Introduction

Are Competencies Important?

Let us begin with a common hiring scenario. After a recent resignation, your organization is interviewing for a new operations manager. The decision makers assemble to compare notes on the candidates they have interviewed. “I think Susan has the right stuff for this position,” one says. “She was poised and radiated confidence when I asked difficult questions.” Another speaks up: “I think John fits the bill. He’s energetic and really seems to be a people person.” A third interviewer prefers Bill because of his “street smarts and technical knowledge.”

These opinions are weak because the interviewers are all looking for different qualities. They lack an understanding of what it really takes to manage and lead effectively. Nor do they have a common vocabulary to support a valid debate. The ensuing discussion is likely to become an unproductive test of wills as the interviewers lobby for their favorite candidate. To prove this point, imagine asking the interviewers to independently record and then share their definition of effective leadership. Chances are you will get as many answers as there are interviewers. Never fear, though, there is a solution to this confusion.

Over time, our definitions of what constitutes the right stuff for defining talent have evolved; the accepted standard is now the language of competencies. A single competency is defined as a cluster of behaviors representing one facet of what is needed to perform a job. For example, Composure is frequently cited as a personal competency that is important to many positions. A cluster of behaviors that demonstrate composure include showing patience, responding calmly to stressful circumstances, and demonstrating control of emotions. Having, and using, this kind of common vocabulary is especially vital in judging candidates for complex, cognitive jobs such as managing and leading.

This core concept of a behavioral characterization of a facet of competence has been fundamental to the language of competency since someone first articulated the notion that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior (especially more recent behavior in a similar context).

Here is the basic idea: How much do you really care about what candidates tell you about their underlying motivation, values, attributes, and even training, compared to how they express these through their accomplishments and performance? How much can we really know about what is going on beneath the surface, compared to what we see in their current and recent actions?

And, of course, competent people are the essential factor in successful and enduring organizations. Without them, organizations are only empty buildings and idle machines. People have the ideas, and produce, market, and sell the organization’s goods and services. Only people can organize and energize the enterprise. But what defines their competence? Is it raw talent? Knowledge? Skill? Ability? Personality? Motivation?

This book will explore this relatively new, but now widely accepted, concept of competency and competency models. It will argue that these models are absolutely essential in providing a common language for talent management across human resource systems. Indeed, without an accepted model of the ideal employee, individual talent systems (e.g., recruiting, hiring, promoting, training, appraising) are suboptimized and may even contradict each other.

The pages that follow will provide a clear, best-practice definition of competence that emphasizes effective behavior and performance as a primary definitional element. Building and implementing models will be presented, as will sample competencies and complete models. Case studies of successful applications in organizations will demonstrate the efficacy of competency models. Finally, nuances in presentation and interpretation of models in the key talent areas of selection, training, and performance management will be discussed.

It is important to note a legal reason for learning about competency models. Legally defensible selection and promotion systems must be based on valid criteria. Spending time on ensuring a valid model helps provide assurance that any organizational evaluation is reliable and valid.

It is also important to point out what this book does not include. Our focus is on the elements and systems that ensure that an organization is staffed by exceptional individuals capable of producing needed results in their defined roles. Once onboard and fully functioning, their retention and motivation are part of other human resource systems that ensure lasting tenure and continuing interest. These systems include compensation, benefits, performance management (appraisal), engagement, employee (labor) relations, safety, employee assistance programs, and others. These are certainly important in overall management of an enterprise, but detailed description is beyond the scope of this book.

Finally, here are some specifics on our target reader. Whether you are a small service business with fewer than a dozen associates or a global giant doing business around the world, we hope that this book will help you understand and be able to create and implement a competency model to provide the criteria needed for essential decisions and actions to optimize your most valuable resource: the human resource.