaire screen. Only Access Level  5 administrative users have access to the response validation.

 

Review

There are 3 different types of Employee reviews: Business Plan Review, Professional Development Plan Review, and Competency Review. By default, an incumbent and his/her supervisor will be set up to do these reviews. These defaults, and the terms used to define these review types, may have been  altered to match procedures and terminology within your organization.

 

Reviewee

Person/Employee being reviewed by the Reviewer. See Reviewer Role.

 

Reviewer

The person performing the Business Plan Review, Professional Development Plan Review or the Competency Review of an Employee (Reviewee).

 

Reviewer Notifications

This function will generate system-wide E-mail notifications to remind Reviewers to complete upcoming Learning and Growth Reviews and when Learning and Growth Reviews are overdue. It uses the Expected Review Date of the Reviewers to determine which Reviewers are to be notified.

 

 

Review Period

The Review Period is a function of the Fiscal Year (which month) and Review Frequency (Annually, Semi-Annually, Quarterly, or Monthly).  Depending upon the Review Period you select, the beginning and ending review dates in each new Work Plan or Competency Review will automatically default to that period, based on the start of your Fiscal Year. The Review Period information (Period Start Month, Review Frequency, Grace Period and Lock Period) is maintained for each type of Review in Core Tables: Review Type.

Note:  Review Period-The number of days allowed for learning and growth reviews to be completed. Used to pre-populate date fields in the software, the selected number will be added to the review period "end Date" to determine the Due Date for reviews.

 

 

Review Status

A review can have one of three possible statuses.  Not Started indicates that a review has been created by the system based on the Work Plan created by the Employee or Supervisor (if it is not a Competency Review), as well as configurations assigned by the Administrator.  When that Review is accessed, and any questions are completed, the Status updates to In Progress, a Review ID is assigned, and the Review Start Date and last Modified Date are populated.  A Review does not update to the Complete status until all questions and sub-review questions are completed, including adding any justification if required.

 

Reviewer Role

The Reviewer Role identifies the perspective of the person completing the Learning and Growth and/or Work Plan Review. The defaults available in Encompassing Visions are:  Client, Incumbent, Peer, Subordinate and Supervisor. You can add more Reviewer Roles to suit the terminology of your organization but you cannot modify or delete the default Reviewer Roles because they have specific processing linked to them. See the Reviewer Role section of the Administration Module Reference Files function "Core Tables" for information about the maintenance of this list.

 

Ripple

The purpose of this function is to ripple any updates required to the Job Evaluation (Job Questionnaire Results) for the Benchmark Job through all of the clones.  This ensures consistency between the Benchmark Job and its clones and minimizes the amount of maintenance required on the clones.  The Job Questionnaire Cross Reference Report for Benchmark Clones will show any discrepancies between the Benchmark Job and it’s clones.

 

- S -

 

Security

This function will generate system-wide E-mail notifications to remind Reviewers to complete upcoming Learning and Growth Reviews and when Learning and Growth Reviews are overdue. It uses the Expected Review Date of the Reviewers to determine which Reviewers are to be notified.

 

Selection Interview Guide**

This item is also called Behavioural Interview Guide.  The Selection Interview Guide is a series of system-generated targeted-selection questions based on the specific Competencies and Technical Skills required in each Job. These questions are designed to seek information from candidates about how they have demonstrated particular Competencies in previous jobs. The questions can be customized to suit your organization and can be specific to a Job Group in order to create a set of unique interview questions for the same Competency based on the type of work to be done. The Selection Interview Guide enables interviewers to stay focused on the key elements of the Job and produce a defensible record of the Job interview. In Version 9.1 the ability to provide an alternate term for 'Selection' was implemented so that this can be referred to as a Behavioural Descriptive Interview Guide.  The Interview Guide is printed from the Jobs screen of the Job Related Reports and the text is maintained from the View Box of the Competencies Job Settings function.

 

Selection Rationale

In the Automated (Job) Questionnaire there is a field for entering response "Justification". The Selection Rationale option generates the Job Selection Rationale Report, highlighting in BOLD the responses (calculated response averages) to each question. The report also includes any "Justification" notes entered from those completed Questionnaires.  It is a useful document for Job Evaluation Committee reference. This report provides a historical record to help ensure the integrity of evaluations over time.

 

Send Email Notifications

The send email notification sends an email to inform the Reviewer about Reviews that are past due or are in progress.

 

Single Page Application

A single-page application is a web application or website that interacts with the web browser by dynamically rewriting the current web page with new data from the web server, instead of the default method of the browser loading entire new pages. The goal is faster transitions that make the website feel more like a native app

 

Skill ID

All Skills must be assigned a Skill ID

This is the primary key for the Skills table so it cannot be updated and must be unique in the Skills table

The Skill ID can be up to 10 alpha-nudesign_cook@yahoo.cameric characters  

A simply numbering scheme is recommended

 

Skill

Skills convey what is required for learning and growth as opposed to behavioural Competencies which determine how you are expected to perform.  Examples might include having the ability to speak and write fluently in French or to have an Advanced Proficiency is using Microsoft Word.

 

Skill Category

A high level grouping for Skills. Skill Categories are used to facilitate filing and retrieving specific skills when connecting them to Jobs and/or Employees. This grouping is optional and is intended only as a means to make sorting or filtering of skills easier.

 

Skill Sub-Category

A secondary grouping for Skills within a Skill Category. Skill Categories and Sub-Categories are used to facilitate filing and retrieving specific skills when connecting them to Jobs and/or Employees. This grouping is optional and is intended only as a means to make sorting or filtering of skills easier.

 

Skill Type

Skill Types define whether the entry is a Technical Skill, Certification, Designation, License, Government Requirement or Other type of skill. All Skills will have a Skill Type assigned because the Skill Type identifies whether the Skill has to have a Required Proficiency associated with it when it gets linked to a Job and whether the Skill is reviewable in the Competency Review. Skill Types are maintained in the Core Tables function of either the Job Settings or Employee Settings.

 

Specific Accountabilities **

This term is used to describe in 5 to 8 statements how the Job is expected to achieve or accomplish its General Accountability. Each statement starts with an action verb followed by an end result. Specific Accountability statements are listed in descending order of importance, and collectively answer the question: "What does this job do in order to accomplish its primary objective?" (as described by the General Accountability statement.)

 

Detailed Explanation: Specific Accountabilities describe desired and measurable outcomes and are often tied to organizational goals and strategic objectives.  Evey Job should have between 5 and 8 ‘Specific Accountability’ statements that are precise, quantifiable and helpful in providing a clear understanding of what success looks like.  

To accomplish each listed Specific Accountability in a Job, there are things that must be done that collectively describe how it will be achieved.  This more granular and detailed list of duties / tasks clarifies those activities and helps in the understanding of what goes into accomplishing each desired outcome.

You will know you have the right Specific Accountabilities if the word ‘by:’ is placed at the end of each accountability statement and you subsequently find duties and tasks naturally identifying themselves.

In summary, Specific Accountabilities define the desired outcomes and results of a role, while duties and tasks outline the actions and responsibilities necessary to achieve those outcomes.  By understanding and effectively managing both aspects, we can ensure clarity, alignment, and accountability within the organization.  

 

 

Stretch **

This term describes a level of learning and growth that is between the Target and the Goal, yet is achievable within the current Review Period. It is an option used in Business and Professional Development Plans. Stretch Objectives are enabled in the Objective Field Configurations screen.

 

Stretch Evaluation Option **

The type of evaluation option to use when evaluating the Stretch level of learning and growth. The Grade option is based on results achieved relative to expectations, whereas the Percentage option rates the achievement of this Objective from 0 - 100%. It is used in Business and Professional Development Plans if Stretch is entered. Stretch Objectives are enabled and/or required in the Objective Field Configuration screen.

 

Sub-Administrators

Users who have Administrator level Access to a particular Domain. 

 

Sub-Unit

In the Organization Structure, the Organizations beneath the selected Organization Unit in the Organization Chart or Hierarchy are identified as 'Sub-Units' of the selected Organization Unit.

 

Succession Planning

This is the function of finding Employees who are the best fit for a Job within your Organization. Calculations within Encompassing Visions take into account what Technical Skills and behavioural Competencies are required in the Job and map that Job requirement against Employee Learning and Growth demonstrated during the selected Review Period.

 

Supervisor

The Supervisor is the person identified as the leader of the Organization Unit the Employee belongs to. If that person is not active or there is no leader defined in the Employee's Organization Unit, the leader for the next Organization Level up from the Employee will be used as the Supervisor for Review and Training Request Approval purposes.

 

Synchronization

The system will determine whether the transaction is an add or change and based on existing Encompassing Visions data and process the information accordingly.

The synchronization transaction determines whether or not an insert or update is required based on whether the records already exists in the database. This transaction type is not recommended for those clients that have the ability to populate transactions to the staging tables as updates occur in the source databases. Rather, it is intended for those clients who need to dump their entire employee source table into the staging table because they don’t have transactional ability. With the Synchronization there is no ability to delete.

System Constraints

This Administrative Function allows you to increase or decrease the licensing limits for Encompassing Visions. These licensing limits are called System Constraints and they can only be changed by obtaining an Authorization Key from Encompassing Visions Support Staff (crelations@encv.com).

 

System Settings

The System Settings defined in Encompassing Visions govern how the data in your system is processed. They allow options for many different variables such as how you name specific terms, features that you can turn on or off, and the number of items displayed in certain lists. Policies are customized in the System Settings function under the Administration Menu in the System Setup section.

 

 

- T -

 

Target **

This term describes the measurable, improved level of learning and growth that an employee is expected to achieve. It is used in Business and Professional Development Plans. Target is enabled  in the Objective Field Configuration.

 

Technical Competence/Utilization Competency

The Technical Competence/Utilization Competency (#34) in the Competency Review is used to evaluate how well the Employee performs Technical Skills. If there are Skills linked to the Employee's Job, each Skill will be evaluated during the Learning and Growth Review and the average of all the Skill Reviews will determine the evaluation for the Technical Competency. If there are no Skills linked to the Employee's Job, this Competency is evaluated like all the other Competencies that do not have Competency Characteristic sub-reviews.

 

Technical Requirements **

This term identifies the technical and/or specialized Skills required to do the Job (for example, knowledge of a product or type of equipment, software application or legislation, etc).

 

Tool Tips

Tool tips display when you hover your mouse over a row, button or image. The purpose is to provide further explanation or detail about the item selected

 

Transactional

Each transaction is identified with an add, change or delete transaction type.

 

- U -

 

Unapproved Job

An Unapproved Job is a job that has not been Approved using the Job Approval Process.

 

User ID

The User ID is the login the employee uses to access the system. It determines which modules they can access.Important Note: UserIDs are case sensitive in the login screen.

 

User Login Audit Report

This functionality tracks and reports system access attempts by unauthorized users.

 

 

User Profile

The User Profile is a pre-defined set of security settings that can be assigned to a User ID so that the specific security settings do not have to be maintained on a user by user basis. Users and Profiles are defined in the Profiles function of the Administration Module in the System Setup section.

 

 

- V -

 

View Only Mode

View Only Mode means that changes cannot be made to the information on the screen. Typically, the system uses the same screens for viewing and editing information but not all users have access to edit information. In that situation they can only view the data and all fields and buttons are disabled.

 

Value Setting Job Group

The Job Group for which the Competency Alignment Surveys for all other Job Groups will be compared against to determine the perceived variance from organizational values. It is assumed that this Job Group will be the ones setting the values for the organization. Usually the Value Setting Job Group is the Executive. The Value Setting Job Group is established in the Competency Alignment Policy "Core Competencies are defined by which Job Group?."

 

 

- W -

 

Weighting

Points are assigned to each possible multiple-choice response for each question in The JPS Job Questionnaire©. The system calculates all responses to all Questionnaires completed for a job in your organization to determine the Job Total Points. The Job Total Points are compared to the Job Level Table to determine the Job Level for the Employee.

 

Weighting (Objective Field Configuration option)

The percentage assigned to the objective in relation to the other objectives in the Work Plan.  If Enabled, the field is mandatory and the combined weighting for all objectives in a Work Plan must equal 100%.  Introduced in Version 9.2, it is anticipated that this field may  be used in conjunction with or instead of  Level of Importance and Degree of Difficulty in the Work Plan.

 

Windows Authentication

Is a secure form of authentication because the user name and password are hashed before being sent across the network. When you enable Windows authentication, the client browser sends a strongly hashed version of the password in a cryptographic exchange with your Web browser.

 

Work Plan

A Work Plan is a generic term to describe the set of agreed-upon, measurable objectives related to an employee’s job and/or career development.  There are 2 types of Work Plans in the system: a Business Plan and a Professional Development Plan. Typically, an employee will have one Business Plan and one Professional Development Plan for each Review Period.

 

Work Plan Validation

Introduced in Version 9.2, the validation process is a system of checks performed on a Work Plan before it can be marked as Complete.  The system validation does the following:

Checks that all required fields are completed.

For some fields (Resource Category, Objective Category, Competency), checks that the fields are active at the time the “Complete” function is run.

Checks that the total percentage weightings across all Objectives in the Work Plan add up to 100% when the Percentage Weighting configuration is enabled.

 

Work Unit **

The Work Unit field is a default filter option to further define and sort Job data according to organizational needs.

 

Working Conditions

Working Conditions refers to the working environment and all existing circumstances affecting  the physical environment as well as intellectual and emotional stress.