Competency-Based Employee Selection

Selection: The process of matching people and jobs. The decision-making process in hiring it typically involves multiple interviews and interviewer ratings, and it may make use of performance tests and assessment centers. In assessing your workforce needs, youve probably determined that youll have to develop strategies to improve your selection process !irtually every organi"ation planning for the future reali"es that it will have to focus considerable energy on the hiring process, even if only to replace employees who have left the organi"ation through normal attrition and baby-boomer retirements #our analysis also probably demonstrated that your organi"ation can do a better $ob of selecting employees who have the competencies most critical to the agencys success %e introduce behavioral interviewing as the most reliable way of selecting applicants who possess the competencies critical to e&emplary $ob performance and an agencys success Studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of behavioral interviews in assessing competencies in $ob applicants ' (ore and more organi"ations, including state and federal agencies, are using behavioral interviewing, also known as performance-based interviewing Behavioral interviews focus on past behaviors and ask candidates how they have handled certain situations in the past )he underlying premise of behavioral interviewing is that past behavior is predictive of future behavior )he Competency (odel described in the Gap- losing Tool !it Tool " serves as the foundation for the behavioral interviewing selection process described in this )ool

How Behavioral Interviewing Works

*aving a basic conceptual understanding of behavioral interviewing is key to its successful implementation + selection process based on behavioral interviewing re,uires' Identifying the critical competencies associated with performing a $ob well

. +ssessing the competencies of the $ob candidate and determining whether they match those of the $ob for which they are applying )raditional hiring systems are often based on the technical ,ualifications for a $ob, and traditional interviews often focus on detailed discussions of $ob e&perience )hese interviews are often based on several /stock0 ,uestions, such as1

Spencer, 1yle ( and Signe ( Spencer '223 Inc

ompetence at #ork 4ew #ork- 5ohn %iley 6 Sons,

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%hat are your strengths and weaknesses9 %hat could you bring to our organi"ation9 %hy do you want this $ob9 %hat do you think makes you the best candidate for this $ob9 Selection decisions are often based on the /emotional attraction0 of the applicant to the interviewer- /%ho do I like the best90 or /%hich candidate seems to compliment my work style90 :ormal education, technical knowledge and e&perience are important $ob ,ualifications, and are often the threshold re,uirements for the $ob, serving as minimum credentials to make it through the screening process *owever, a candidates attitudes, motivations and behavioral characteristics ;competencies< are more predictive of superior performance =uring a behavioral interview, interviewers ask the applicant competency-based ,uestions designed to elicit detailed information about how the applicant has demonstrated the specific competency in the past :or e&ample, in a behavioral interview focusing on the ustomer $ocus competency, the interviewer could ask Can you tell me about a specific situation where a client ;customer< became angry with you because you were unable to provide what he or she wanted9 *ow did you handle it9 *ow did the situation turn out9 )he interviewer could continue to probe for the details that provide insight into how the candidate handles difficult customer service interactions %e believe there are several advantages to behavioral interviewing, including Behavioral interviewing re,uires candidates to provide answers to ,uestions based on what they have actually done, rather than what they might imagine they would do in a hypothetical situation Behavioral interviews, when properly conducted, provide in-depth information about the applicants actions, motives, thought processes and behaviors because the interviewer has an opportunity to ask follow-up ,uestions to gain a much clearer understanding of how the candidate handles real-life work situations Behavioral interviews promote e,ual opportunity since they reduce the likelihood of bias due to superficial and personal characteristics Candidates are evaluated on what they have actually done rather than on how they look or how personable they are It is difficult for the candidate to /fake0 a good answer in a behavioral interview because they must provide details in response to probing ,uestions +nswers about real-life e&amples can also be verified with reference checks )he ,uality of the candidate assessment is e,uivalent to that gained through an assessment center process, but at far less cost

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Developing a Behavioral Interviewing Process

)he steps to develop a behavioral interviewing process include' . 3 > Identifying which $ob competencies to focus on during interviews =eveloping and asking the right interview ,uestions Interview scheduling and logistics Scoring and evaluating behavioral interviews

Step 1: Identify the Competencies to oc!s on D!ring the Interview

)here are two basic guidelines to follow in identifying which competencies to focus on in your behavioral interviews' Identifying a reasonable number of competencies to focus on and the number of ,uestions to use for each competency . Choosing the type of $ob competencies that are most difficult to develop in an employee

"he n!m#er of competencies and $!estions- E&perienced interviewers find that asking two or three ,uestions for each $ob competency, along with probing follow-up ,uestions, is necessary to ade,uately assess an applicants strengths in that competency area It is better to conduct an in-depth interview on si& to eight competencies than to attempt a broad-brush interview on all of them "he type of competency: Some competencies reflect characteristics that are inherent in ones personality, either inherited or learned at a very early age ;%tress Tolerance< ?thers reflect characteristics that are learned later in life and can be more easily developed through training and other work@life e&periences

)ip+s so aptly stated by Spencer and Spencer in their book, ompetence at #ork, /#ou can teach a turkey to climb a tree, but it is easier to hire a s,uirrel 0

+s illustrated in the table below, during the %pencer, &yle '. and %igne '. %pencer. selection process you should focus on the "((). Competence at %ork. *ew +ork: competencies that are most difficult to develop ,ohn #iley - %ons, .nc. through training and on-the-$ob e&perience *iring someone who naturally works well under pressure, for e&ample, is likely to be more successful than developing this behavior through stress management training

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Competency oc!s for H% Processes & Child Welfare Caseworker

Competencies /daptability 0uilding Trust ollaboration ommunication ontinuous &earning and 1rofessional 2evelopment ultural ompetence ustomer3 lient $ocus 2ecision 'aking31roblem %olving 1lanning and 4rgani5ing %tress Tolerance Teamwork Technical31rofessional !nowledge and %kill Aesume clarification and overall interview & & ' %ecr!itment and Selection(1) & & & %riting sample and overall interview & & * Performance +anagement ?ptional ?ptional Ae,uired Ae,uired ?ptional Ae,uired ?ptional ?ptional Ae,uired ?ptional Ae,uired ?ptional , Professional Development ?ptional ?ptional Ae,uired ?ptional ?ptional Ae,uired ?ptional ?ptional ?ptional ?ptional ?ptional ?ptional

;'< Behavioral interview ,uestions will be asked in the seven competency areas denoted with an B&B )he ommunication competency will be scored based on answers to the other ,uestions and on the scoring of the written e&ercise administered by the agency )he Technical31rofessional !nowledge and %kill competency will be scored based on answers to the other behavioral ,uestions, the applicants education and e&perience, and answers to direct ,uestions asked about e&perience

Step ': Develop and -sk the %ight Interview .!estions

)he ne&t step is to develop ,uestions designed to provide as much information as possible about the applicants e&perience in each competency In essence, you will be inviting applicants to /tell their story0 about a specific situation in the past where they e&hibited a particular competency Each ,uestion should elicit three specific pieces of information' . 3 + description of the sit!ation )he applicants role/ responsi#ility or action in the situation or incident )he specific o!tcome of the situation or incident

:or the %tress Tolerance competency, an e&ample of a three-part ,uestion would be-

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Sit!ation %ole/ %esponsi#ility/ -ction 0!tcome

Sometimes tensions run high in the kind of work we do Can you describe a stressful situation or interaction you have had with a supervisor in the past9 %hat did you do9 *ow did you respond9

%hat happened9 %hat was the final outcome9

Sit!ation- )his is the primary line of in,uiryC youll ask each applicant this ,uestion in the same way Slight modifications to the ,uestion are appropriate where circumstances warrant ;:or e&ample, if interviewing an applicant with no prior work e&perience, the word /individual0 in the above ,uestion can be substituted for /supervisor 0< %ole1%esponsi#ility1-ction and 0!tcome- )hese are follow-up or probing ,uestionsC youll ask these ,uestions as appropriate in the conte&t of the each applicants response 8 the follow-up and probing ,uestions may be ,uite different from one applicant to another

)ipAemember- )he point of behavioral interviewing is to learn as much as possible about the applicants e&periences, behaviors and thought processes in the competencies important to the $ob #oull be scoring applicants on how well they e&hibit the competency 8 not how well they interviewE

?n the ne&t page are some sample competency-based behavioral interview ,uestions for some competencies common to $obs in human services agencies

Competency2Based Behavioral Interview .!estions

-dapta#ility Flease describe a significant change you have had to deal with at work recently Fossible follow up ,uestions %hat was your initial reaction to the change9 %hat was your overall response9 *ow did it all work out9

B!ilding "r!st Can you tell us about a situation where you found it challenging to build a trusting relationship with another individual9 Fossible follow up ,uestionsColla#oration Can you tell us about a time when you formed an ongoing working relationship or partnership with someone from another organi"ation to achieve a mutual goal9 Fossible follow up ,uestions %hat did you do to make the relationship ship work9 *ow has it worked out9 *ow did you go about doing it9 *ow did it work out9

Contin!o!s 3earning and Professional Development +side from your formal academic education, can you think of something you have done to grow professionally in the recent past9 Fossible follow up ,uestions =id you have a chance to apply what you learned on the $ob9 *ow9 %hat was the outcome9

C!lt!ral Competence Can you tell us about a time when you needed to be particularly sensitive to another persons beliefs, cultural background, or way of doing things9 %hat were the circumstances9 %hat did you do9 Fossible follow up ,uestions *ow did the situation work out9 Decision +aking1Pro#lem Solving Can you tell us about a really difficult decision you had to make at work recently9 Fossible follow up ,uestionsStress "olerance Can you recall a particularly stressful situation you have had at work recently9 *ow did you go about making the decision9 %hat alternatives did you consider9 *ow did it turn out9

7ap-Closing Strategies 8 )ool 3 %hat happened9 %hat was your role in the situation9 =id you do anything specific to deal with the stress9 *ow did it all work out9

Selection

Fossible follow up ,uestions-

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"echni$!es for Cond!cting 4ood Behavioral Interviews

+ttempt to put the applicant at ease 8 )he initial step in any good $ob interview is to help the applicant feel comfortable in what is usually a stressful setting Engaging in a few minutes of /small talk0 usually breaks the ice Since many applicants have never participated in a behavioral interview, it is helpful to provide a brief e&planation of the process at the beginning of the interview 7ive applicants reassurance if they have trouble recalling specific e&amples 8 Some applicants will have a difficult time thinking of specific e&amples in response to certain ,uestions Encourage them to take some time to think about the ,uestion Aemind applicants with little work e&perience that e&amples from their college e&perience or their personal life are appropriate If an applicant appears to be stuck on a particular ,uestion, offer to ask the ne&t ,uestion and come back to this ,uestion later in the interview ?ften, e&amples that come up in later ,uestions trigger an e&ample from an earlier one Jeep the applicant focused on the specifics 8 Some applicants have a tendency to speak in generalities %atch for phrases like, /I always,0 I usually0 and I never 0 Aespond by asking for specifics, by redirecting the applicant with phrases like, /%ere looking for a specific situation,0 or /Can you give a specific e&ample of that90 Jeep the applicant focused on what he or she did 8 Some applicants tend to use the word /we0 even when talking about something done individually Since it is very important to clearly understand precisely what the applicant did, it may be necessary to politely keep reminding the applicant that you are only interested in what he or she did ?ffering an e&planation of why the applicant needs to use the word /I0 usually helps :ocus the applicants on facts rather than opinions 8 Some applicants couch their answers in the conte&t of what they believe rather than what they did If the applicant makes statements such as /Clients are always my top priority,0 you should respond by asking them to provide a concrete e&ample Jeep the applicant focused on past behaviors 8 Even if you ask for a specific e&ample, some applicants may respond as if they were asked a hypothetical ,uestion Simply remind the applicant that you need specific e&amples from the past

Step *: Sched!ling Interviews and 0ther 3ogistics

"ime- %e recommend scheduling one hour to conduct a behavioral interview with applicants for frontline workers and frontline supervisor $obs )he scoring process usually takes an additional 'D or .K minutes If youre planning to conduct multiple interviews in one day, scheduling them 'L hours apart is usually sufficient +fter you gain e&perience with the process, you may need to make ad$ustments

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Personnel- )here are many ways human services organi"ations handle their screening and interviewing processes Some e&amples include )he supervisor of the vacancy screens and interviews *uman Aesources staff screen and interview *uman Aesources staff does a resume@application screening, and@or telephone screening and@or in-person screening and the hiring supervisor conducts the final interview

)ip"ime -llotments for a "ypical Behavioral Interview Introductions, e&planation of process 6 clarification of resume Nuestions about education, e&perience 6 re,uired skills Competency-based ,uestions +pplicant ,uestions and wrap-up

D minutes 'K minutes >K minutes D minutes

+ panel of management representatives ;including some combinations of supervisors, managers, *A staff, +ffirmative +ction@EE? staff, etc < screen and@or interview )here is no single best method that would meet the needs of every human service agency *owever, we do believe you can strengthen the selection process significantly by using a panel of two or three interviewers in the behavioral interview Behavioral interviews result in applicants providing such a wealth of detailed information that it is useful to have at least one person take notes while another asks ,uestions and focuses on the interaction with the applicant =etailed notes are very useful when scoring the applicant after the interview )he scoring process is strengthened when panelists share their perspectives and observations as they work to reach a consensus

Step ,: Score and 5val!ate the -pplicant Interview

+lthough there are a number of techni,ues for evaluating applicants, we believe the process we describe here will serve most organi"ations very well Mse the .nterview 6valuation 7eport and Guidelines on the ne&t si& pages as a template for scoring your applicants

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Interview 5val!ation %eport

ClassificationCandidate 6ame %ecommendation: *ire 4ow Consider for :uture ?pening =o 4ot *ire Interviewer 6ame(s)Date

Competencies
Instr!ctions: Check the rating ne&t to the numeric score that best represents the candidates proficiency level in each competency area based on the applicants responses %rite appropriate comments below )ally the numeric scores in the right-hand column 6o 5vidence of Proficiency ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' +arginally Proficient . . . . . . . . 4reatly 57ceeds D D D D D D D D 6!meric Score

Competency -dapta#ility B!ilding "r!st Colla#oration Comm!nication Contin!o!s 3earning C!lt!ral Competence Decision +aking1 Pro#lem Solving Stress "olerance "otal Score Comments:

Proficient 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

57ceeds > > > > > > > >

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!nctional1"echnical Skills
Instr!ctions: In the space provided, indicate the candidates score for each category, using only the highest score for that category ;:or e&ample, if a candidate has both a BS% and (S%, the Education Score would be four points, not seven <

!nctional1"echnical Skill +s evidenced from answers to interview ,uestions ;Mse the D-point scale above < 5d!cation ;(S% O > BS% O 3 (asters in *uman Services +rea O 3 Bachelors O .<

Score

57perience Fublic@Frivate +gency Child %elfare Case (anager O > ?ther Frofessional Child %elfare O 3 Faraprofessional Child %elfare O . Child %elfare :ield Flacement or Intern O . Child %elfare !olunteer %ork O ' 3icense ;+ny state license@professional certification O .< "otal Score Comments:

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Possi#le Dis$!alifiers
-ppearance- ;Sloppy, =isheveled, Foor 7rooming, Inappropriate =ress<

Poise- ;!ery awkward, 4o social skills<

Interpersonal Skills- ;*ostile, =efensive, Aesistant, Evasive, +rgumentative, Cold, Snobbish, /Chip on Shoulder, 1acks enthusiasm<

Commitment- ;Shows little interest in position, only interested in /a $ob0<

Writing -#ility ;=isorgani"ed, Foor 7rammar, Foor Sentence Structure<

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4!idelines: Interview 5val!ation %eport

Each candidate in the interview process deserves to be scored carefully, using the same criteria for each applicant Criteria fall into three separately-scored categories' . 3 Evaluation of the Competencies Evaluation of 5d!cation, 57perience, Special 8nowledge and Skills ;E6E< =is,ualifiers

)he scoring of the first two categories is intended to evaluate applicants relative to each other 8 not to combine them for an overall evaluation score 5val!ating Competencies +sking each applicant the same competency-based behavioral ,uestions will ensure a fair evaluation of the applicants on the same set of competencies *aving an interview panel of three interviews offers a good check and balance during the scoring process *ave the definitions of the competencies in front of the interviewers during the interview and scoring process 8 this will help assess proficiency levels ' +ssign each applicant a score for each competency using the five-point rating scale in the .nterview 6valuation 7eport . :ocus on the proficiency level evident in the applicants answer 3 In assessing the proficiency level of the applicant, ask yourself ,uestions such as

)ipIn many instances, applicants answering a ,uestion on one competency will provide insight into their proficiency in others as well =uring the scoring of one competency, you will find yourself looking back into other parts of your notes to refresh your memory about information relevant to the competency youre currently scoring

*ow recent was the e&ample the applicant described9 *ow relevant is the e&ample to the kind of $ob being applied for9 *ow well did the applicant handle the situation described relative to the e&pectations of our agency9 *ow large was the applicants role in the situation described9

%as the outcome described by the applicant a desirable one given the circumstances9 :or middle and top-management level positions, what were the impact and scope of the applicants e&amples9

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5val!ating 5d!cation/ 57perience/ Special 8nowledge and Skills #our applicants have presumably met the education, e&perience and other minimum re,uirements for the $ob in order to ,ualify for an interview )he purpose of scoring these characteristics is to ob$ectively compare applicants within this category #ou can find parts of the E6E scores from the application@resume ;degrees, years of e&perience, and speciali"ed skills< )he score for Technical31rofessional !nowledge and %kill is based, in part, on answers to the specific ,uestions asked during the early part of the interview In most instances, applicants with work e&perience will use many work-related e&amples as they answer the behavioral ,uestions Information from those answers should be factored into the E6E score

Dis$!alifiers ?ccasionally applicants present themselves in a way during the interview that raises a red flag such that they dis,ualify themselves irrespective of their scores in the other two categories E&amples might include a person who uses inappropriate profanity, who is obno&iously overbearing, or who is seriously unkempt and disheveled Some agencies re,uire applicants to complete a writing e&ercise on agency premises when they appear for the interview If the $ob re,uires the ability to write reasonably well, and applicants are unable to demonstrate their ability, they are dis,ualified from further consideration on that basis alone

inal 5val!ation and Selection ?nce youve tallied your applicants scores, you can easily compare them to help make your selection decision )he way you use the scores depends on your situation )he e&ample on the ne&t page illustrates how you can use the scoring to help make your selection decision In this e&ample )he ma&imum score on Competencies is 3D ;H competencies with a ma&imum score of D points each< )he ma&imum score for E6E is 'D ;see .nterview 6valuation 7eport< )he agency has two vacancies to fill

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S!mmary: -pplicant Interview Scores

-pplicant + B C Competency Score 33 3. 3' 595 Score > '. > "otal Score 3H >> 3D 6otes Second Choice- 1ittle e&perience, but great potential :irst Choice- *igh scores in both areas (ay have been third choice if there was a mi& of e&perience levels on staff (ay have been third choice Ae,uires detailed check of interview notes (ay have been third choice if all other staff had little e&perience Frobably wouldnPt hire because of marginal competency scores 1ots of e&perience, but poor competency scores 8 wouldnPt hire %ouldnPt hire

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+pplicants + and B both have high competency scores, but B scored much higher on E&perience and Education +pplicant B is offered and accepts the $ob )he second position is offered to +pplicant + who has little e&perience, but based on the competency scores has the potential to be a great employee after getting some training and e&perience *ad applicant B turned down the $ob offer, +pplicant C would have been offered the $ob if there had been a good mi& of e&perience levels on the staff +pplicant C has little, if any e&perience, but has good competency scores *ad all of the other staff been new, the agency might consider offering the $ob to = or E ;)he agency may not want to offer both $obs to ine&perienced applicants when employees currently on the staff are also ine&perienced < +lthough Es competency scores are somewhat marginal, E has more e&perience )his would be a difficult decision for the agency, because the short-term benefit of hiring E might be short sighted + year from now, C has the potential of being a better employee )he agency may want to go back and take a closer look at the scores 8 by competency 8 for applicants C, = and E before making the final decision +pplicant 7 had the highest E6E scores and the second highest total score ;the misleading result of mi&ing apples and oranges< of all the applicants Mnder a more traditional hiring approach, 7 may have been the first choice *owever, under the competency-based, behavioral interviewing model, the agency would not consider 7 for hiring because of the low competency score

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