Competence mapping as a tool for competence development for the tourism and hospitality sales service personnel : Case Osuuskauppa Maakunta
Arola, Sara (2021)
2021
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2021060614601
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2021060614601
Tiivistelmä
The subject of this thesis was the competence development of the tourism and hospitality sales service personnel of Osuuskauppa Maakunta's with the help of competence mapping. The aim of this thesis was to find out whether the competence of the tourism and hospitality sales service personnel corresponds to the company´s strategic competence needs. The purpose of the thesis was also to find out the strategic competence needs of Osuuskauppa Maakunta for the tourism and hospitality sales service personnel and to find out what kind of competence the personnel already have and what kind of competence is still lacking. The concrete results of the thesis were a competence map, competence profiles, a competence matrix, and a development plan.
The competence mapping started with defining the strategic competence needs through functional grouping method and interviews. The competence needs were defined together with the personnel and senior supervisors. A competence map was compiled for the sales service based on the competence needs, which was used to prepare a competence mapping survey. Target levels were defined for each competence with the senior executives. The results obtained from the competence questionnaire were transferred to the competence matrix together with the target levels of competence. The competence matrix reflected the differences between the current competence levels and the target levels. The competences to be developed were concluded from the competence matrix based on which a development plan was designed.
The theoretical part of the thesis consisted of the reference frameworks for competence development, competence management and competence mapping. This thesis was a constructive research in which both quantitative and qualitative research approaches were used. The quantitative results were analyzed by quantitative analysis and the qualitative results were analyzed by content analysis. The research methods used were functional grouping method, interviews, and a questionnaire. The subject of the thesis was the personnel of Osuuskauppa Maakunta's tourism and hospitality sales service, who responded to the mainly structured questionnaire as a self-assessment. In addition to self-assessment, personnel´s competence were assessed by their supervisor. The results of the evaluations were counted as the aver-age level of competence of the whole team.
The results of the competence mapping revealed that the competence of the sales service personnel was already at a good level, although development gaps were also found. The biggest development gaps were found in the sales competence area. The result of the research was a development plan that took into account both measures that maintain competence and measures that increase competence. Future competencies and core competencies were also taken into account in the plan.
The competence mapping started with defining the strategic competence needs through functional grouping method and interviews. The competence needs were defined together with the personnel and senior supervisors. A competence map was compiled for the sales service based on the competence needs, which was used to prepare a competence mapping survey. Target levels were defined for each competence with the senior executives. The results obtained from the competence questionnaire were transferred to the competence matrix together with the target levels of competence. The competence matrix reflected the differences between the current competence levels and the target levels. The competences to be developed were concluded from the competence matrix based on which a development plan was designed.
The theoretical part of the thesis consisted of the reference frameworks for competence development, competence management and competence mapping. This thesis was a constructive research in which both quantitative and qualitative research approaches were used. The quantitative results were analyzed by quantitative analysis and the qualitative results were analyzed by content analysis. The research methods used were functional grouping method, interviews, and a questionnaire. The subject of the thesis was the personnel of Osuuskauppa Maakunta's tourism and hospitality sales service, who responded to the mainly structured questionnaire as a self-assessment. In addition to self-assessment, personnel´s competence were assessed by their supervisor. The results of the evaluations were counted as the aver-age level of competence of the whole team.
The results of the competence mapping revealed that the competence of the sales service personnel was already at a good level, although development gaps were also found. The biggest development gaps were found in the sales competence area. The result of the research was a development plan that took into account both measures that maintain competence and measures that increase competence. Future competencies and core competencies were also taken into account in the plan.