Introduction

A lot is going on in recent times on the issue of competency mapping. A lot of resource is spent and consultants are invited to do competency mapping. Competency mapping is gaining much more importance and organizations are aware of having good human resources or putting the right people on right job.

Competency mapping is important and is an essential exercise. Every well managed firm should have well defined roles and list of competencies required to perform each role effectively. Such list should be used for recruitment, performance management, promotions, placements and training needs identification.

In performing or carrying out work, it is essential that the required job skills first be articulated. This information not only helps to identify individuals who have the matching skills for doing the work but also the skills that will enhance the successful performance of the work. Yet often to perform well, it is not enough just to have these skills. It is also critical to complement the skills with the necessary knowledge and attitudes. For e.g. the necessary knowledge will enable an individual to apply the right skills for any work situation that will arise while having the right attitude will motivate him to give his best efforts. These skills, knowledge and attitudes required for the work are usually collectively referred as competencies.

What is Competency?

Competency is an underlying characteristic required to perform a given task, activity, or role can be considered as competency. Competency has the following forms:

Knowledge Skills Attitude

These three factors are important for identifying competency in a person. Different individual requires different competency for e.g. a person working in a manufacturing unit may require different competency than a person working in an IT sector. Competency difference from industry to industry. According to Harvard Business Review Daniel Katz grouped competency into three areas which later expanded in to the following four:

Technical Managerial Human Conceptual

In competency mapping all details of the behaviors (observable, specific, measurable etc) to be shown by the person occupying that role are specified.

Who Identifies Competencies?

Competencies can be identified by one of the following category of people:

Experts HR Specialists Job analysts Psychologists Industrial Engineers

What Methodology is used?

The following methods are used in combination for competency mapping:

Interview Group work Task Forces Task Analysis workshops Questionnaire Use of Job descriptions Performance Appraisal Formats etc.

How to Identify Competency?

The process of identification is not very complex. Some of the methods are given below:

Simply ask each person who is currently performing the role to list the tasks to be performed by him one by one, and identify the knowledge, attitudes and skills required to perform each of these jobs. Consolidate the list and present it to a role set group or a special task force constituted for that role. Appoint a task force for each role.

Who can do competency mapping?

Competency mapping is a task which can be done by many people. Now days all Management schools and those specializing in HR train the students in competency mapping. Any Masters in Management or Social Sciences or an Employee with Equivalent Experience and training can develop these competencies.

Some Tips on How to do Competency Mapping?

Pick up a job or role that is relatively well understood by all individuals in the company. For e.g. Sales Executive, Assistant HR Manager, Receptionist, PR Manager etc. are known to all and easy to profile. Work out competencies for this role if necessary with the help of job analysis specialist or an internal member who has knowledge of competency mapping.

ADC & AC are used to identify Competencies?

Assessment Centers are centers set up by an organization for periodic or continuous assessment of competencies required to perform current, future likely or higher level jobs/roles/tasks. They are increasingly used to identify high fliers and develop leaders/ competencies for the future. They are also being used for recruitment purposes to assess the suitability of the candidate for entry level as well as for senior levels positions. Assessment Centers use multiple methods like in-basket presentations, role plays, simulation exercise, leadership group discussions, case studies etc. They are also called as development centers or ADCs in the recent.

Role of Competency in Recruitment & Retention

Competency mapping can play a significant role in recruitment and retaining people as it gives a more accurate analysis of the job requirements, the candidate’s capability, of the difference between the two, and the development and training needs to bridge the gaps.

As far as individual’s career aspirations are concerned, once the organization gives an employee the perspective of what is required from him to reach a particular position. It drives him to develop the competencies for the same. “Competencies enable individual to identify and articulate what they offer-regardless of the job they happen to have at the time so that their organization can see, value and utilize what capability is actually available.

Competency Mapping at Zensar & L&T Infotech

Zensar has a behavioral competency model which is based on various job roles in the organization. The following is the process of implementation of competency mapping.

Having defined the various job roles, a focused study was initiated where job role holders were interviewed on the critical incident method and the data of success-critical factors collated. The job roles and deliverables were finalized on the basis of the competencies derived from the data. This data was further analyzed, and on the basis of this competencies that had an impact on the job roles and deliverables were finalized. After identifying the competencies, a job analysis exercise was carried out where the importance level of every competency was ascertained before freezing the competency model.

L&T Infotech a PCMM Level 5 company has a successful competency based HR system. Recruitment, training, job rotation, succession planning and promotions all are defined by competency mapping. Nearly all our HR interventions are linked to competency. Competencies are enhanced through training and job rotation. He adds that all people who have gone through job rotation undergo a transformation and get a broader perspective of the company. For instance a person lacking in negotiation skills might be put in the sales or purchase department for a year to hone his skills in the area.

RECOMMENTATIONS

Competency-based HR is considered the best HR. In India however competency development and mapping still remains an unexplored process in most IT organisations despite the growing level of awareness. The underlying principle of competency mapping is not just about finding the right people for the right job. The issue is much more complex than it appears, and most HR departments have been struggling to formulate the right framework for their organisation.

Unless managements and HR heads have holistic expectations from their HR departments, the competency movement is unlikely to succeed as it requires lot of time, dedication and money. Before an organisation embarks on this journey it has to be very clear about the business goals, capability-building imperatives and core competencies of the organisation. The competency mapping process needs to be strongly integrated with these aspects.

Experts agree that the competency mapping process does not fit the one-size-fits all formula. It has to be specific to the user organisation. “My suggestion is to develop models that draw from but are not defined by existing research, using behavioural interview methods so that the organisation creates a model that reflects its own strategy, its own market, its own customers, and the competencies that bring success in that specific context (including national culture). Start with small, discrete groups or teams, ideally in two directions-a ‘horizontal slice’ across the business that takes in a multi-functional or multi-site group, more or less at the same organisational level, and a ‘vertical slice’ taking in one whole department or team from top to bottom. From that, the organisation can learn about the process of competency modelling, and how potential alternative formats for the models may or may not fit the needs of the business

It is important to focus on one or two key areas of implementation rather than the whole HRD agenda in one scoop. Competency mapping can be rather good at providing organisational pain relief when applied effectively-and so making the case for extending it. Further, it is advisable to begin with a ‘horizontal’ slice of the management or senior-most team as the benefits will percolate down to the whole organisation.

CONCLUSION

Competency is a set of knowledge, skills and attitudes required to perform a job effectively and efficiently. A Competency is something that describes how a job might be done, excellently; a Competence only describes what has to be done, not how. So the Competences might describe the duties of a Sales Manager for example, such as manage the sales office and its staff, prepare quotations and sales order processing, manage Key Accounts and supervise and motivate the field sales force. The Competencies which might determine excellence in this role could include Problem Solving and Judgment; Drive and Determination; Commercial Awareness; Inter-personal skills etc, all of which might be described further by Behavioral Indicators relating specifically to that post in that organization.

REFERENCES

Articles:

Article -“The Art and Science of Competency Mapping”- by T.V. Rao, Sudipta, “Competency based HR”, Express Computer, 10 Jan 2005 “Competency Mapping: A pre- requisite for HR Excellence” by Dr. Lovy Sarikal

Web Sources:

www.tvrls.com www.citehr.com www.hinduonnet.com www.indianmba.com