Witness Testimony is an example of Supporting Evidence – you are asking the witness to provide an account of what the candidate does, or has done recently, in their job role.
A good witness (e.g. a line manager) sees the candidate perform on a regular basis over a period of time in varying conditions.
It is good practice to include a Witness Signatories List [► Recording an audit trail ] at the beginning of the Portfolio, including the names, signatures and relationship to the candidate of everyone whose witness testimony plays a part in assessment of the candidate.
Witness Testimony may be an excellent assessment instrument when confidentiality is an issue.
It is also an excellent instrument to record performance over time.
It doesn’t always have to be a written account – a taped or filmed interview between the assessor and the witness is another acceptable method. An extra pro-forma or other means may be needed to record the points in the audio or video recording where PIs and K&U are met.
Witnesses should annotate evidence to authenticate that it is the candidate’s work e.g. “Having looked at the Work Product and read the Observation I can confirm that this is the standard Charles/Alyson produces on a regular basis”.
The best Witness Testimony is where the witness provides a statement in their own words which relates closely to the standards as per the following example:
| PDF file | ► Western 95 |
This example is a very good, holistic statement covering several units. It consists of a narrative that explains in some depth the witness’s experience of the candidate’s performance. This provides a much higher degree of confidence than a brief statement. Referencing is recorded alongside the points in the evidence where the relevant PIs and Knowledge are covered.
Feedback is provided by the assessor and there is an explanation of the witness’s relationship with the candidate which adds further credibility to the testimony..