The history of the competency-based approach to personnel management began with theories developed by Spencer, Boyaris and McCleland. It happened in the distant 70s of the last century.
How it all began?
Before the competency-based approach in the organization was invented, when selecting candidates for interviews in America, they conducted interviews, passed an intelligence test and analyzed the grades obtained during training. It soon became clear that such an approach did not provide a really high-quality selection of the best applicant. It was then that McCleland proposed a revolutionary solution - a competency-based approach.
The theory was based on variable competencies. This term was adopted in 1959 thanks to the company White, where it was used to evaluate and describe the nature of a person who could cope with a specific task.
What's the Difference?
But the new idea was to revise the methods for selecting criteria for evaluating a candidate. A sampling theory was developed taking into account the internal state of the applicant. The application of the competency-based approach to personnel management in this interpretation was supposed to analyze:
- mood;
- motivation;
- values.
In addition, according to McCleland, it is important how a person acts. In many respects, in his opinion, whether the work of the candidate will be successful depended on it.
Behavioral examples provided sufficient information for analysis, on the basis of which the interviews were worked out. Apperceptive tests and the Flanagan method were also used in the development.
And what in practice?
The features of the competency-based approach were first tested in the same 70s of the twentieth century. As the experimental site, the State Department of America, which was responsible for diplomatic information, was selected. The implementation of the idea took up the organization McBer and Company.
The first problems of the competency-based approach that were encountered when trying to put the theory into practice turned out to be related to the inability to determine, on the basis of the data obtained, how much the applicant is able to cope with the tasks set in real difficult conditions.
The first stage of the experiment at the diplomatic department consisted in the selection of two groups of candidates, of which some would be the best performers, while others were ranked as average employees. Each was individually invited to participate in an interview to gain an understanding of behaviors. Candidates should talk about their most successful and unsuccessful life situations. Interviewers asked what led up to the state of things that applicants felt and how they acted.
To summarize the data obtained, we used the method of analysis of verbal sentences. After analyzing the information, management specialists improved the competency-based approach to personnel management, ultimately bringing it to the form in which it is used in work today.
Modern and recruitment practices
It is very difficult to overestimate the importance of the role of the competency-based approach in personnel management. Indeed, thanks to this method, the largest companies are recruiting the best staff, allowing organizations to succeed and move the economy, industry, social life and civilization as a whole into the future. However, others argue that a competency-based approach to personnel management is a logical response to how the world labor market is developing.
It so happened that human resources in companies in different countries use a variety of methodologies to find the best employees.When analyzing methods, it is clear that some functions are duplicated, and directions often differ fundamentally. It should be remembered that the selection and assessment of staff are closely related to what kind of remuneration workers will expect.
The use of a competency-based approach in personnel management made it possible to reflect in the methodology the relationship between the selection of employees and remuneration. Competencies allow you to create a database that is applicable to a variety of services. Consequently, the selection of personnel for different firms turns into a process that brings together different firms around the world into a single whole.
What is a competency model
The competency model, on which the most effective personnel management methods are based, is the central core around which the entire system is created to control the employees of the organization. There are innumerable such models, but all of them are the coordinate system for the company. Thanks to such models, it is possible to understand which employees of the company are the most competent and useful for the organization, which may become such in a particular area.
Competent methods of personnel management only show their effectiveness when they are selected in accordance with the objectives, goals of the organization, and are also applied as intended by their authors.
Quality standards applied to the model:
- ease of understanding;
- accounting for changes possible as a result of the implementation of the program;
- compliance with the specifics of the company;
- the inclusion of a variety of elements that complement each other;
- justice.
How is the model developed?
When developing a model in an enterprise where a competency-based approach is yet to be implemented, it must be remembered that it is created in accordance with the following rules:
- development should be carried out by those who will then apply the model in reality;
- employees should have the most complete picture of the organization for which the model is being created;
- when developing the model, only standards of behavior relevant to all employees are taken into account;
- Standards of behavior taken into account when developing the model should be selected when taking into account the interests of the organization.
Application specifics
As the basic principles of personnel management show, the selection of employees should take into account the features of various methods, as well as a number of factors. The tools used for this are selected prior to the interview. The personnel manager is required to take care and adjust the selected methodologies in the process of communicating with the candidate. Simply put, you need to be able to adapt to changing conditions.
In order for the interview to be successful, and the conclusions drawn from it to be accurate, it is important to apply the competency model. In Russia, Kibanov was engaged in the elaboration and application of it to the realities of our labor market. The assessment is based on:
- interview results;
- professional standards and compliance with them;
- 360 degree method.
How is the interview going?
In practice, the essence of the competency-based approach in personnel management lies in a number of features of communication with the candidate. The first steps:
- Preparation, including the formation of a list of all who need to be evaluated. This list will have to include everyone who completed the questionnaire, previously agreed with the head of the company.
- The presence of a responsible representative who sends out lists of potential candidates within the organization, as well as examines the presence of gratitude, complaints about these people.
- Preparation of forms for evaluating a potential employee.
The assessment itself consists of the following steps:
- Company executives filling out 360 degree forms.
- Conducting an interview that will evaluate loyalty according to the Hyde method. In this case, a form with questions and ready-made answers is applied, from which you need to choose the right one.This allows you to determine the motivation of a potential employee, demotivation, his wishes.
- Demonstration of a newsletter in which the candidate must note which lines are in violation of professional standards. Such material is prepared in advance, and the results of the assessment should be included in the document prepared for this.
- Modeling the working situation and analysis of the manifestation of candidate competencies while taking into account professional standards.
The final stage, which is recommended by top HR specialists, developing the basics of personnel management:
- counting the result;
- generating a report for the manager with the creation of a monthly consolidated schedule.
If a competency-based approach is chosen, the methods allow the following assessments of the candidate:
- not suitable for a specific position;
- corresponds to the position;
- totally coincides;
- should be included in the company's reserve.
About difficulties in work
Practice shows that the most problems with employees these days are in those firms that use outdated methodologies for selecting employees. The elimination of a difficult situation is facilitated by the use of a competency-based approach in personnel management. If possible, an obsolete approach should be avoided: employee likes or dislikes. It is he who leads to the fact that the staff is ineffective.
Remember that the director of the company is also biased, he can not always correctly evaluate a professional in a narrow field, and the consequences of this can be the most serious - up to bankruptcy. As for HR managers, each such employee individually also cannot own the specifics of all areas, which imposes restrictions on the ability to correctly evaluate a potential employee.
It should be remembered that atypical corporate culture has formed in some companies, and this imposes a restriction on the selection of personnel. Equally complicates the task and personal atypicality of the candidate. Remember, productive cooperation is impossible when the company and the employee are not suitable for each other. Avoiding hiring such a person is the main goal of a competency-based approach.
The use of a well-chosen model allows us to create not only a successful workflow, but also to think through, as well as implement programs for staff training and development of each employee individually. In the presence of a well-developed model, human resources managers will have enough information to identify which areas of training are relevant at the moment.
Some features
Practice shows that the competency-based approach to personnel management is not always easy to implement, a lot depends on the specifics of a particular organization. If for some things go smoothly and immediately, in other firms the task stretches for several years. The easiest option is to resort to the help of a third-party specialist who has experience in solving similar problems. If the problem is solved on your own, you need to be prepared for the fact that the process will be time-consuming and require great efforts. You will probably have to train HR specialists in a new approach, as well as invest in developing a system that meets the requirements of a particular enterprise.
When a competency-based approach is introduced, the task of human resources specialists is to profile all positions in the organization, that is, to make a full description of each of them taking into account competencies. You can describe:
- activity;
- competency development level.
Finally, a project is created and agreed upon, in accordance with which the new methodology will be directly introduced.
Weak sides
As recent research in the field of recruiting shows, the competency-based approach to personnel management has some weaknesses.For the most effective functioning of the organization when implementing such a technique, all the shortcomings must be taken into account.
The most critical points:
- The formation of a too complicated competency model, which is practically impossible to put into practice, since in a company one employee is assigned the functions of several posts at once.
- Inability to connect competencies and motivation. Even having all the necessary skills, a person may not apply them in practice. At the same time, stimulation by finance alone is ineffective.
- The competency model associated with the employee’s self-motivation is recognized as the most effective, but it is complex and requires a lot of labor to develop and apply in practice.
Remember that profit is a key indicator of an enterprise’s success. If this or that employee is not a source of profit, it should not be in the company, even if by its characteristics a person fits perfectly into the workplace. The profitability indicator allows you to judge whether the employee is effective, if the value is zero or negative, the employee should be dismissed without regrets. Remember that resistance to stress and focus on a positive outcome is not a profit for the company.
What else to look for?
A somewhat more complicated situation is the selection of personnel in a crisis situation. Practice shows that under such conditions, the competency model is less effective than in a normal situation on the labor market. This is due to the fact that managers and HR managers rarely can adequately assess what qualities are required of an employee to ensure that the company profits in a difficult economic situation.
Another situation where the competency model shows low efficiency is the choice of employees for creative positions. If you need a generator of ideas, then it is impossible to predict what parameters an employee should have, especially in the long run. You can try the methodology, but the effectiveness will probably be low.
Remember that once selected competency model can provide the company with constancy. On the one hand, this is good - the company will steadily stay afloat due to successful selection of employees. On the other hand, one cannot dream of growth: for this, other workers are needed, which means that they need to be selected according to a different model.
The most modern firms are trying to choose employees who are able to think outside the box and behave outside of stereotypes. This is reasonable, because such a staff will lead the organization to success. But remember that the competency method is a standardization system, which fundamentally contradicts going beyond. Therefore, if you are looking for employees who can give the company a new life, the standard selection system is not suitable for you.
Yet the benefits are obvious.
Despite the difficult points described above, the competency methodology is applicable in practice and shows good results. Statistics say that with the successful implementation of such a methodology, staff turnover is reduced by 70%, while the profit of companies is approximately doubled, primarily sales are growing.
Now leading world management experts conduct research and refine the competency-based approach so that the methodology becomes applicable for atypical cases and non-standard areas. Once they succeed, this method of selecting workers will undoubtedly become the most applicable in practice. This is largely due to the fact that it is suitable for the information economy and most successfully meets the requirements of a post-industrial society.
Choosing the right approach is the key to success
The concept of "competency" is somewhat different in different countries. In the context of personnel selection, it is customary to single out approaches:
- American;
- European.
For the first, it is natural to decipher the term as the behavior of a potential employee. In this case, competence becomes the main characteristic of the employee. If a person is able to behave correctly, then he will be a successful acquisition of the company.
As for the European recruitment specialists, they prefer to consider competencies as functionality in the context of the expected results. In this case, the term is understood to mean the employee’s ability to behave in such a way as not to violate the standards applicable in the company.
The best results are shown by the integrated approach, when functionality and behavior are equally taken into account in the creation of the model. Also, the structure should contain cognitive competencies to fully reflect the qualities of the candidate.
Cognitive competencies are not only official knowledge gained in training and at previous work, but also unofficial, acquired throughout life in different situations. An ideal employee is a person who knows the information and understands why the system works in this way and not otherwise.
Functional competencies are skills specific to a potential employee. They can be with a professional or even with a novice specialist, if he can perform the task and can prove it during the interview by demonstration.
Social competencies affect the ethics of a person and the specifics of his personality.
To summarize
Competence is a generalized phenomenon designed to reflect how a person will behave in the workplace. The competency-based approach takes into account skills and knowledge, skills and personality traits, from which we can conclude how useful the employee will be for the organization. The presence of competencies determines how the employee will behave at the workplace and what results he will achieve. In determining the competencies for each specific position, their list becomes an indispensable assistant to the recruitment manager during the interview.
The last few years in our country are characterized by dramatic changes in the personnel policy of both private and state-owned companies. This is largely due to close cooperation with foreign companies, as well as the introduction of innovations. Statistics show that even in government bodies, the competency-based approach has found application as a way of selecting candidates. Thanks to this, the human resources management system has become transparent and effective, in line with the realities of the 21st century society.