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Hi -

My question is about adding value.

I have been told in an up coming interview, I will need to discuss this point -

"How will you know you are adding value?"

I'm struggling to understand the term, in practical words, and how to answer.

The role is a team senior, of about 6 policy and procedure trainers.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Rick

maura's picture
Training Badge

I think you have to understand what the reason is that the position exists - why is it worth the cost to have someone dedicated to that role?  Based on what you've said here, your team's main function is to train people on policies and procedures - I'd guess that you would also be responsible for helping to develop or improve those policies/procedures...or at least be closely aligned with the team that does that. 

So you just need to figure out how to measure your effectiveness at doing your job.  That will require a really clear understanding of the organization's needs, so that you can match your behavior to what they consider valuable.  I'd guess that at minimum, you will be effective at your job if the people you train come away with a good understanding of policies and procedures, and the behaviors required to follow them.  Perhaps you could give a quiz at the end of training sessions.  To some degree, if you see an increase in process adherence, you can infer that you are adding value. Because THAT is the real value to the organization, right?  Not just that they learn the procedures, but that they follow them, and that has an impact to the business' bottom line.

Is this a development shop?  If so, your answer is probably going to be even more focused around metrics.   If you're jumping into a fairly mature lifecycle, you can start by measuring current state for the basics like budget, schedule, and quality, and then determine how your participation (or changes you've implemented) improves those metrics over time.  If you are developing new procedures, you'll need a way to determine if people understand and follow them (maybe by doing project post-mortems) - and if they do and are, then you can measure whether your projects run more efficiently (lower budget), time to market is shorter or more predictable, quality is enhanced throughout the lifecycle, etc.

Maybe I'm off base with the specifics, but the key is probably right:  Find a way to measure WHAT you're delivering (was it effective?), and HOW you're doing it (did we improve on budget, schedule, and/or quality), and you will have your answer.