We present another article for owners and managers (not HR), revealing another aspect of personnel assessment. We will stop there:
To implement a systemic personnel assessment, clear criteria are needed. Most methods come down to assessing the effectiveness (work results) of an employee and the set of his personal qualities. One of the leading ones is the competence approach.
Competence- an integral characteristic/criterion that describes the quality of human behavior in a certain activity. As a rule, this is some ideal model of behavioral manifestations that allows him to achieve results and be effective in this type of activity.
It is clear that human behavior in each situation is determined by many factors: internal attitudes and motivation, skills, understanding of technology, knowledge. And even genetic predisposition.
For example, a sales manager working in the marketB2B (large corporate sales), strong communication skills are essential to communicate with a variety of professionals and decision makers. And all this can be called “Negotiation”:
At the same time as these qualities, the “seller” must have persistence in achieving goals, the ability to plan and control his activities, and the ability to work under pressure. And this is another competency - “Result Orientation”.
And thus we can say that each activity can be described by a cloud of criteria - a competency model. Moreover, for each business the competencies will be unique, reflecting its specifics. This is why we recommend developing your own competencies.
You may find our services useful
As was already revealed above in the example with “Negotiating”, competence consists of simple components - specific points containing a description of the action. And these components are called behavioral indicators. It is on the basis of behavioral indicators that personnel assessments are based using or structured interviews.
But that’s not all; levels of competency manifestation are required.
In order to describe the quality of an employee’s actions, set reference values and be able to compare demonstrated behavior with it, there is a competency development scale. These are levels that describe the quality of behavior. And the level scale may be different. For example, 4 levels (intermediate values - “halves” are also possible):
Roughly speaking, the scale of competency development can be represented as a “good-bad” thermometer. In accordance with this “thermometer”, the employee is evaluated.
There are several options for describing competency levels. The examples below show the differences. It can be assumed that they were created for different assessment methods.
Example of a competency description: listing all behavioral indicators and levels with meanings for the employee’s performance.
| Formulates a vision of the ultimate goal. Organizes others/forms a group of “followers”. Effectively motivates people in team and individual work. Encourages colleagues and subordinates to take initiatives and become independent. Delegates authority and responsibility, taking into account the individual characteristics of subordinates and their career aspirations. Pays attention and time to the development of subordinates. Expresses and defends his own position on issues being resolved. Provides and solicits feedback. | |||||||||||||||
|
An example of a competency with an expanded description of behavioral indicators at each level.
| Point | Level | Description of behavioral indicators |
| 4 | Strategic | In addition to level 3: — Establishes rules for the group’s work that give everyone the opportunity to express themselves while remaining a leader — Ensures the adoption of a group decision that is focused not only on the “here and now”, but also on the future |
| 3 | Skill level | In addition to level 2: — Motivates the group to achieve the goal, inspires, influences the mood of the group — Orients other group members to actively work in the group — Proposes a solution that the group accepts |
| 2 | Base | - Takes the initiative — Interacts with each team member based on individual personality traits — Aims the group to achieve a result, returns the group to the result — Organizes the work of the group, suggests techniques and procedures for the group’s work — Takes responsibility for the result — Contributes to conflict resolution |
| 1 | Limited | — Takes the initiative at the request of other group members, as directed by the most active member of the group — Shows initiative, but cannot gain the attention of participants — Organizes the work of individual group members — Finds it difficult to justify one’s opinion when trying to organize the work of a group |
| 0 | Level of incompetence | — Has an unconstructive influence on the team, interrupts, criticizes, devalues the position of others — Shows indifference to the results of group work — Removes himself from organizing group work, acts only according to instructions — Does not interact with group members - Provokes conflicts in the group |
It is also customary to use the term “target indicator”, which sets the value of the manifestation of competence for a given target audience. For example, for a top-level manager, the “Strategic Thinking” competency must be demonstrated at level “2”. Whereas the target value for the head of the department will be “1.5”.
Based on the assessment received, one can judge the employee’s potential, the need for development, suitability for this activity, etc.
It must be said that this is a conditional classification. Rather, it is a division to indicate the “scope of application” of competencies. Indeed, in the process of his activity, a person uses many integrative qualities. For example, a manager conducting a meeting “uses” several of his competencies at the same time - of different types.
But sometimes you can find a division of competencies into clusters:
Managerial competencies describe the actions of managers in the decision-making process and communication with subordinates. These are also competencies that describe the quality of his behavior - often “Leadership”.
This is a description of the quality of behavior in the process of communications within the company and with external partners.
Depending on the emphasis, in the description of competence you can see the specifics of the employees’ activities and the welcomed styles of behavior (aggressiveness, assertiveness or a partner’s position).
An important part of the competency model is value competencies. They reflect the corporate philosophy - the values and standards of behavior that are welcomed in the company. This is why some companies formulate corporate competencies separately.
Describe the knowledge, skills and behavior of an occupational group of positions. For example, for the direction of IT or accountants.
It is necessary to understand the feasibility of developing professional competencies - whether this group of people is sufficiently represented in the company, how often changes occur in their activities and the technologies they use.
The most commonly used methods where competencies are used:
Every company that regularly conducts personnel assessments using a competency-based approach faces the need to develop competencies.
Admittedly, creating a competency model is a time-consuming (and often budget-intensive) undertaking. As a rule, internal specialists, pardon the pun, do not have sufficient competence to qualitatively describe competencies. The main mistakes include unclear formulations and overlapping behavioral indicators (found in different competencies). And a lot of time is spent on this work.
Of course, you can use universal competencies. For example, many companies take the works of the Lominger company as a basis and slightly modify them for themselves. But, if the task is to convey the specifics of a business in a high-quality manner, you cannot do without formulating your own model. And in this case it is better to contact the providers.
The main stages of the competency model development project can be called:
The most well-known methods for developing competencies are:
The implementation of the competency model follows the classics of change management. If we simplify the model, the main areas of attention can be considered the following:
By the way, this is exactly the option we offer clients when the company does not have its own model - to start somewhere. Start the process. Show at least at the level of one group or target audience that assessing personnel based on competencies is “not scary, but useful.”
In this case, we implement, for example, a Light Assessment, based on the results of which participants receive recommendations for development.
This can happen in the form of mailings describing the tasks of implementing the model, describing all stages, asking for feedback, etc. Of course, the most effective form can be considered face-to-face working groups dedicated to development and broadcasting.
Already during this preparatory period (which can be implemented even after the development of the model), feedback will be received, the most resistant employees or those who can be relied on in introducing innovations will be identified.
For example, one of the parts of introducing competencies into the “life of the company” may be their use by managers during regular feedback to subordinates. Operating with the terminology of the competency-based approach and referring to the behavioral indicators of the corporate model forms the conceptual field in which employees live.
And this is not a complete list of areas of attention. They are different for each company. But all of them should be aimed at developing a positive attitude toward competency assessment. It is clear that the formation of an attitude is a long process. This is what we meant when we talked about the possible duration of the project. So, the main areas of attention are motivation, information, involvement, propaganda.
The main advantages of having a corporate competency model include:
“To have or not to have?”- that is the question. And every company decides. And we, “Business Games Laboratory”, just help to effectively implement our plans: develop and implement a corporate competency model, evaluate employees and propose a program for their development.
Competence is the basic quality of an individual, which includes a set of interrelated personality qualities necessary for high-quality productive activity.
Competence is a set of interrelated basic personality qualities, including the application of knowledge, skills and abilities in high-quality productive activities.
Competence is a non-additive, synergistic system of knowledge, abilities, skills and abilities, united by its key system-forming element (configurator) and aimed at solving certain tasks of activity.
Particular uses of the term:
Professional competence - the ability to successfully act on the basis of practical experience, skills and knowledge in solving professional problems;
Competence (jurisprudence) - a set of legally established powers, rights and obligations of a specific body or official; determines its place in the system of state bodies (local government bodies). The legal content of the concept of “competence” includes the following elements: subjects of jurisdiction (the range of those objects, phenomena, actions to which authority extends); rights and obligations, powers of a body or person; responsibility; compliance with the set goals, objectives and functions.
Competence (as a category of public law) is a legal means that allows you to determine the role and place of a specific subject in the management process by legislatively assigning to it a certain volume of public affairs.
Competence of bodies of legal entities.
Competence (personnel management) is the personal ability of a specialist (employee) to solve a certain class of professional tasks. In personnel management, competence is often understood as formally described requirements for the personal, professional and other qualities of a candidate for admission, an employee, or a group of company employees;
Intercultural competence - the ability to successfully communicate with representatives of other cultures;
Competence (linguistics) (lat. competentia - consistency, proportionality; en: Competence (linguistics)) - intuitive knowledge about the language that a speaker has in his native language and which allows him to correctly express thoughts in words (words, phrases in context) in his native language language and distinguish correct (rational, consistent) sentences from incorrect ones.
Competence (immunology) is the ability of the human body and warm-blooded animals to produce a specific immune response, mainly to the formation of antibodies, carried out by the joint activity of cells of several categories, mainly the so-called immunocompetent (antigen-sensitive and antigen-reactive ) lymphoid cells.
The key competence of an organization is the totality of the organization’s competitive advantages, its main trump card in competitive or hypercompetitive struggle.
An area of competence is a set of knowledge and skills of a person or organization that they perform at a high, competitive level.
Competency codes. According to the Federal State Educational Standard, competence is a predetermined social requirement (norm) for the educational preparation of a student, student, student. As part of the Federal State Educational Standard, competencies have codes.
Competence is an integrative characteristic of a subject’s capabilities to carry out activities in a particular area of the economy.
Permyakov O. E. Development of systems for assessing the quality of training of specialists / Abstract of the dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences. S.-Pb.-2009.
Lecture 3. Competency-based approach to the personnel management system
1. The concept of competence. Approaches. Competency structure.
2. Use of competencies in the personnel management system
In the dictionary of Russian HR managers, the term “competence” has appeared in the last 6-7 years. Work on competencies is carried out in joint Western-Russian and most large Russian companies in Moscow and St. Petersburg. But interest in this HR tool is growing everywhere.
In the practice of human resource management, modern companies actively use competencies. They are discussed at numerous HR forums, and various studies and publications in specialized media are regularly devoted to them. Competencies as HR technology have been developed in Russia on the basis of foreign theory and practice. And, as happens with many personnel technologies in Russia, in the process of integration into practice, competencies have strangely changed. That is, we can say that the “transfer” of this technology occurred incorrectly.
Despite the popularity of using competencies in Russian business, there is significant confusion. Sometimes, unfortunately, competencies are called something that has nothing to do with them or is an integral part of them. Most often in Russian practice, competencies are identified with two concepts: ZUN (Knowledge, Abilities, Skills) and PVK (Professionally Important Qualities). Both ZUN and PVK are close in content to competencies, are part of them, but are not analogues.
First of all, let us outline the difference between the concepts of “competence” and “competence”. They are based on the Latin root compete*- I achieve, I comply, I approach.
Competence- this is a certain characteristic of a person that is necessary to perform certain jobs and allows its owner to obtain the necessary results of work.
Competence is the ability of an individual who has the personal characteristics to solve work problems to obtain the necessary work results.
In other words, competence is the standard of behavior required for a certain activity, and competence is the level of proficiency in this standard of behavior, that is, the final result of its application.
There are many definitions of the concept "competence". Many experts and personnel management specialists offer their own interpretations. But there are two main approaches to understanding competencies - American and European.
American approach defines competencies as a description of an employee’s behavior: competency is the main characteristic of an employee, possessing which he is able to demonstrate correct behavior and, as a result, achieve high results at work.
European approach defines competencies as a description of work tasks or expected work results: competency is the ability of an employee to act in accordance with the standards accepted in the organization (defining the minimum standard that must be achieved by the employee).
Competency model- this is a complete set of competencies and behavioral indicators necessary for the successful performance by an employee of his functions, demonstrated in appropriate situations and time, for a specific organization with its individual goals and corporate culture.
Competency profile- this is a list of competencies, an exact definition of the level of their manifestation related to a specific position.
In our opinion, competence is a behavioral characteristic necessary for an employee to successfully perform work functions, reflecting the necessary standards of behavior.
An effective competency model should be clear and easy to understand, described in simple language, and have a simple structure.
Most models can be described using 10 - 12 individual competencies. The more competencies a model contains, the more difficult it is to implement it into corporate practice. According to experts, when a model includes more than 12 competencies, it becomes difficult to work with specific competencies, since the differences between individual competencies in such a model are subtle.
The competency model consists of clusters (blocks) of competencies. Competency clusters are a set of closely related competencies (usually from three to five in one “bundle”). Each cluster of competencies has levels - a set of related behavioral indicators.
Behavioral indicators are standards of behavior that are observed in the actions of a person with a specific competency.
Typically the following types of competencies are distinguished:
Corporate (or core) - competencies that support the declared mission and values of the company and, as a rule, are applicable to any position in the organization; often a list of corporate competencies can be found in presentation and information materials of companies.
Management competencies applied to positions at all levels of management. Used to evaluate managers.
Special competencies used in relation to certain groups of positions in different departments. For example, special competencies are developed for employees of each department: sales, information technology, financial department, etc. This is knowledge and skills that determine professional responsibilities, the level of proficiency in them, and the ability to apply them in practice by certain categories of employees.
Personal competencies that are of a supra-professional nature and necessary in any field of activity. Personal competence means spiritual maturity, a person’s awareness of his own life goals and the meaning of life, understanding of himself and other people, and the ability to understand the underlying motives of behavior.
Practice shows that some organizations use only key competencies, others develop and use only managerial ones to assess top managers, and some companies develop special competencies only for sales department employees.
Competencies are also divided into simple and detailed:
Simple ones are a single list of behavior indicators that can be developed, for example, by the head of a company;
Detailed ones are competencies consisting of several levels (usually three or four). The number of levels is determined at the stage of developing the competency model.
The technology for creating competencies includes several stages.
First stage: formulation of the company's strategy and goals. To do this, they conduct a survey of the main persons of the company, its owners, top managers, who, as a rule, determine the strategy, competitive advantages, key performance indicators and factors of the company’s success in the market.
The second stage: identifying the key tasks of the company’s personnel, arising from its development strategy. Here it is important to understand what the behavior of employees in the organization should be, to determine what a particular employee can give to the rest of the team members and the organization as a whole within the framework of the responsibilities that he will be assigned or is already performing. At this stage, it is necessary to involve employees in developing their competencies.
The third stage: determining the immediate behavioral reactions that should appear in employees while solving work problems. To do this, they study and analyze in detail the activities of the best employees, use the method of critical incidents to determine the effectiveness and ineffectiveness of their behavior, and conduct surveys of employees at the levels for which the model is being created. Research can be conducted into the expectations of external customers from the company. In order to reduce the subjectivity of surveys, it is necessary to use a set of certain techniques.
The fourth stage: isolating characteristics from the total mass and grouping the identified indicators of behavior into general categories - clusters. This is quite a difficult job, because... involves repeated comparison of model elements with each other, identifying general and specific features. Also, one cannot do without interpretations, and here ambiguity and subjectivity may appear. Subjectivity can be neutralized through the work of project groups.
Step Five: Create a rating scale for each competency level to describe unacceptable (organizationally unacceptable employee behavior), acceptable (minimum requirements to do a good job), and outstanding (best behavior) levels of employee behavior in the workplace.
A competency system can be created in two ways.
The first way is to adapt ready-made models to a specific company. Such standard models are created as a result of research into the management experience of leading companies, usually foreign ones.
The second way is to create a competency model from scratch. In this case, you can resort to the help of external consultants or develop competencies yourself. The choice of method will depend on several factors: what financial and time resources the organization has, how well it understands the process of this work and how much detail the company wants to understand the competencies so that they become a working tool and justify all the costs. The result of efforts to collect data, analyze and model competencies should be a model of competencies of employees of a particular organization, around which the company’s personnel management system is built.
Competencies that have a detailed description that is understandable to employees of the organization, which greatly facilitates the possibility of their diagnosis, can be characterized through their levels of expression.
The first level is the level of understanding - the employee understands the need for these competencies, he tries to demonstrate them, but this does not always work out.
The second level - the basic level - competence is developed normally, the employee exhibits the qualities necessary for work.
The third level is a strong level (supplements the basic level) - competence can be manifested in work processes, when solving complex problems.
The fourth level is the leadership level (supplements the basic and strong levels) - the employee sets standards for the team, when not only he, but also others begin to demonstrate this competence, the employee helps others to demonstrate the necessary skills.
The use of competencies in personnel assessment allows HR managers to analyze not only the results achieved by an employee over the past period, but also the ways to achieve such results. Well-developed competencies will help streamline the implementation of certification activities; if a standard competency model is chosen that is not adapted to the strategic goals and specifics of the company, it will not work effectively.
For Western specialists, competencies are abilities, capabilities, a number of related but different sets of behavior, and human intentions manifested in appropriate situations. Today in the West, the description of activities from the perspective of a competency-based approach is very widely used. Methods and questionnaires have been developed to form a competency profile for various types of activities.
There are many differentdefinitionscompetencies. This should never be confusing. Various organizations and competency experts prefer their own definitions of this concept to “alien” ones that appeared earlier. But most definitions are just variations of two themes that differ in their origins.
Two fundamental themes that give rise to controversy indefining competencies :
- Description of work tasks or expected work results. These descriptions have their origins in national training systems such as the National/Scottish Vocational Qualifications and the Management Charter Initiative (MCI).
In these systems, competence is defined as “a manager's ability to act in accordance with the standards accepted in the organization” (MCI, 1992).
- Description of behavior. This topic has arisen in the activities of researchers and consultants specializing in the field of effective management.
Various definitions of behavioral competence are different variations of essentially the same definition: “competence- this is the main characteristic of a person, the owner of which is able to achieve high results at work” (Klemp, 1980).
A specific variation is usually supplemented by an indication of what qualities the main characteristic includes. For example: to this often cited definition of competence are added - motives, character traits, abilities, self-esteem, social role, knowledge that a person uses in work (Boyatzis, 1982).
The variety of definition options indicates that although competence consists of many personal parameters (motives, character traits, abilities, etc.), all these parameters can be identified and assessed by how a person behaves. For example: Communication skills are fully reflected in how effectively a person negotiates, how he influences people and how he works in a team. Behavioral competence describes the behavior observed when effective performers exhibit personal motives, character traits, and abilities in the process of solving problems that lead to the achievement of desired work results.
In addition to motives, character traits and abilities, individual behavior is influenced by the values and principles adopted in the organization. Many companies have established what principles they are committed to and communicate these principles to their employees, especially emphasizing the role these values should play in daily operations. Some companies have included corporate principles and values in the competency model and make sure that staff behavior corresponds to accepted guidelines.
"Decoration of the month"
The municipal service published a statement of the company's values. These values were not reflected in the behavioral guidelines used in personnel selection and performance monitoring. For example, the stated operating principles stated: “customers and suppliers should be treated as partners.” And the behavior criteria included the following instructions: “in negotiations, insist on getting the best service for the lowest price” and “set and maintain prices that bring maximum benefit.” If the values and principles of municipal service determined the criteria for the behavior of employees, we would see such instructions as “winning the negotiations is a victory in the fight for high quality service” and “provide high-quality deliveries to customers at a good price.” The separation between codes of conduct and company principles is clear: employees are not required to behave according to published principles at all times, despite the company's good intentions. This separation of values and daily work created the impression that values were just a “flavor of the month” and in a practical sense they were not that important.
Many people want to know if there is a difference between competence andcompetence. A general belief has emerged that the concepts of “competence” and “competence” convey the following meanings:
The ability necessary to solve work problems and obtain the necessary work results is most often defined as competence.
An ability that reflects the required standards of behavior is defined as competence.
In practice, many organizations include tasks, performance and behavior in their descriptions of both competencies and competencies and combine the two concepts. But it is more typical to describe competencies in terms of abilities that reflect standards of behavior rather than in problem solving or performance outcomes.
The subject of this book is competencies. And we define the concept of competence through standards of behavior.
Different organizations understand differentlycompetencies. But in most cases, competencies are presented in the form of some kind of structure, like the diagram in Fig. 1.
In the structure shown in Fig. 1, behavioral indicators are the core elements of each competency. Related competencies are combined into clusters.
Figure 1 TYPICAL COMPETENCY STRUCTURE DIAGRAM
Each competency is described below, starting with the main blocks - behavioral indicators.
Behavioral indicators are standards of behavior that are observed in the actions of a person with a specific competency. The subject of observation is the manifestation of high competence. Manifestations of weak, ineffective “negative” competence can also be the subject of observation and study, but this approach is rarely used.
Example. Behavioral indicators “WORKING WITH INFORMATION” competencies, that is, actions in the process of collecting and analyzing information, include the following abilities of employees:
Finds and uses fruitful sources of information.
Accurately determines the type and form of information required.
Receives the necessary information and stores it in a format convenient for use.
Each competenceis a set of related behavioral indicators. These indicators are combined into one or several blocks, depending on the semantic scope of the competence.
Competencies without levels
A simple model, that is, a model that covers types of work with simple standards of behavior, may have one list of indicators for all competencies. In this model, all behavioral indicators apply to all activities. For example: a model that describes the work of only senior managers of a company may include the following behavioral indicators in the “Planning and Organizing” section:
Creates plans that organize work by time frame and priority (ranging from a few weeks to three years).
Creates plans that closely align with departmental performance goals.
Coordinates the activities of the department with the company's business plan.
A single list of behavioral indicators is what is required, because all behavioral indicators are necessary in the work of all senior managers.
Competencies by level
When a competency model covers a wide range of jobs with varying categorical requirements, behavioral indicators within each competency can be compiled into separate lists or divided into “levels”. This allows a number of elements of different competencies to be brought under one heading, which is convenient and necessary when the competency model must cover a wide range of activities, jobs and functional roles.
For example: the content of the planning and organizing competency may be suitable for both an administrative role and a managerial role. The criteria for the behavior of people involved in planning and organizing activities are different for different roles, but the distribution of criteria by level makes it possible to include homogeneous indicators of behavior necessary for organizing and planning in one competency model and not to develop separate models for each role. However, some competencies will have only one or two levels, while others will have several levels.
Another distribution methodcompetenciesby level - division according to the professional qualities that are necessary for the employee. This method is used when the competency model relates to one level of work or one role. For example, the model may include a list of the following indicators:
Original competencies- usually this is the minimum set of requirements necessary for permission to perform work
Outstanding competencies- level of activity of an experienced employee
Negative competencies- usually these are standards of behavior that are counterproductive to effective work at any level
This method is used when it is necessary to evaluate the varying degrees of competence of a group of workers. Examples. When assessing job candidates, you can apply baseline (minimum) standards of conduct. When assessing the performance of experienced personnel, more complex competencies can be applied. In both cases, negative indicators of behavior can be used to identify disqualifying factors and develop a competency model. By introducing levels, you can accurately assess personal competencies without complicating the structure of the competency model.
Competency models built by level will have one set of behavioral standards for each level.
Names of competencies and their descriptions
To aid understanding, competencies are usually referred to by a specific name and given an appropriate description.
A title is usually a very short term that sets one competency apart from others while being both meaningful and easy to remember.
Typical namescompetencies:
relationship management
group work
influence
collection and analysis of information
making decisions
personal development
generation and accumulation of ideas
planning and organization
managing task completion by deadline
goal setting
In addition to the name of the competency, many competency models also include a description of the competency. The first approach is to create a set of behavioral criteria that correspond to a specific competency. For example: a competency called “Planning and Organizing” can be deciphered as follows:
“Achieves results through detailed planning and organization of employees and resources in accordance with established goals and objectives within agreed time frames.”
Where the competency content covers a single list of behavioral criteria, this approach works very well.
The second approach is a reasonable explanation of what is briefly stated, that is, an argument for why this particular competency is important for the organization. This approach is best used when the competency model reflects multiple levels of behavior, because in such situations it is difficult to summarize everything that should cover all the personal roles that exist in the company and all the standards of behavior for different competency levels.
For example. The competency model called “Influence” can have 5 levels. At one level, influence is achieved by presenting clear arguments and facts in support of a particular product. At another level, influence involves developing and presenting one's own vision for one's company and the company's influence on the market and various professional groups. Instead of trying to summarize such a wide range of standards of conduct, a company could present it as follows:
“To persuade other people to accept an idea or course of action through effective persuasion. This is very important for learning, acquiring new knowledge, for innovation, decision making and for creating an atmosphere of trust.”
In many cases, this formulation is much more useful than a brief listing of the standards of behavior included in the competency, since the detailed description reveals why the company chooses a particular competency model, and, in addition, this description explains the special nuances inherent in the chosen competency model.
Competency cluster is a set of closely related competencies (usually from three to five in one bundle). Most competency models include clusters related to:
Intellectual activities, such as problem analysis and decision making
Actions, for example, to achieve specific results
Interaction, for example, working with people.
All phrases in the description of competency models must be presented in a language that is generally accepted and accessible to staff.
Competency clusters Titles similar to these are usually given so that the competency model is understood by all employees.
Some organizations present descriptions of entire “bundles” of competencies to reveal the nature of the competencies included in each set. For example,competence cluster “Working with information” can be represented by the following phrase:
“Working with information includes all kinds of forms of information, methods of collecting and analyzing information necessary for making effective decisions - current, operational and future.”
Different organizations understand competencies differently. But in most cases, competencies are presented in the form of some kind of structure, like the diagram in Fig. 1.
In the structure shown in Fig. 1, behavioral indicators are the core elements of each competency. Related competencies are combined into clusters.
Figure 1 TYPICAL COMPETENCY STRUCTURE DIAGRAM
Each competency is described below, starting with the main blocks - behavioral indicators.
Behavior indicators
Behavioral indicators are standards of behavior that are observed in the actions of a person with a specific competency. The subject of observation is the manifestation of high competence. Manifestations of weak, ineffective “negative” competence can also be the subject of observation and study, but this approach is rarely used.
IN Application For the book, behavioral indicators are presented as examples of effective competence. Example. Behavioral indicators of the “WORKING WITH INFORMATION” competency, that is, actions in the process of collecting and analyzing information, include the following employee abilities:
Finds and uses fruitful sources of information.
Accurately determines the type and form of information required.
Receives the necessary information and stores it in a format convenient for use.
Competencies
Each competency is a set of related behavioral indicators. These indicators are combined into one or several blocks, depending on the semantic scope of the competence.
Competencies without levels
A simple model, that is, a model that covers types of work with simple standards of behavior, may have one list of indicators for all competencies. In this model, all behavioral indicators apply to all activities. For example: a model that describes the work of only senior managers of a company may include the following behavioral indicators in the “Planning and Organizing” section:
Creates plans that organize work by time frame and priority (ranging from a few weeks to three years).
Creates plans that closely align with departmental performance goals.
Coordinates the activities of the department with the company's business plan.
A single list of behavioral indicators is what is required, because all behavioral indicators are necessary in the work of all senior managers.
Competencies by level
When a competency model covers a wide range of jobs with varying categorical requirements, behavioral indicators within each competency can be compiled into separate lists or divided into “levels”. This allows a number of elements of different competencies to be brought under one heading, which is convenient and necessary when the competency model must cover a wide range of activities, jobs and functional roles.
For example: the content of the planning and organizing competency may be suitable for both an administrative role and a managerial role. The criteria for the behavior of people involved in planning and organizing activities are different for different roles, but the distribution of criteria by level makes it possible to include homogeneous indicators of behavior necessary for organizing and planning in one competency model and not to develop separate models for each role. However, some competencies will have only one or two levels, while others will have several levels. For example, in Application Several levels are considered for each competency, although most competencies include three levels. But the competency “ACHIEVEMENT OF RESULTS: Planning” contains four levels, and “ACHIEVEMENT OF RESULTS: Management Clarity” - only two levels. One of the ways to distribute competencies by level is to reduce standards of behavior into groups designated by numbers: the more complex the required standards of behavior, the higher the level. Some companies link levels directly to activity grades. For example, in some models, all Level 1 competencies relate to specific job grades, and all Level 2 competencies are included in the next block of positions, etc. There is usually a certain connection between competency levels and the complexity of the activity, but this connection is not always direct and unambiguous. For example, a senior manager position requires the employee to have the highest level of “relationship management” competency, while junior managers may perform limited roles of this kind (handling claims, maintaining accounts, etc.). For this reason, many firms avoid using their existing structures when drawing up competency levels.
Another method of distributing competencies by level is by dividing them according to the professional qualities that the employee needs. This method is used when the competency model relates to one level of work or one role. For example, the model may include a list of the following indicators:
Initial competencies - usually this is the minimum set of requirements necessary for permission to perform work
Outstanding competencies - level of performance of an experienced employee
Negative competencies are usually standards of behavior that are counterproductive to effective work at any level
This method is used when it is necessary to evaluate the varying degrees of competence of a group of workers. Examples. When assessing job candidates, you can apply baseline (minimum) standards of conduct. When assessing the performance of experienced personnel, more complex competencies can be applied. In both cases, negative indicators of behavior can be used to identify disqualifying factors and develop a competency model. By introducing levels, you can accurately assess personal competencies without complicating the structure of the competency model.
Competency models built by level will have one set of behavioral standards for each level.
Names of competencies and their descriptions
To aid understanding, competencies are usually referred to by a specific name and given an appropriate description.
A title is usually a very short term that sets one competency apart from others while being both meaningful and easy to remember.
Typical competency names:
relationship management
group work
collection and analysis of information
making decisions
personal development
generation and accumulation of ideas
planning and organization
managing task completion by deadline
goal setting
In addition to the name of the competency, many competency models also include a description of the competency. The first approach is to create a set of behavioral criteria that correspond to a specific competency. For example: a competency called “Planning and Organizing” can be deciphered as follows:
“Achieves results through detailed planning and organization of employees and resources in accordance with established goals and objectives within agreed time frames.”
The second approach is a reasonable explanation of what is briefly stated, that is, an argument for why this particular competency is important for the organization. This approach is best used when the competency model reflects multiple levels of behavior, because in such situations it is difficult to summarize everything that should cover all the personal roles that exist in the company and all the standards of behavior for different competency levels.
For example. The competency model called “Influence” can have 5 levels. At one level, influence is achieved by presenting clear arguments and facts in support of a particular product. At another level, influence involves developing and presenting one's own vision for one's company and the company's influence on the market and various professional groups. Instead of trying to summarize such a wide range of standards of conduct, a company could present it as follows:
“To persuade other people to accept an idea or course of action through effective persuasion. This is very important for learning, acquiring new knowledge, for innovation, decision making and for creating an atmosphere of trust.”
In many cases, this formulation is much more useful than a brief listing of the standards of behavior included in the competency, since the detailed description reveals why the company chooses a particular competency model, and, in addition, this description explains the special nuances inherent in the chosen competency model.
Competency clusters
A competency cluster is a set of closely related competencies (usually three to five in one bundle). Most competency models include clusters related to:
Intellectual activities, such as problem analysis and decision making
Actions, for example, to achieve specific results
Interaction, for example, working with people.
All phrases in the description of competency models must be presented in a language that is generally accepted and accessible to staff. IN Application, to which we periodically refer, these bundles of competencies are entitled:
WORK WITH PEOPLE
WORKING WITH INFORMATION
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
ACHIEVE RESULTS.
Competency clusters are usually given names similar to these to ensure that the competency model is understood by all employees.
Some organizations present descriptions of entire “bundles” of competencies to reveal the nature of the competencies included in each set. For example, the competency cluster “Working with information” can be represented by the following phrase:
“Working with information includes all kinds of forms of information, methods of collecting and analyzing information necessary for making effective decisions - current, operational and future.”
Model competencies
A competency model is a term for a complete set of competencies (with or without levels) and behavior indicators. Models may contain detailed descriptions of the standards of behavior of personnel in a particular department or standards of actions leading to the achievement of specific goals, but may also include basic standards of behavior developed to fully describe the business structure or activities aimed at achieving a set of diverse corporate goals. The detail included in the description of a competency model depends on the intended practical application of a particular model.
The number of competencies in models in recent years has decreased. Models that included 30 or more different standards were once common; Models containing no more than 20 competencies are now common, and sometimes only eight. Many users consider a set of competencies from 8 to 12 standards in one model to be optimal.
But models with a large set of competencies still exist. This is because some firms try to cover all the information needed for all situations and roles, including detailed descriptions of tasks and performance and standards of behavior for employees. The experience of recent years has shown that the most effective is the development of a general model of competencies - such as is given in our Application, with an indication of how to use the general model in practice.
The more competencies a model contains, the more difficult it is to apply. Experts believe that in an overly detailed model it is difficult to identify specific competencies, since the differences between individual competencies in such a model can be subtly small.
Experts are confused
The General Finance Directorate developed a model that included a huge set of competencies in the Negotiation and Influence sections. During the personnel assessment, the Assessment Center observers found it difficult to identify the standards of behavior required by the subject in such competencies as, for example, achieving goals when working in a team. What ability is needed to work in a team - skillful negotiation or strong influence on others?
In addition, the documentation can turn into a very thick and inconvenient tome. And the volume of documentation is usually inversely proportional to the number of people studying this documentation, that is: the more pages a book has, the fewer readers it has.
Volume is very important
Several years ago, a government agency developed a very complex competency model. The model contained about 60 competencies, each with five levels of complexity. In addition, this model linked behavioral standards to task and performance outcomes. This meant that each competency was illustrated with many examples (up to seven), which also covered different levels of competency. Users of the model found it almost impossible to apply it, and the 200-page reference document itself did not inspire any of the confidence that would have been generated if the developers had created the correct model.
The agency, realizing the mistake, reworked the model: it defined standards of behavior that were common to all roles in the organization. The new model included only 12 competencies. Even the division of each competency into levels fit into a document of only 12 pages. Users found the new model to suit their needs, but the idea of going back to the original model never appealed to anyone.
If all the competencies included in the model apply to all activities of a company or department, then the model is often called a “Core Competency Model.”
The core model does not include competencies that differentiate the performance of the work groups for which the model is intended. The core competency model consists of competencies that cover standards of behavior that are common to all activities, or only standards for specific types of work in a particular organization. The behavioral standards included in the core model are truly general, so more work needs to be done to apply these standards to specific activities. For example: in the Application there is the competency “Decision Making” (in the cluster “WORKING WITH INFORMATION”). The first level of behavior standards for this competency are:
Follows pre-established decision-making procedures.
Collects and uses all information necessary to make decisions.
Regularly reviews and agrees decision-making boundaries appropriate to the role.
Delegates decisions to others when delegating a decision is appropriate.
These are the general standards of behavior. But if an employee’s professional abilities are assessed in relation to a specific activity, then the standards of behavior appear to be examples of precisely this activity. For an employee serving regular customers, personal standards of behavior may be as follows:
Follows customer service procedures strictly according to standards.
Receives and uses information from customer service databases and customer procedures manuals; if necessary, consults colleagues when making decisions.
Does not make decisions that exceed the powers established by the administration.
Model example
This structure includes clusters of competencies, that is, it describes in detail the main elements and standards of behavior of employees in the process of specific activities. The application is designed exactly this way. Figure 2 illustrates this using examples from the WORKING WITH PEOPLE cluster.
