Competency Mapping

Chapter 1: BASIC CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS A term that has gained wider circulation in the management profession in recent times is Competency Mapping. It is about identifying preferred behaviours and personal skills which distinguish excellent and outstanding performance from the average. A Competency is the ingredients skills! knowledge! attributes and behaviours" that contribute to excellence.

WH COMPETENC MAPPIN!# $very employee is expected to give %!&'' hour of his ( her active time in a year for the organi)ation. *hat is the organi)ation expectation from the employee# *hat are the recurring and non+recurring activities# *hat are the critical abilities knowledge! attitudes! skills! etc." and the competencies re,uired to perform these tasks and activities# -hese are some of the basic but essential ,uestions to be answered in the early stages ( phases of the organi)ation.

Tra"itiona# $o% &' Competency Approach

-hus Competency Mapping has gained importance! due to following several reasons.

Increased costs of Manpower

/eed for ensuring that competent people are available for performing various competent roles.

0own si)ing and the conse,uent work to be done with less manpower! low cost and from the competent people and seeing the advantage ( result to the customer.

If the organi)ation has the right technology! right resources! right finance! customers and markets! right systems and processes in place then every thing can be set right or managed effectively.

Competency Mapping is important and is an essential exercise. $very well established or big firm or organi)ation should have well established competencies for each employee so that the respective roles can be well performed. -hese competencies can be used for the following processes.

1ecruitment and 2election process

3erformance Management for promotions! incentives"

-raining 4 0evelopment for carrying out -raining /eeds Identification process"

DEFINITION OF COMPETENC

-here are different definitions given for Competency Mapping.

According to 5/I06 %''%" 7

A Competency is a set of skills! related knowledge and attributes that allow an individual to successfully perform a task or an activity within a specific function or 8ob.

According to -imothy! Athey and Michael

A competency is a set of observable performance dimensions including individual knowledge! skills! attitudes and behavior as well as collective teams! processes and organi)ational capabilities that are linked to high performance and provide the organi)ation with sustainable competitive advantage.

*hat is common in the definitions#

Competency may take the following forms.

9nowledge Attitude 2kill 6ther characteristics of an individual including.

Motives

 :alues -raits 2elf Concept

0efining 8ob competencies is useful in assisting individuals to develop their competencies for that 8ob.

Competencies are contextual. -he context is given by the organi)ation! the function! the role! the level and the timing. /ormally when the Competency Mapping is done the organi)ational! the functional and role related contexts are taken into consideration. -hus the competencies re,uired to perform the role of the ;eneral Manager in one organi)ation cannot be easily used for another.

For e(amp#e: ;eneral Manager of <inance needs different competencies than those of the ;eneral Manager of Marketing. Competencies needed for performing the role of a ;eneral Manager differs from that of the 0eputy ;eneral Manager depending on the organi)ation! its structure! function! profile etc.

METHODO)O! *SED FO+ COMPETENC MAPPIN!

+e'o,rce - E(pert Pane#' 2tructured process to get the participants >ob holders! managers ?1 ( training staff" to think systematically about the 8ob! skills and personal characteristics needed for success.

Critica# E&ent Inter&ie.'

 2tructured interviews with superior performers which involve in+depth probing of a large number of events and experiences.

;eneric competency 0ictionaries

Conceptual frameworks of commonly encountered competencies and behaviour indicators.

-ask analysis workshops

Can be used in resource panel by asking the participants to select a set of generic competencies related to the 8ob and rate the importance

5se of >ob descriptions! 3erformance Appraisal formats! etc.

@uestionnaire

IDENTIFICATION OF THE COMPETENCIES A detailed approach to identify the competencies is given in the subse,uent units of 1ole 2et Aased Competency Mapping 12ACM". In the above methods some of the following steps can be used. B. 0ecide the roles for which competencies has to be prepared %. Identify the location of the roles in the organi)ational structure. -his needs the clarity of organi)ational structure! defining the role relationships reporting authority! subordinates! colleagues! etc.".

C. Identify the ob8ectives or roles or functions of the department wherever competency mapping is to be carried out. Also identify why does this role exist and what are the main purposes of this role# &. Collect the 91A2 or 9ey 3erformance Areas of the position for the last % years from the performance appraisal records. D. Interview the employee of a particular position for which the competency mapping has to be done" to list the actual knowledge! attitude! skills and other competencies re,uired for performing the task effectively. 1epeat the whole process with all the employees. E. Consolidate all the competencies. F. 3resent this to the group of successful role holders and get them to access the relative importance of each. G. Identify the Aehavior indicators for each competency. H. 0efine the level of the competency by identifying the indicators of each level of the competency.

FO+MS OF COMPETENCIES.

/no.#e"ge -he set of knowledge re,uired by the candidate ( employee for a specific position. -his knowledge can be technical.

S0i##' 2kill is the ability to perform physical or mental task. <or example. the ability to perform an operation or to prepare a pro8ect proposal or to manage a team. 2kills re,uire knowledge! attitudes and practices. <or example. skill to convince another person to buy a new product! the skill to move or motivate an audience by moving speech. Attit,"e' Attitudes are predispositions to other individuals! groups! ob8ects! situations! events! issues! etc. Attitudes decide our approach or avoidance behavior. Attitudes are formed from experiences and change from time to time. 1a#,e'

:alues are more enduring and more generali)ed beliefs and attitudes in our personality. -hey are more permanent than attitudes. Moti&e' 2 Trait' Motives drive! direct and select behavior towards certain actions or goals. <or example. achievement motivation is needed for entrepreneurs! influence motivation for teachers and managers. ;ood ,ualities like ,uick reaction! good eyesight are physical characteristics that can be considered as traits or ,ualities. -raits also mean response patterns to situations. <or example. emotional self 7 control! sociability! activity level! reflectiveness! etc. are all traits.

Chapter 2: Mapping Process First stage: of mapping requires understanding the vision and mission of the organization. Second stage: requires understanding from the superior performers the behavioral as well as the functional aspects required to perform job effectively. Tool for the first and second stage: Structured Interview

Third stage: involves thorough study of the Structured Interview Reports a b c Identification of the competency based on competency frame wor! "easurement of competency Required levels of competency for each job family

#evelopment of dictionary which involves detail description of the competency based on the indicators. $are should be ta!en that the indicators should be measurable and gives objective judgment.

Fourth Stage: requires preparation for assessment. a b "ethods of assessment can be either through assessment centers or %&' #egree (eedbac! If assessment centre is the choice for assessment then tools has to be ready beforehand i. ii. iii. iv. Tools should objectively measure the entire competency required. #etermine the type of the tools for measuring competency )repare the schedule for assessment Training to the assessor should indicate their thorough understanding of the competencies and the tools and also as to how the behaviour has to be documented.

Fifth Stage: involves conducting assessment centre. *sually it is a two day program which would involve giving a brief feedbac! to the participant about the competencies that has been assessed and where they stand to. Sixth stage: involves detailed report of the competencies assessed and also the development plan for the developmental areas.

Chapter 3: Competency A''e''ment proce'' Competency A''e''ment.

Step 1 : E44ecti&e $o% De'cription.

<irst! *e have to create an effective >ob 0escription. 0etails covered within a 8ob description would be. the 8ob titleI who is accountable for the employeeI the location of the 8obI a brief description of what the 8ob entailsI a list of duties and responsibilitiesI working conditions. An effort will be to define clearly what the 8ob is about and what can be expected from the 8ob.

Step 5 : Strength an" Area' o4 impro&ement' Approach . Aefore going for self evaluation of competency approach! 2trength and *eaknesses Areas of improvements" we need to identify. -his would give fair! realistic view of the functioning characteristics of the departmentJs activities and would focus on the present status of the functions vis+K+vis establish linkage with plant(corporate goal.

2tep C. Se#4 e&a#,ation o4 Core competencie' <or each of the identified minimum competencies! here! we need to come out with /umbers related to each activities(8ob".

2tep &. Se#4 e&a#,ation o4 S0i## #e&e#' Aased on the 2kill description ! the Appraise should make self evaluation in terms of his(her level for each skill .-he reason for the level rating should be described in column of the excel sheet . -he level will be determined based on the following definitions.

a b c d

Level B. ?as basic knowledge( awareness of the skill Level %. ?as (possesses working knowledge of the skill Level C. ?as(possesses comprehensive skill to the 8ob well Level &. ?as mastered (can coach the skill and can guide others

%. Add up the scores in both the column 1e,uired Level and Actual level .-he skill index will be calculated as the M of actual scores to the re,uired 2cores ! as follows . Step 6: A''e'' Core Competencie'.

B. -he self evaluation by the Appraisee becomes the basic for assessment of the core

competencies .
%. $nter specific observation

s" in the column 6<I

6pportunity

for

improvements " .-hese observations should lead to identification of specific Methodologies for Competency improvements.

C. Calculate the score. $ach core competency has two points if it is fully met and B

point if it is partially met.

&. In the -able for Competency Improvement 3lan write a plan of action to deal

with. a" Identify a -raining input if the Appraisee had not been exposed to the core competencies! of if 2(he needs an advanced input. b" If there are attitudinal issues impacting the exhibition of the Core competencies! a personal counseling by Appraiser! 1eviewer! and ?1 should be planned and this should be documented. c" If the conceptual input have already been provided! or if such input are easily available through books! 3rofessional maga)ine! Manuals! Internet" to the Appraisee! then it is a ,uestion of 2elf development. Step 7 : A''e'' S0i## )e&e# : a" <or each position! the skills should be defined . Aased on the 2kill 0ictionary which we have to prepare for the positions"! need to be assessed. -he Appraiser will conduct this assessment! based on the reasons given by the Appraisee in the 2elf evaluation. Aefore commencing the Appraiser should seek the view of the 1eviewer on the Appraisee.

b" Aased on the discussion! the Apprise actual level should be determined and entered. c" *herever the Actual scores are lower! enter specific comments in 1emarks column to Identify -raining and 2elf development opportunities for the Appraisee.

d" Add up the scores in both the columns 71e,uired level and Actual level .-he skill Index is calculated as the M of Actual 2cores to 1e,uired 2core. e" In the table for 2kill Improvements plan identify specific plans for improvement. Identify An appropriate -raining input! 2elf 7development plans! assignments etc to help the Appraisee improve his(her skill level. Step 8 : Ca#c,#ate Competency In"e(.. a" -he Competency Index for the Appraisee is calculated on the basis of weighted indices for Core Competency and 2kills.

Chapter 9: +o#e Set Ba'e" Competency Mapping :+SBCM;