How to Identify Behavioural Competencies in Candidates? What are the competencies required for HR professionals?

What are Job Competencies?

Job Competencies are broadly categorized into two types:

1. Behavioural Competencies
2. Technical/FunctionalCompetencies

Behavioral Competencies: Behavioral Competencies help you identify employee behavioral strengths that contribute to organizational success. They define not only the ability to do something but how something should be done.

When a manager is hiring an employee they generally look for behavioural competencies like interpersonal skills, the ability to accept constructive criticism, the ability to understand the perspective of others, decision making skills, time management, taking responsibilities for their action.

Examples of Behavioural Competencies:
1. Competency – Management Competency
Behavioural Description – Set clear goals for team members,

Create work plans against organizational goals, Provide honest and

Regular feedback
2. Competency – Commitment
Behaviour Description-General Knowledge, Take Ownership,

Meet Obligations
3. Competence – Values & Ethics
Behaviour Description – Comply with Code of Conduct,

Align with Company Values

 

Technical/Functional Abilities: Functional Abilities are more like an

Employee’s technical skills, they contribute much more than that to an organizational productivity. It is more about technical Skills the employee needs to possess to perform technical operation in an organization.

Functional Competency Example:
1. Role: HR
Competency

• HR Policy Preparation
• Recruitment,
• HR Strategy,
• Workflow Planning,
• Employee Retention,
• Performance Management

2. Role: Computer Programmer
   Competency–

• Ruby on rails
• Desktop application development,
• Mobile application development

 

How do you Identify Behavioural Competencies?

To properly assess behavioural competencies, the organization should establish measurable competency module. Competency modules are a collection of capabilities an employee displays to effectively complete the task.

How to identify the required workforce competencies and behaviour?

Capability mapping is the process of identifying key capabilities of an   organization and integratingthem into various organizational functions such as onboarding, training, performance appraisal, etc. It identifies individual

strengths and weaknesses.

Although capacity mapping takes a lot of time, effort and money, it is said to be one of the best practices in performance management. It is recommended that each organization establish an appropriate competency model or framework based on their organizational requirements and industry.

The skills mapping process typically includes the following steps:

 

1. Employees completejob analysis  The questionnaire requires them to fill in information such as the  skills they need to do their job effectively, as well as various behavioral

and functional skills that help them do their job effectively.

2. Using the information above, create a skills-based job
3. Now the abilities will be mapped. These job skills are then used to assess employee performance.
4. After the appraisal, give the employee a report on possible  development

 

Difference between Key Performance Indicators vs. Key Behaviour Indicator

KPIs are quantitative measures used to assess a company’s performance against predetermined goals, objectives, or industry peers. KPI can measure different aspects of an organization performance, such as financial performance, customer satisfaction, and employee engagement.

Key behavioral indicators are “behaviours” that are measured for the purpose of tracking, evaluating, and improving performance. These indicators are based on employee’s competencies and provide insight to the underlying behaviours that drive success. Key Behavioural Indicator’s focus on the specific behaviours that should be improved to strengthen individual and team performance

By focusing on KBI’s, organization can gain insight into how their behaviour has changed and needs to change to meet the objectives.

Examples of KBI’s (Key Behaviour Indicators)

Some examples of Key Behaviour Indicators:

• Time Management: How well does your team manage time?
• Communication: How effective is the team communication?
• Collaboration: How well do team members worktogether?
• Adaptability: How quick can the team adapt to changing circumstances?
• Security:How well does the team adhere to security protocols?
• Proactivity:How proactive is the team in identifying and resolving issues?
• Ethics:How ethical is the team behaviour?
• Keeping Promise: How well does the team keep its promise?
• Honest Feedback: How honest is the team feedback?

KBI provides insight into the underlying behaviours that drive success and can be used to identify areas for improvement. KBI can also be used to define competencies, providing a framework for coaching teams towards higher performance.

How do HR managers Identify Competencies?

The Human Resource department is taking a paradigm shift. The HR manager now needs practical HR skills and competencies to be excellent contributors to the business. Traditional HR responsibilities included recruitment, compensation and benefits.

But in the present VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) times with the changing time and demand, HR professionals now also participate as an organization’s advocate, build employee relationship, and develop business strategies and more importantly bring mediation between the employer and employee.

Here are the seven Core HR skills and competencies:

1. Effective communication:

HR professional must have impeccable communication skills. When the job is to communicate with people, it becomes paramount for any HR to have strong communication skills.  They constantly deal with people over the phone or email, draft company policies, and conduct interviews, manage employee issues

2. Relationship Building:

HR has to build a strong relationship with the other departments. This helps in maximizing the potential of the organization and its success. Relationship in the work force often needs a great deal of care and communication. Therefore, HR professionals must emphasize building relationships among every department so that they can thrive together.

3. Adaptability Skills: The business world changes every day. You cannot be satisfied with the status quo, you can only adapt to changing times. This will allow HR managers to rethink their current corporate policies and develop new ones that are more relevant and effective.
4. Technological Skills:

As the world becomes increasingly digital, HR managers need to be able

to adapt to new technologies. A Human Resources Manager is expected

to perform a variety of duties including –

• Recruiting talented employees.
• Managing on boarding for new hires.
• Tracking payroll.
• Handling employee grievances.
• Retaining good employees.

5. Learning Orientation:

As said learning is never ending process.The same goes for HR professionals. The work culture of today’s organizations demands better management, support, growth and development. Deepening your knowledge in the field of human resources management and applying new HR trends will always help you to be a pioneer.

6. Critical Thinking:

Critical thinking is one of the most essential attributes for anyone in HR. Whether you’re hiring a new candidate, negotiating a raise, or deciding  how to handle an employee’s grievance, it’s essential to critically analyze the situation and make a decision.

7. Interpersonal Skills: Interpersonal skills are soft skills that are of great value to HR  professionals. These skills include active listening, verbal and non-verbal communication, social awareness, selmanagement, responsibility and more. People with high interpersonal skills are intuitively good communicators and effective managers. They demonstrate the right attitude and skillwhen communicating. Interpersonal skills allow a person to successfully  communicate with others at work and in the wider community.
   Some people are born with this ability, but it can be learnt with practice.

Expressing respect, resolving conflict and being a good listener are all interpersonal skills worth learning for any HR professional.

Conclusion: Key behavioural indicators are important for measuring and                 improving performance. They provide a way to measure the behavioral

adjustments needed to support organizational cultural transformation. By   measuring and tracking your KBIs, you can better understand your  organization’s performance and take action to improve it.