Many organizations today are still making recruitment
decisions based on an individual's qualifications, skills
or schooling (in some professions it amounts to 'which'
school an individual attended). However these don't give a
clear view as to whether an individual is suited to a role.
What makes better sense is to recruit for those
characteristics linked to success in the role.
Since the early 70's, leading organisations have been using
competencies to help recruit, select and manage their
outstanding performers after Dr David McClelland, Harvard
Business School Professor of Psychology, found that
traditional tests such as academic, aptitude and knowledge
tests, did not predict success in the job.
More recent research by individuals such as Daniel Goleman
in Emotional Intelligence and Rick Boyatzis, in The
Competent Manager, have reinforced and emphasised the
importance of competencies as essential predictors of
outstanding performance. There are 5 different types of
competency characteristics as defined by McClelland:
Motives - the things a person consistently thinks about or
wants - typically very deep seated eg the desire to climb a
mountain or be the best at what you can do Traits -
physical characteristics and responses to situations or
information eg reaction time and good eyesight are physical
trait competencies of pilots but how an individual responds
to a stressful situation is also a trait Self Image - a
person's attitude values, how they see themselves eg if you
value being 'in management' you are more likely to exhibit
leadership behaviour Knowledge - information a person has
in a particular area eg a surgeon's knowledge of nerves and
muscles in the human body Skill - the ability to perform a
certain physical or mental task eg a dentist's physical
skill to fill a tooth without damaging the nerve
What this means
It is important to distinguish between the types of
competencies because they have implications for recruitment
and selection and training once a new recruit is in a job.
Both motives and traits are deep seated and intrinsic to
the individual. They are more likely to predict what
people will do on their jobs long term, without close
supervision. However they are also more difficult to shift.
Skills and knowledge are generally easier to train. If
you have a salesperson who gets satisfaction out of
managing others rather than being the best then chances are
they will never be the best salesperson. On the other
hand, if you get the salesperson with the right motives and
traits but who lacks the knowledge of the product being
sold, this can easily be addressed via training courses.
It makes more sense to recruit on the basis of motives,
traits, self image and train individuals in the technical
skills and knowledge component of their role. Hence the
saying, "you can teach a turkey to climb a tree but it's
better to hire a squirrel".
How do you use competencies to recruit?
Firstly, you need to understand and define what your 'good'
people do. What do you see them doing, saying,
communicating that makes them 'good' performers?
Secondly, take what the good performers do and define these
as competencies such as 'Leadership' or 'Team Working'. It
is possible to use off-the-shelf competency models but
tailored models usually give better results.
Thirdly, and this may take some expert know how - you need
to understand the relationship between motives, traits,
self concept, knowledge and skill and the competencies.
Which of these competencies are more directly related to
motives and which are more skill based? If you're really
clever you can prioritise motives and trait type
competencies over those of skills and knowledge.
Finally, use focused interviewing to identify these
competencies during recruitment interviews.
Once the new recruit is on board competencies can be used
for performance management, coaching and training.
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Pam Kennett is Founder and Director of Chiswick Consulting
Limited a management consultancy which provides advice and
direction to clients in marketing and human resources. Pam
has more than 20 years experience working with companies to
deliver more through better people management practices.
Contact her at pam@chiswickconsulting.com or visit
http://www.chiswickconsulting.com for free downloads and
information on competencies.
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