Competency-Based Hiring
First, let's start with a working definition:
What is a competency?
What is competence as it relates to the workplace?
com·pe·tence /kämpədəns/
the capability to apply a set of related knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform functions or tasks in a defined work setting
A hiring approach that embraces competency-based evaluations allows for an employer to assess each candidate's history or pattern concerning a particular characteristic or ability. This process works based on two fundamental elements:
1. The belief that the best indication of future behavior is past behavior.
2. The understanding that there are levels of mastery or understanding of each competency.
This approach requires the Hiring Manager to have a strong understanding regarding which competencies are most important vs. least important for a particular job opening. And then, the evaluation and interview processes create an environment that prompts in-depth discussions about previous experiences that will indicate a candidate's ability or inability to perform in various scenarios.
For example: Ellen, the Hiring Manager for Dell's Integrated Marketing Team, decides that she needs a new Marketing Associate to join her ranks.
In addition to the requirements outlined in the detailed job description, this position requires the following strong competencies:
Strong communication skills
Strong sense of strategy
Strong creative skills
Strong technical abilities with pertinent software programs
This position does NOT necessarily require the following competencies:
Ability to lead direct reports
Budgeting & financial management
Teaching/training abilities
When Ellen invites Steve to interview for the new Marketing Associate opening, she asks Steve a number of pointed questions about previous situations that he may have experienced in the past. She asks about situations that he may have faced when he needed to communicate effectively, set strategy or use creative thinking skills. Steve responds with short stories from his past about how he's successfully handled communicating with a difficult audience, planned strategically in leading a project, and delivered innovative solutions in his previous roles. Ellen continues with a few more targeted questions that require Steve to continue to describe specific situations from his past in order to dig further into his previous behavior & decision-making patterns.
Ellen then evaluates Steve's apparent levels of mastery for each prioritized competency and can determine if he is an ideal candidate for her vacancy. From reviewing his resume, she can determine if he has relevant experience and an appropriate level of education, but only these detailed conversations can reveal whether or not Steve is an ideal fit for her Integrated Marketing team at Dell.
Using this technique to identify and assess the competencies of candidates for a particular job is not a science - it's an art. One that HP knows all too well. With proven methods, tangible data, and experts in candidate evaluation, we're able to use knowledge of previous behavior patterns combined with a candidate's character, to recommend the ideal candidate for the opening. We recognize how each individual will perform in challenging situations and how each candidate can add a unique value to the team.
Bad hiring decisions are the most costly part of business and the most ineffective use of time & resources for any business professional. Finding the right character and personality is just as important as finding a candidate with a niche background. Our advice for building your team using a competency-based hiring approach, from Jim Collins' Good to Great:
"Start by getting the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats. "
Competency-Based Evaluations, Interviewing and Hiring will allow you to do just that! If you're not sure where to start or could benefit from our proprietary system, reach out to us to Experience HP!
