Optimize Your Recruitment Process by Using Competencies
Recently, we wrote about the five steps to optimize employee development with a competency framework. This 5-step process begins with identifying organizational competencies and determining expected proficiencies by employee position and continues. The next two steps include assessing competencies and aligning the current proficiency with organizational needs and career aspirations. Finally, each employee should track progress to enhance accountability and results. This process helps develop employees and optimize organizational performance.
A meaningful competency framework can also improve recruiting practices. By aligning organizational competencies and expected proficiency levels with position descriptions, it allows you to hire people who are a good fit for the organization in a strategic and targeted way. Here are three ways to do this:
- Assess and categorize competencies by type.
- Map the minimum expected proficiency by competency within each group to position descriptions.
- Identify and align behavioral questions with priority competencies during the interview process.
Assessing and Categorizing Competencies
Many organizations have “core” or “foundational” competencies that are distinct from technical competencies. Core competencies are the skills, knowledge, and abilities that all employees should have and work to improve, no matter their technical expertise. Examples include effective communication, problem solving, and customer service. Technical competencies capture areas of expertise needed to be successful in a particular job series or position. Examples include competencies related to accounting, mechanical engineering, or computer science.
Identifying the expected proficiency for core competencies can often be streamlined by creating categories instead of defining them position by position. For example, CHCI recently updated its competency framework and categorized its foundational competencies into four groups: 1) Corporate Member, 2) Senior Consultant, 3) Consultant, and 4) Organizational and Project Support. These categories were defined by responsibilities and experience across all current and projected CHCI employees. An example of how the categories can be defined is shown here.
|
Occupational Category |
Corporate Officer |
Senior Consultant |
Consultant |
Organizational and Project Support |
|
Responsibility |
Manages overall operations and management of the
organization |
Integrates the fundamental functions and
capabilities to support clients |
Provides fundamental functions and capabilities to
support clients |
Supports the internal organizational and project
functions |
|
Minimum Work Experience |
|
10 years |
4 years |
2 years |
|
Minimum Education |
|
Advanced Degree or Certification |
|
Associates degree or relevant certification |
Mapping Expected Proficiency to Position Descriptions
Once the categories are defined, the expected proficiency by core competency can be set. This expected competency clarifies the behaviors and skillsets expected of employees in a particular category, at the time of hire or in their current position. Returning to our example, a small group at CHCI went through each foundational competency and identified the expected proficiency by competency in the four categories mentioned above by using a standard proficiency scale ranging from 1: Awareness to 5: Expert. The process included a select group of individuals who aimed for consensus agreement. The following criteria and/or process steps were identified to ensure consistency:
- No category of employee should have an expected proficiency of “5” or “expert.” This doesn’t mean that an individual cannot have a current proficiency of “expert” but that it should not be expected in order to be successful in the organization. This criterion also encourages the idea of development and growth for all individuals, regardless of title.
- Key assumptions were identified that distinguished the categories. For example, responsibilities in the Executive Member category focused on organizational outcomes and integrating processes across the organization while the Senior Consultant category focused on integration across the project as well as project delivery and leadership. Other assumptions included general levels of responsibility and proficiency required to be successful across all categories.
To define expected proficiency for technical competencies, a slightly different process was followed in the CHCI example:
- Position descriptions (PDs) were written for new hires based on priority needs and organizational capabilities.
- Each group member independently identified expected proficiency across technical competencies using the PDs and the standard proficiency scale as their guide. It is worthy to note that not all technical competencies were required for each PD.
- The results from each individual’s process were consolidated into a matrix. The group met to review and analyze results.
- Expected proficiency scores were agreed upon and finalized for both technical and “foundational” competencies for each position description. A rationale for each expected proficiency was documented across all competencies for each PD to double check the logic.
Aligning Competencies with the Interview Process
The example mapping exercise allowed PDs to become competency-based, aligning potential employees with both organization culture and performance. The alignment then streamlined the interview preparation process for hiring managers, allowing them to prioritize questions based on targeted competencies and expected proficiencies in a particular position.
For CHCI, that meant preparing interview questions for Senior Human Capital candidates in four priority areas. Behavioral questions were developed to understand the depth and breadth of each candidate’s experience. The table below illustrates some example questions based on high-priority competencies.
Competency | Interview Questions |
Human Capital Management (technical) | Describe an experience where you had to lead a strategic human capital initiative. What opportunities and/or threats emerged throughout the experience and how did you leverage and/or mitigate them? What impact did the initiative have on the organization? |
Strategic Thinking (foundational) | What strategic thinking tools and techniques do you use on the job? What are some best practices that you apply to encourage all team members to think strategically? |
Results-Oriented (foundational) | Describe a time when you and your team under delivered and did not meet expectations and/or a deadline? What did you do to mitigate the impact? What did you do after that to ensure lessons learned were captured? |
Collaboration (foundational) | Tell us about a time when you had to work with stakeholders who had different perspectives on project priorities and scope? How did you communicate with and manage the stakeholders to ensure project success? |
Creating a recruitment process that incorporates the organization’s competency model will lead to high-performing hires that make a good cultural fit for the organization, the project, and the position. When individuals fit into the culture of the organization, they are likely to be more motivated, interact more easily with other employees, and stay happier in the job. All of this translates into higher performing employees who will stay longer and potentially become highly qualified candidates for succession plans.
Once you hire a candidate, you can reinforce the organization’s values, culture, and competencies through your onboarding programs, annual competency assessments, and constructive feedback. This helps bring the entire talent life cycle together Click here.
Do you want to learn more about aligning competencies with your hiring process? Learn more by contacting us.
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