Competencies and competency framework

What is a competency?
An underlying characteristic of an individual which is causally related to superior performance Competencies can be motives, traits, selfconcept, attitudes or values, content knowledge, or cognitive or behavioral skills -any individual characteristic that can be measured reliably and that can be shown to differentiate significantly between superior and average performers

What is a Competency?

Competencies

How to develop competency framework

http://www.slideshare.net/guest8eb6 ae/competency-framework http://www.slideshare.net/hrtalksblog /competency-frameworks

Competency for a Manager

Data Collection tools

Behavioral Events Interview Expert Panels Surveys Expert Systems Job Analysis Role Analysis Repertory Grid Direct Observation

Behavioral Events Interview

Advantages Empirical identification of competencies Precision about how competencies are expressed Freedom from gender, cultural bias Generation of data for assessment, training, etc.

Behavioral Events Interview

Disadvantages

Time and expense Expertise requirements Missed job tasks

Expert Panels
Advantages Quick and efficient collection of a great deal of valuable data Helps ensure better buy-in

Expert Panels
Disadvantages Possible identification of folklore or motherhood items. Omission of critical competency factors which panelists are unaware of.

Surveys
Advantages Quick and cheap collection of sufficient data for statistical analyses A large number of employees can provide input Help build consensus

Surveys
Disadvantages Data are limited to items and concepts included in the survey It cannot identify new competencies or nuances of competency Can also be inefficient

Expert Systems
Advantages

Access to Data Efficiency Productivity

Job Analysis
Advantages

Produces complete job descriptions &

specifications

Can validate or elaborate on data collected by

other methods

Job Analysis
Disadvantages Provides characteristics of job rather than those of the people who do the job well Task lists too detailed to be practical and do not separate truly important tasks from the routine activities

Direct Observation
Advantages A good way to check competencies suggested by panel, survey, and BEI Disadvantage Expensive and inefficient

Interview Types
Fully structured interview: Has predetermined questions with fixed wording, usually in a pre-set order. The use of mainly open-response questions is the only essential difference from an interview-based survey questionnaire. Semi-structured interview: Has predetermined questions, but the order can be modified based upon the interviewer's perception of what seems most appropriate. Question wording can be changed and explanations given; particular questions which seem inappropriate with a particular interviewee can be omitted, or additional ones included. Unstructured interviews: The interviewer has a general area of interest and concern, but lets the conversation develop within this area. It can be completely informal. 17

Questions to Avoid In Interviews

Long questions The interviewee may remember only part of the question, and respond to that part. Double-barrelled (or multiple-barrelled) questions, e.g. 'What do you feel about current video game content compared with that of five years ago?' The solution is to break it down into simpler questions ('What do you feel about current video games?'; 'Can you recall any video games from five years ago?'; 'How do you feel they compare?'). Questions involving jargon Generally you should avoid questions containing words likely to be unfamiliar to the target audience. Keep things simple to avoid disturbing interviewees; it is in your own interest as well. Leading questions, e.g. 'Why do you like the concept of welfare reform?' It is usually better to modify such questions, to make them less leading and more objective. Biased questions Provided you are alert to the possibility of bias, it is not difficult to write unbiased questions. What is more difficult, however, is not (perhaps unwittingly) to lead the interviewee by the manner in which the question is asked, or the way in which you receive the response. Neutrality is called for, and in seeking to be welcoming and reinforcing to the interviewee, you should try to avoid appearing to share or welcome their vIews. (Robson 2002, 275)
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Assessment Centres

The Beginning
It is primarily British Invention and dates back to 1942 when it was used by the Armed Forces during world war II in the form of War Office Selection Board. The objective behind its introduction was to identify the most suitable officers for the war and to and send back to the unsuitable ones to the unit.

Definition
Assessment centers constitute a battery of assignments and situational exercises which are competency based and are used extensively in various countries for recruitment, potential appraisal, promotion, human resource development and organizational development.

Tools used in Assessment Centers

Psychometric Tests Interviews Leaderless Group Discussions Inbasket Techniques Management Games/Simulation Exercises Role Plays Presentations

Difference between AC and DC

Assessment centres usually have a pass/fail criteria are geared towards filing a job vacancy address an immediate organisational need involve line managers as assessors have less emphasis placed on self-assessment focus on what the candidate can do now assign the role of judge to assessors place emphasis on selection with little or no developmental feedback and follow up give feedback at a later date involve the organisation having control over the information obtained have very little pre-centre briefing tend to be used with external candidates

Difference between AC and DC

Assessment centres usually do not have a pass/fail criteria are geared towards developing the individual address a longer term need have a greater emphasis placed on self-assessment focus on potential are geared to meet needs of the individual as well as the organisation assign the role of facilitator to assessors place emphasis on developmental feedback and follow up with little or no selection function give feedback immediately involve the individual having control over the information obtained have a substantial pre-centre briefing tend to be used with internal candidates

Psychometric Test

Aptitude Test Ability Test Personality Test

 Ability Test Attempt to measure awareness, knowledge and other such aspects. Aptitude Test Attempt to evaluate verbal and numerical reasoning ability. Personality tests - are those tests which are aimed at studying various dimensions of personality rather than the ability. (MBTI and 16 PF)

Interviews
Generally structured interviews are used.
Types of Interviews Background Interviews Critical Incident/situational Interview Behaviour Enter Interview

 Background Interviews If the participants performance on his current and previous jobs would be an indicator of his success. Situational Interviews Three types of questions are asked: Situational (Hypothetical) Job Knowledge Willingness to comply with job requirements.

 Behaviour Event Interviews (BEI) It is an unstructured interview, which focuses on asking specific incidents that reflect behaviour, thoughts, actions that the interviewee has shown in actual situations.

WHAT IS AN ASSESSMENT CENTRE?

Multiple Participants
Multiple Methods Stress on Situational Methods Multiple Assessors Behaviorally Based Founded Competencies Integration of Data

ASSESSMENT CENTRES IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Selection Promotion and Transfer High Potential Identification Training and Development Human Resource Planning

These arent Assessment Centres

Multiple-interview processes (panel or sequential) Paper-and pencil test batteries (regardless of how scores are integrated) Individual clinical assessments Single work sample tests Multiple measurement techniques without data integration nor is Labeling a building the Assessment Center

VALIDITY COEFFICIENTS OF DIFFERENT SELECTION METHODS

Assessment Centre Work Sample Tests Cognitive Ability Tests Personality Tests Bio-data References Interviews (Unstructured) Behavioural Interview

0.65 0.54 0.53 0.39 0.38 0.23 0.19 0.48+

Qualities of Assessors
Commitment to the AC concept and process People-orientation and empathy An astute observer and good listener Attention to detail, systematic and organized Well-respected and free from bias Track record of developing staff Good Oral and written communication Flexible Ability to confront and to be confronted High energy level High work standards

Why ACs Fail?

Poor Planning Shifts in Personnel Burden of Preliminary Work (CM/JA) Assessors develop cold feet Results are misused/unused Lack of predictive ability Lack of continued senior management support Use of same assessors/exercises

PERSONALITY TESTS

UNDERSTANDING16 PF

16 PF: Development
Raymond B Cattell (1905-1998) Cattell's 16 Personality Factor Model constructed using a lexical approach The goal was to identify the personality relevant adjectives in the language relating to specific traits. First published in 1949

16 PF: Development
Three major sources of data for Factor Analysis, for research concerning personality traits

- L-Data (records of a person's behavior in society such as court records as well as from ratings given by peers. - Q-Data (participants to assess their own behaviors) - T-Data (situation in which the subject is unaware of the personality trait being measured).

16 PF: Development

Cattell's sample population was representative of several age groups including children, adolescents, and adults, and occupational groups, as well as representing several countries including the U.S., Britain, Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy, Germany, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, India, and Japan

16 PF: Development
Through factor analysis, Cattell identified surface and source traits.

Cattell considered source traits much more important in understanding personality than surface traits.

The identified source traits became the primary basis for the 16 PF Model.

No F
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 fA fB fC fE fF fG fH fI fL fM fN fO fQ1 Q2 Q3 Q4

Low Description
Distant Aloof Low intellectance Emotional Accommodating Restrained Expedient Shy Unsentimental Trusting Practical Direct, forthright Confident, unworried Conventional Group Oriented Informal, uncontrolled Composed, patient

High Description
Empathic High Intellectance Calm Dominant Carefree, Lively Conscientious Socially confident Sensitive Suspicious Imaginative Restrained, diplomatic Self-doubting, insecure Radical Self-sufficient, Individualistic Self-disciplined, will power Tense driven, impatient

Deriving Competency Scores: Arm Chair Approach

Identify the Competency Define and create 3 behavioral indicators Identify primary factors Keep in mind the direction (positive vs. negative) Assign weightage Develop the formula Substitute the Sten Score

Deriving Competency Scores: Empirical Approach

Identify the Competency Collect the competency rating of about 100 employees by others (boss, peer, etc.,) Administer 16 PF on the 100 employees Run Multiple Regression (Competency Score as DV, and 16 PF scores as IVs) Find the variance explained by significant IVs Develop the formula Substitute the Sten Score