Competency based Recruitment &

Selection
• Recruitment is the process of attracting as many qualified applicants
as possible for existing vacancies and anticipated openings. It is a
talent search, a pursuit of the best group of applicants for an
available position.
• Selection reduces the list of applicants to those who are most
qualified to achieve the desired outputs or results. During the
process, HR practitioners try to predict which applicant will be most
successful and will best fit the job and the corporate culture.
Traditional Employee Recruitment and Selection
• The traditional starting point for recruitment is a job description and a
job specification.
• The job description describes the work activities or job responsibilities of
the successful job incumbent.
• The job specification specifies the qualifications an individual should
possess in order to carry out the work. Qualifications are usually
expressed as the minimum education, experience, and other
requirements necessary to do the job.
• Some employers also use a job requisition, which justifies the creation
of a new position or the replacement of a departing worker.
Traditional Recruitment Process
Step 1
Clarify the position to be filled through recruitment

Step 2
Review and update job descriptions and specifications for the position

Step 3
Identify possible sources of qualified candidates

Step 4
Select the most effective means of communicating with and attracting
qualified/desired applicants
The Traditional Selection Process
Competency based recruitment
Competency-based recruitment begins when the organization's leaders identify the
key work roles, positions, or other work designations in need of recruitment efforts.
This involves setting priorities. Decision makers must also decide on the time span
over which the recruitment process will take place.

A competency-based approach to recruitment and selection places more demands on

an organization, compared to the effort required for a traditional approach. But what
if sufficient resources are not available to adopt a competency-based system for the
entire organization? In such a case, the organization should invest its available
resources in a competency-based approach to recruiting and selecting for those jobs
or positions that are most critical to the organization's success. After key positions
have been filled, leaders can evaluate the costs and benefits of extending the use of
these methods to other areas.
• The information can be gained through job analyses and should meet
the following requirements:
• Work outputs, activities, and tasks as well as job competencies and the
behavioral indicators by which those competencies can be measured are
clearly stated and aligned, and the managers who are seeking applicants agree
on them.
• The competencies necessary for successful performance of the work are valid
for the purposes stated.
• Key competencies that are the greatest predictors of job success have been
identified and validated by the managers who are seeking applicants.
Advantages and Challenges of Competency Based Employee
Recruitment and Selection
There are several key advantages to competency-based employee recruitment and selection.
• First, competency-based recruitment and selection are results oriented. They make it easier to concentrate on
the results expected of a successful or exemplary performer. They focus less attention on approximations of
competence—such as educational level or years of experience—that have little connection to verifiable
results.
• Second, competency-based recruitment plays an important role in attracting individuals who possess
characteristics that might be difficult, if not impossible, to acquire by training or development efforts. A
competency-based approach encourages managers and other decision makers to clarify the verifiable,
measurable results they expect from successful performers before a selection decision is made. That makes
selection methods more effective, which reduces turnover, since the persons who are hired are more likely to
do well in jobs or work roles that are matched to their existing or potential competencies (Wood & Payne,
1998). Competency-based selection also provides some insight into whether or not a new hire will be a good
fit with the organization's culture (Guinn, 1998). In addition, competency-based practices can be very effective
in hiring for virtual or flextime positions (Vincola & Mobley, 1999).
• Third, a competency-based recruitment and selection process provides applicants with opportunities to
outline, explain, and demonstrate their qualifications in competency-based terms. People will not be
confronted during the selection process with questions that have little or no bearing on their ability to
produce desired work results.
Advantages and Challenges of Competency Based Employee
Recruitment and Selection
• Fourth, since competencies are readily transferable across work situations, competency-based
selection may help the organization to function effectively even during times of rapid or
unanticipated change. Of course, there are limitations. For example, the demonstration of a
competency is often grounded in a unique segment of the corporate culture and might not be
amenable to transfer.
• Fifth, competency-based recruitment and selection processes give HR practitioners an opportunity
to plan for developing competencies for new hires and for experienced workers who must be
reassigned.
• Sixth, competency-based hiring methods do not discriminate. They encourage managers to clarify
the desired work results and to find individuals who can achieve those results regardless of age,
race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic background, religion, or other considerations that have little
or no bearing on their ability to perform.
• Seventh, competency-based selection methods can underscore the competencies of candidates
during succession planning initiatives. That makes it easier to identify backups for key positions.
• And eighth, competency-based hiring processes can reduce traditional training times by ensuring
the selection of applicants who can perform. It also helps to raise the bar on performance,
especially in organizations that seek potential exemplary performers.
Competency-based recruitment and selection present
some challenges.
• Competency-based processes require a disciplined and regulated approach to job and
work analyses. HR practitioners must verify and validate the outcomes of the analyses
and ensure their accuracy. Competency identification and modeling also demand
commitment of time and other resources. Many organizations are unwilling or unable to
invest in these activities.
• Competency-based approaches are not appropriate for recruiting and selecting unskilled
or semiskilled workers. Individual discretion, a key issue in competencies, is not a major
factor in these jobs as it is in professional and managerial positions.
• Using competency-based job information in recruitment could dramatically increase the
cost of advertising, since extensive information on the job and candidate requirements
must be published.
• Competency-based selection requires the investment of substantial numbers of hours by
managers and others involved in group interviewing and assessments. Managers in
particular are often difficult to schedule for these activities, especially when an
organization has downsized.
Deciding on Competency Based or Traditional Employee
Recruitment and Selection
Employee recruitment and selection should be handled traditionally under the following
conditions:

• Decision makers are unwilling to make the substantial investments in time, money, and effort that
are necessary for researching and validating competencies for any of the organization's jobs.

• The organization's resources are limited and cannot be committed to establishing a

competency-based approach.

• The organization's need is for unskilled or semiskilled workers with whom a competency-based
approach is not that useful.

• Candidates' competencies have already been documented or verified through a comprehensive and
systematic process, as is the case with medical doctors, and only minimal additional competency
assessment must be completed in order to select a capable job candidate.
A competency-based approach to employee recruitment and selection is
probably most appropriate in the following situations:

• The selected workers must complete work of strategic importance to the

organization.

• The organization needs to fill leadership and management positions.

• Decision makers will commit the resources needed to carry out the
competency-based recruitment and selection processes.

• It is necessary to fill "high stakes" jobs or specialized work roles for

individual contributors or team members in an intensely demanding work
environment.
A Model for Competency Based Employee
Recruitment and Selection
How does an organization go about implementing a competency-based
recruitment and selection system?

The main difference between the traditional and the

competency-based approach is largely one of emphasis.

The competency-driven system naturally is weighted toward

competencies that can be documented, discussed during formal
interviews, and demonstrated on the job.
A Model for Competency Based Employee
Recruitment and Selection
The following questions are useful in deciding success/failure for competency
based recruitment & selection.
• Did we hire a competent person (as defined by the selection criteria) but
then place performance roadblocks in the way that impeded the new hire's
producing the expected outputs or results in a timely manner and at the
expected level of quality?
• Did we provide adequate performance support for this new employee?
• Have there been changes in the organization or its clients or customers
since the selection decision was made, and, if so, has the situation affected
the employee's performance in an adverse manner?
• In what ways do the organizational and work unit cultures affect the
employee's thoughts, feelings, and actions? What are the dimensions of
these impacts? If there is a mismatch, how could it have been averted or
possibly detected during the interview processes?
 Summary
• A competency-based approach differs more in focus than in content from
its traditional counterpart and demands more resources from the
organization.

• For a competency based approach, HR practitioners establish competency

models by job category, department, work role, or occupation and attempt
to match individual competencies to those models.

• In contrast, the traditional approach relies on implicit links between the

work as defined in job descriptions and the qualifications of an applicant to
carry it out. Competency-based recruitment and selection are not always
appropriate for all positions and present challenges as well as offer
significant advantages.