Playing Cards to Create Data: How to Link Knowledge and Praxis to Redesign Competencies Framework

This paper presents the research design created for action research (Argyris, Putnam, & Smith, 1985) through a unique case study in a big company. The Action research has the huge advantage to mobilize and to integrate panoptical and practical knowledge: "if there is a cooperation between researchers and members of the organization, and if the goal is to produce a valid knowledge both at the scientific and at the practical level, then, we have to assume that theory and practices are strongly linked through methodology" (David, 2012). The organization is searching an answer to the further problematic: render the way the collaborators join and articulate the concepts of competencies to build tools of recruitment accepted, useful, and relevant for all. How to improve the efficiency of the recruitment tools by using the competency framework suitable for the collaborators? The aim of this paper is to contribute to expose a new method of data collection based on a game of cards. This method enables conducting research on the perceptions of the employees concerning the competencies' framework. This method helps the researcher to identify the decision-making and priorities of the employees. Thought their vision, researcher will be able to improve the human resources management system. Generally game of cards is not used in HR researches. Recent research uses this method to understand mental interpretations of people and to build a common European profession's taxonomy (Deauvieau and al., 2014) based on the socio-professional categorization created by Boltanski&Thévenot, (1983). Our proposal design is a kind different. Games of cards could be used in some prospective tests (Carter and al., 2013), and/or for conjoint analysis (Green and Rao, 1971), but here we apply them in an original and complementary way. Following a description of our research design, and especially the encapsulated game of cards data collection, we will underline the strengths, assets, and the potential interest to implement a new practice of HRM research. Since, the literature includes issues on the inhibition of individuals facing researchers; our game is an easy way to play down the situation to overcome some barriers between practitioners and researchers, and to identify many additional advantages. Finally, we will draw up the future extensions of this new research design and analyse this innovative method to collect data through cognitive-maps, mix-methods, and multiple classification matrixes.