COMPETENCY

MAPPING
BEGINNING OF THE
COMPETENCY
MOVEMENT
 HISTORY
The industrial revolution gave rise to the study of
work and jobs and the skills needed to do these
jobs.
With the advent of scientific management and
human relations school of management thought,
interests of academicians and practitioners were
focused on both how to organise work and how to
motivate workers.

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 HISTORY
In 1930s, Dictionary of Occupational Titles
was published. It describes knowledge and
skills linked to different occupations.

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 In 1973, a paper by McClelland titled
“ Testing for competence rather than
Intelligence” was published in which he
argued - Traditional achievement and
intelligence scores may not be able to
predict job success.

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The American Management Association
commissioned McBer Associates to
undertake research into successful managers
and to identify their attributes and features.
The consultant, Richard Boyatzis, identified
that not a single factor but a range of factors
differentiate successful performers from
less successful performers.

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Boyatzis adopted the term “Competency”.
Boyatzis developed a generic model of
management competencies based on
hundreds of projects undertaken by McBer
and associates.

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Contributors in the Competency
Movement
John Flanagon: Critical Incident Technique
Robert White and David C McClelland: Job
Competence Assessment Method and BEI
Richards Boyatzis: Competency Modelling
and analysis of Competency Themes
Patricia McLagan: Competency based HRM
system

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Contributors in the Competency
Movement
Lyle and Signe Spencer: Competency
Modelling across industry domains and
functions
Gary Hamel and C.K. Prahlad:
Organizational Core Competency
Dave Ulrich: Concept of Organizational
Capability: HR competency model

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WHAT IS COMPETENCY?
An underlying characteristic of an individual that
is causally related to effective or superior
performance in a job (Boyatzis, 1982).
An underlying characteristic of an individual that
is causally related to criterion-reference effective
and/or superior performance in a job situation
(Spencer and Spencer, 1993).

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A cluster of related knowledge, skills and
attributes that affects a major part of one’s
job (a role or responsibility), that correlates
with performance on the job, that can be
measured against well-accepted standards
and that can be improved via training and
development- Parry, 1996.

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COMPETENCY COMPONENTS
Motives: Motives “drive, direct, and select”
behaviour toward certain actions or goals and
away from others
Traits: Physical and psychological characteristics
Self-concept: Self-image
Knowledge: Information a person has in specific
content areas
Skill: The ability to perform a certain physical or
mental work

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 COMPETENCY
CAUSAL FLOW MODEL
INTENT ACTION OUTCOME

PERSONAL JOB
BEHAVIOUR
CHARACTERISTICS PERFORMANCE

MOTIVE SKILL
TRAIT
SELF-CONCEPT
KNOWLEDGE

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 COMPETENCY CAUSAL FLOW
MODEL: AN EXAMPLE

GOAL SETTING,
ACHIEVEMENT PERSONAL CONTINUOUS
MOTIVATION RESPONSIBILITY, IMPROVEMENT
FEEDBACK
QUALITY
COMPETITION PRODUCTIVITY
WITH
STANDARDS OF CALCULATED
EXCELLENCE INNOVATION
RISK TAKING

NEW PRODUCTS, SERVICE

AND PROCESSES

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 CRITERION REFERENCE
Assumptions
A characteristic is not a competency unless
it predicts something meaningful in the real
world.
A characteristics or credential that makes no
difference in performance is not a
competency and should not be used to
evaluate people.

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 CRITERION REFERENCE
The criteria most frequently used in
competency studies are:
Superior Performance: The level achieved
by top 10% of the employees
Effective performance

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Competency: Developed or
Acquired
Competency Nature How to source?
Motives Static Hiring
Traits Static Hiring
Self Concept Quasi-static Hiring/Development
Knowledge Dynamic Development/Hiring
Skill Dynamic Development/Hiring

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Are some characteristics easier to
identify?

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CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPETENCY

Competency must be demonstrated and

must be observable.
Competencies must lead to effective
performance.
Competency also embodies the capacity to
transfer skills and abilities from one area to
another.

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TYPES OF COMPETENCIES
Generic: Appropriate for a wide range of
jobs
Specific: Appropriate for a specific job
Threshold: Essential characteristics that
everyone in a job should have for being
minimally effective.
Differentiating: These factors differentiate
superior from average performers.

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 CORE AND SURFACE
COMPETENCIES
SURFACE
SKILLS CORE
COMPETENCY
COMPETENCY
ATTITUDE,
VALUES

TRAIT,
MOTIVES

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 COMPETENCY
PYRAMID MODEL

BEHAVIOUR

SKILLS KNOWLEDGE

APTITUDE PERSONAL
CHARACTERISTICS

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 FEW DEFINITIONS
Competency Mapping is the process of
identification of the competencies required to
perform successfully a given job or role or task at
a given point of time.
Competency assessment is the assessment of the
extent to which a given individual or set of
individuals possess these competencies required
by a given role or set of roles or level of roles.

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Competency Profiles: A set of competencies that
are required to perform a specific role.
Competency Model: A narrative description of job
competencies for an identifiable group, such as a
job category, a department or an occupation. It
describes key characteristics that distinguish
exemplary performers from average performers.
Exemplary Performer: Best-in-class or most
productive worker

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COMPETENCY VS. COMPETENCE
Competency:A person-related concept that
refers to the dimensions of behaviour lying
behind competent performer.
Competence: A work-related concept that
refers to areas of work at which the person
is competent.

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 COMPETENCE COMPETENCY
1. Skill-based 1. Behaviour based
2. Standard attained 2. Manner of behaviour
3. What is measured? 3. How the standard is
achieved?

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A COMPETENCY
DICTIONARY
COMPETENCY DICTIONARY
It presents competencies in generic form, in
scales designed to cover in a wide range of
behaviour.

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Spencer and Spencer (1993) by analysing
different competency models identified six
clusters.
All competencies can be identified under six
clusters: Achievement and action cluster, Helping/
human service cluster, Impact and Influence
cluster, Managerial Cluster, Cognitive cluster,
Personal Effectiveness cluster

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 ACHIEVEMENT AND
ACTION ORIENTATION
Achievement orientation is a concern for working
well or for competing against a standard of
excellence.
The scale has three dimensiones: Intensity and
completeness of action, Breadth of action- the
degree to which an enterprise is affected,
Innovation- How new different the individual’s
actions or ideas are, in the context of the job and
the organisation.

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Example
“I weighed the cost of running the ad and
considered what could come out of it in the
way of business. In other words, how many
leads the ad would generate, and how many
would turn into clients. The ad would raise
our visibility in the community and
although there were no guarantees, it
seemed like a good bet.” (ACH A 6, B 3)

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 HELPING AND
HUMAN SERVICE
It involves intending to meet someone
else’s needs; attuning oneself to the
concerns, and needs of others
( Interpersonal understanding) and working
to meet those needs.

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The Scale covers:
Interpersonal Understanding (Depth of
understanding of others, Listening and
Responding to others)
Customer Service Orientation (Focus on
client’s needs, Initiative to help or serve
others)

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IMPACT AND INFLUENCE
CLUSTER
This cluster reflect the individual’s
underlying concern with his or her effects
on others.

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It covers
Actions taken to influence others
Breadth of Influence, Understanding, or
Network

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MANAGERIAL
These are specialised subset of the impact
and influence competencies, expressing the
intension to develop others, to lead others,
to improve teamwork and cooperation.

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It covers:
Developing others scale
Number and rank of people developed or
directed

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COGNITIVE COMPETENCIES
It consists of analytical thinking and conceptual
thinking.
Analytical Thinking is understanding a situation
by breaking it apart into smaller pieces, or tracing
the implication of a situation in a step-by- step
causal way.
Conceptual Thinking is understanding a situation
or problem by putting the pieces together,
identifying key or underlying issues in complex
situations.

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PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS
COMPETENCIES
Reflect some aspect of an individual’s
maturity in relation to others and to work.
Components: Self Control, Self confidence
and flexibility.

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THE LANCASTER (BURGOYNE) MODEL
OF MANAGERIAL COMPETENCIES

Developed by Burgoyne (1976)

The eleven qualities are classified into three
groups, which represent three different
levels.

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The Lancaster (Burgoyne) Model of Managerial Competencies
Level 1: Basic Knowledge and information
Competence 1: Command of basic facts,
Competence 2: Relevant professional knowledge
Level 2: Skills and Attributes
Competence 1: Continuing sensitivity to events
Competence 2: Analytical, Problem Solving and
Decision Making skills
Competence 3: Social Skills and Abilities

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Competence 4: Emotional Resilience
Competence 5: Proactivity or inclination to respond
purposefully to events
Level 3: Meta-qualities
Competence 1: Creativity
Competence 2: Mental Agility
Competency 3: Balanced learning habit and skills
Competency 4: Self-knowledge

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 DESIGNING COMPETENCY
STUDIES
DEFINE IDENTIFY
PERFORMANCE DEVELOP
CRITERION COLLECT
EFFECTIVENESS COMPETENCY
SAMPLE DATA
CRITERIA MODEL

VALIDATE
COMPETENCY
MODEL

APPLICATION

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 HOW TO IDENTIFY A
COMPETENCY?
Step 1: Establish a performance criteria
Step 2: Select samples of average
performers and outstanding performers.
Step 3: Collect data about the nature of
competencies which could be done through
surveys, expert panels and behavioural
event interviews (BEI), Existing
Competency Dictionary, .

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Step 4: Analysis of data for building a competency
model- thematic analysis of the interview content
and statistical analysis of the difference between
average performers and star performers.
Competency dictionary is prepared.
Step 5: The competency model developed through
the previous steps can be validated by
administering the questionnaire to a large number
of job holders comprising average and star
performers.

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 BEHAVIOURAL EVENT
INTERVIEWING
Behavioural Event Interviewing: It is an
interview technique based on the premise
that the best predictor of future behaviour is
past behaviour.
The BEI combines Flanagon’s critical
incident method with Thematic
Apperception Test

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 BEHAVIOURAL EVENT
INTERVIEWING
Steps:
1. Introduction and Explanation: Introducing
yourself and explaining the purpose and format
of the interview
2. Job Responsibilities: Interviewee’s important
job tasks and responsibilities
3. Behavioural Events: Five or six most important
situations he or she has experienced in the job
( three successes and three failures)

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4. Characteristics needed to do the job:
5. Conclusion and summary

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 ANALYSING BEI DATA
Thematic Analysis: Thematic Analysis is
the process of identifying theme or process
in raw data.

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Incident Supporting data Theme
1 Amit was always taking He is good in
things apart and fixing mechanical
them things
2 Amit was captain of He is a
football team leader.
3 Coworkers looked to He is a
him for direction and leader.
help.
4 Amit dropped out of He doesn’t
school like formal
schooling

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 Identifying Competencies:
What to look for
Situation: Do superiors and averages focus
on different parts of the job?
Example: Computer Programmer
Superiors talk about clients’ needs, averages
talk about machines, not people (hardware
orientation)

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Excerpts from BEI transcript and
coding
Question: What was the situation? What
events led up to it?
Answer: The project was running late.
Prima facie reason was the inability of
developers to work in parallel.
Q: Who was involved?
A: All team members including the
management.

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Q: What did you think, feel or want to do in
that situation?
A: We needed to break up the project into
tasks which could be done independently by
the team members without any mutual
dependence.
Q: What did you actually say or do?

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A: I called a meeting of team members
where there was a representation from all
modules. We took up the problem and did
brainstorming together. I gave a chance to
each of the participants to speak and
contribute. The meeting had to be continued
for three days. In the end, the objective was
achieved.

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Q: What was the outcome? What happened?
A: Once the tasks were redrawn, new
schedules were drawn up. Thereafter, the
project progressed smoothly and delivery
delays became a thing of the past.
Inference: The underlined part was code for
problem solving.

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Statistical Analysis of College
Teacher Competencies
Study Sample Control t-
Mean Sample Mean value
(n= 16) (n= 14)

Has positive 3.8 -2.9 4.91**

expectations of students
Attends to students’ 3.7 -2.5 3.99**
concern
Values the learning 3.8 0.9 4.28**
Process
Views specialised 0.8 -0.3 3.51**
knowledge as resource

** p < .01 (One-tail test)

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 COMPETENCY
ASSESSMENT METHODS
Assessment Centre
Behavioural Event Interview
Tests
Review of Performance Appraisal reports
360 degree feedback

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ASSESSMENT CRITERION
METHOD VALIDITY
CORRELATION
ASSESSMENT CENTRE 0.65

BEI 0.48-0.61
WORK-SAMPLE TEST 0.54

ABILITY TEST 0.53

PERSONALITY TEST 0.39

BIODATA 0.38
REFERENCES 0.23
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 ASESSMENT CENTRE
The Assessment Centre is a method or an
approach that is used to make decisions
about people - to choose them, to promote
them or to develop them.

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 Techniques Used
Standardised Psychological Tests
Role play
In-basket
Group Discussion
Projective Tests
Knowledge Tests
Interaction Analysis Technique
360 degree feedback

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360 DEGREE APPROACH
Performance rating from
Self
Others- Boss, Peer, Subordinate, Internal
and External Customers

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 LINKING TO ORGANISATIONAL
STRATEGY
AGREE ORGANISATIONAL MISSION

SPECIFY ORGANISATION’S STRATEGY

DESIGN ORGANISATION TO DELIVE STRATEGY

SPECIFY AND COMPETENCIES REQUIRED AT DIFFERENT LEVELS

DESIGN AND OPERATE DESIGN AND OPERATE

ASSESSMENT PROCEDUE DEVELOPMENT AND
TO ASSESS TRAINING YSTEM
EMPLOYEECOMPETENCIES

CAREER PATH PLANNING,

SUCCESSION PLANNING
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USES OF COMPETENCY
Selection
Training and Development
Succession Planning
Performance Management

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 SELECTION
Successful job-person matching depends on
(1) accurate assessment of individual
competencies, (2) competency models of
job, (3) a method of assessing the”goodness
of fit” between a person and a job.

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PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
SYSTEM
A PMS that combines planning, management and
appraisal of both performance results and
competency behaviour called a mixed model of
PM or a total PM approach.
Appropriate for: Uncertain Environments,
Qualitative/ Process Service jobs, Self-managing
team jobs intended for development of future
perormance

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 SUCCESSION PLANNING
It identifies the competency requirements
for critical jobs, assess candidate
competencies, and evaluate possible job
person matches.

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TRAINING AND DEVELOMENT
Identification of the training need
comparing the competencies of superior
performer and the average performer

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 FUTURE CHALLENGES
Rothwell and Lindholm (1999) identified
the following challenges:
1. Ambiguity of terms and definitions
2. Past-oriented competency models
3. Time consuming and expensive

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