Service Excellence Competency Framework + Self‑Assessment

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The U of A Service Excellence Competency Framework guides our work and supports our journey to achieving service culture. The competency framework is grounded in the Seven Service Culture Principles and outlines the behaviours needed to achieve U of A's vision for a service culture. The cultural shift will take time, but the U of A Service Excellence Competency Framework provides clarity about how we are going to get there.

U of A Service Excellence Competency Framework

The U of A Service Excellence Competency Framework outlines competencies for service staff and leaders at the University of Alberta to deliver effective service.

Competencies are a combination of knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to perform effectively in one’s job or role. They are observed and assessed through behaviours and actions that contribute to individual or team performance.

Competencies are also influenced by underlying motives, attitudes, and intentions that are more difficult to assess but are still important to consider as they will affect performance and behaviour. Ultimately, competencies describe how to approach work in order to be successful. Excellence in service delivery also requires broader transferable skills and behaviours not explicitly included in the Framework, such as flexibility and communication.

Service Excellence Competencies

Role-Specific + Technical Skills

Role-specific and technical skills relate to the specialized knowledge, theory, methods, and practices needed to carry out the unique work assignments for a role. This competency is demonstrated differently according to the requirements of a position as outlined in the job card/job fact sheet/position description.

Service Orientation

Service orientation is demonstrated through genuine attentiveness to understanding and meeting clients’ needs while balancing organizational priorities and capacities. Whether supporting transactional processes or complex strategic solutions, service providers need to keep clients’ needs in mind and build relationships based on care and respect. This competency is demonstrated when team members act in alignment with U of A service excellence principles.

Problem Solving + Innovation

Problem solving and innovation involves anticipating opportunities and challenges, thinking critically, and taking the steps required to make good decisions and develop/implement innovative solutions. Staff work to solve problems for clients by accurately identifying their needs, coaching and guiding clients to solve problems themselves when possible, and providing referrals when appropriate.

Personal Effectiveness

Personal effectiveness is demonstrated through positive personal strategies for holding oneself accountable to commitments, as well as for actions and behaviours. It involves learning from our own experiences, including difficult service interactions. This includes coping and wellness strategies, self-development, and establishing relationships that enhance performance and achieve desired results.

Working with Others

Working with others requires interacting in a way that reflects an understanding of the interdependent and interconnected nature of the organization. This competency is reflected through working on, and across teams, as well as with internal and external stakeholders. This may include sharing information, leveraging the strengths and expertise of others, and collaborating to meet clients’ needs. Working effectively with others provides consistency, leverages team and organizational strengths, shares the workload, and helps to resolve client issues most effectively.

Process Excellence

Process excellence involves the continuous improvement of the way work is done. It aligns people, tasks, processes, and technology to enhance efficiency and meet the requirements of the end user. This requires clarity regarding role responsibility, identifying the requirements of each step of a process, finding ways to reduce duplication, eliminating low-value activities, and identifying and resolving the root causes of process delays and bottlenecks.

Service Excellence Competency Framework  

U of A Service Excellence Self-Assessment Tool

Growing your ability to demonstrate workplace competencies is a lifelong journey that requires purposeful self-reflection. The Service Excellence Self-Assessment Tool asks you to reflect on your capacity to demonstrate key behaviours across the six competencies. In completing the Self-Assessment, you will consider your strengths, areas for growth, and develop an action plan with your supervisor.

Service Excellence Self-Assessment Tool

Service Excellence Education Program

The Service Excellence Self-Assessment tool works in conjunction with the new Service Excellence Education (SEE) Program. The Service Excellence Education program is a multi-tiered program that blends asynchronous and in-person learning. The newly designed program grounds service excellence within the U of A context and aims to meet the evolving needs of staff and faculty.