1. What is Competency? State the components of competency.

Competency: Book

Components of competency:

There are four major components of competency:

SKILL: capabilities acquired through practice. It can be a financial skill such as budgeting, or a verbal skill
such as making a presentation.

KNOWLEDGE: understanding acquired through learning. This refers to a body of information relevant to
job performance. It is what people have to know to be able to perform a job, such as knowledge of
policies and procedures for a recruitment process.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES: inherent characteristics which are brought to the job, representing the
essential foundation upon which knowledge and skill can be developed.

BEHAVIOR: The observable demonstration of some competency, skill, knowledge and personal
attributes. It is an essentially definitive expression of a competency in that it is a set of action that,
presumably, can be observed, taught, learned, and measured.

2. Types of Competencies.

The Six Types of Competencies

Individual Competency– This type refers to a person’s own knowledge, skills, and attitudes (behavior)
that contribute to effectiveness in performance, as well as in dealings with other people.

Business Competency– This refers to the knowledge and skills required in a particular business or
industry.

Management Competency– This refers to a set of competencies that are applicable only to supervisory
and managerial positions or roles, that are more commonly task-oriented.

Leadership Competency– This refers to the required competencies for leadership roles such as that of a
team leader. These competencies make an individual effective in their position as leader of a group.

Functional Competencies– This type of competency is specific to a certain job. For example, a computer
programmer must be knowledgeable and skilled when it comes to various programming languages such
as Java, Python, and C++.

Core Competencies– This refers to general competencies specific to an organization. It is the way the
organization and its members work.

Individual Competencies
  Problem Solving– Formulates accurate and well-informed answers and solutions to issues and
problems presented.

 Decision Making– Makes sound decisions quickly even when faced with tough situations.

 Communication– Relays and receives a message effectively such as in business meetings,

presentations, and even in day to day communication with other people in the workplace.

 Humor– Makes light of the situation, makes others laugh, and puts them at ease.

 Efficiency– Gets the job done as quickly as possible, without compromising the quality of
output.

 Commitment– Shows initiative with a drive to keep moving forward; finds opportunities in
every situation.

Business Competencies

 Customer Service– Shows attributes and abilities needed to deal with customers satisfactorily.

 Job Ethics– Maintains professionalism and integrity in the organization.

 Accountability– Takes ownership and responsibility for the tasks assigned.

 Communication– Sends message across effectively as well as understands instructions and

information provided.

Management Competencies

 Judgment– Thinks and makes decisions based on perception, experience, wisdom, knowledge,
and analysis.

 Relationship Building– Interacts with others with respect and cooperation, and in a way that is
mutually beneficial to both parties.

 Results Orientation– Determines the best possible means to achieve a solution or outcome.
  Stress Tolerance– Handles stress and difficult situations calmly and professionally; and helps
others to deal with it in the same manner.

 Verbal Communication– Verbally expresses ideas and information to others effectively.

Leadership Competencies

 Influence– Inspires others to bring out the best in themselves and to trust in the leader’s ideas,
decisions, and recommendations.

 Resourcefulness– Shows creativity, takes initiative, and finds solutions.

 Results Orientation– Focuses on results and finds ways to achieve it.

 Commitment– Maintains enthusiasm and drive, not just in self, but also in others.

Functional Competencies

 Reporting– Communicates to others the scope of work, outcomes, and recommendations of a

given task.

 Data Analysis– Interprets data accurately and is able to come up with methodologies,
hypothesis, and recommendations to address the findings.

 Technology– Utilizes various technology tools necessary for a certain job.

Core Competencies

 Excellent Customer Service– Meets and exceeds customers’ expectations.

 Expertise in Electronic Technology– Has a high level of proficiency in the technology of specific
electronic products.

 Superior Market Distribution Skills– Utilizes distribution channels effectively and efficiently in
order to market a product or service.

3. What is competency mapping? State the need and objectives of competency mapping.
Competency Mapping is a process of identifying key competencies for an organization and/or a job and
incorporating those competencies throughout the various processes (i.e. job evaluation, training,
recruitment) of the organization. A competency is defined as a behavior (i.e. communication,
leadership) rather than a skill or ability.

The steps involved in competency mapping with an end result of job evaluation include the following:

1. Conduct a job analysis by asking incumbents to complete a position information questionnaire

(PIQ). The PIQ can be provided for incumbents to complete, or you can conduct one-on-one
interviews using the PIQ as a guide. The primary goal is to gather from incumbents what they
feel are the key behaviors necessary to perform their respective jobs.

2. Using the results of the job analysis, you are ready to develop a competency based job
description. This is developed by carefully analyzing the input from the represented group of
incumbents and converting it to standard competencies.

3. With a competency based job description, you are on your way to begin mapping the
competencies throughout your HR processes. The competencies of the respective job
description become your factors for assessment on the performance evaluation. Using
competencies will help guide you to perform more objective evaluations based on displayed or
not displayed behaviors.

4. Taking the competency mapping one step further, you can use the results of your evaluation to
identify in what competencies individuals need additional development or training. This will help
you focus your training needs on the goals of the position and company and help your
employees develop toward the ultimate success of the organization.

Need :

Finding the right fit for the right job is a matter of concern for most organisations especially in today’s
economic crisis. As meeting an individual's career aspirations are concerned, once the organisation gives
an employee the perspective of what is required from him/her to reach a particular position, it drives
them to develop the competencies for the same.

Competencies enable individuals to identify and articulate what they offer -regardless of the job.
Competency mapping is a process of identifying key competencies for a particular position in an
organisation, and then using it for job-evaluation, recruitment, training and development, performance
management, succession planning, etc. Introduction of competency mapping has also involved
introducing skill appraisals in performance appraisals.

Need of the hour

“The slowing economy around the world has put new and increased pressure on an organisation’s
capability to get more out of the available resource they have, and this often translates into pressure on
the individual employees. That is where it is important to correlate performance result with
competencies. It is therefore imperative to define a set of core competencies which corresponds the
organisation’s key market differentiator,” says Gyanendra Acharya, manager - human resources, Hughes
Systique Corporation.

The current economic downturn has created a situation for companies to scale down various overhead
costs to meet their growth requirements. “Competency modeling identifies the precise set of
competencies and proficiency levels needed for every role in the organisation. This system helps identify
specific areas of training and maps employee growth to strategic business needs. During a difficult
economic situation, it becomes particularly important for organisations to sustain their competitive
edge in the industry by investing in learning and development programs that will empower employees
to build on their strategic career objectives,” notes Narendra Raje, director - learning and development,
Unisys.

Competency mapping – An important HR tool

Companies have long realised the importance of competency mapping as an important HR function. This
is especially relevant in this recessionary environment where human capital is one of the most
important assets of an organisation and needs to be nurtured. According to Ajay Trehan, founder, CEO,
AuthBridge “There is always a need to have the best quality manpower. More and more companies are
using competency mapping tools to screen and hire people with specific competencies. There might be
a need for a person with excellent writing skills or an excellent creative mind. When individuals must
seek new jobs, knowing one’s competencies can give one a competitive edge in the market.”

Professional Aptitude Council, a global talent mapping organisation, through its assessment tests for
competency mapping helps companies understand their employees better. PAC has a set of modules
used to help organisations assess their existing talent pool. These tests assess a person on the basis of
Aptitude, Domain Skills, Communication Skills and Personality and Psychometric fit. "This involves
making crucial decisions as to place which employee in which project, identify core competency area of
employees etc. These tools that PAC uses help organisations plan their traning requirements in the long
run," notes Naveen Manjunath, managing director (India) Professional Aptitude Council.

Unisys India has a comprehensive career management framework that helps employees map their
growth paths, lateral or vertical. Each role has a defined set of competencies aligned to it. “Employees
are expected to first acquire the competencies defined for the current role and then focus on the
competencies for a growth role before they are considered eligible for movement. Unisys University
facilitates the mapping of specific learning activities for each competency required for a role in the
organization and has over 4000 training programs, both e-learning and instructor-led to help bridge any
gaps in employee competencies,” adds Raje.

Adding further to this he says, “Unisys India has a robust and transparent Internal Job Posting (IJP)
process to enable employees to get a complete picture of the opportunities available within the
company. With this information, employees are better equipped to make informed career decisions and
equip themselves with the knowledge and skills they require to move up the career ladder.”
CBay Systems has the advantage of employees delivering and exceeding requisite performance levels
since the former has mapped out competencies that are required to perform specific roles. “New hires
are pegged against these that are required for the role before being hired to ensure they fit as per their
deliverables. Existing employees are periodically reviewed with the help of assessment tools and based
on the gap analysis we provide them necessary training and development to hone the requisite
competency. The action plans for the competency development outcome based on such assessments
are finalised and the entire initiative is institutionalised,” confirms Shanmugaum, vice president - human
resources, CBay Systems.

Competency mapping not only helps know your competencies but also your weak areas which can be
worked upon. Besides increasing employee morale and enhancing productivity, it induces fresh thinking,
fosters innovation and thereby aims to provide an enriching job experience.

Objectives:

 Create a culture that inspires and empowers every individual to contribute his best in building
business and organization through self development.

 Review current work performance and plan for the future improvements.

 Provide an opportunity for post-appraisal discussions and guidance to promote self

development.

 Provide an objective basis to recognize and reward meritorious and outstanding performance.

 Provide an objective basis to identify substandard performance and reasons for it.

 Meet the need of each person to know how well he is performing.

 Support coaching, mentoring, training and development activities.

 Support internal mobility like growth paths, transfers, job rotation etc.

 Chalk out career plan and career growth as suited to each individual's existing and potential
strength profile.

 Provide a basis for recruitment and selection of persons from external or internal candidates by
identifying the best qualified person for a particular job or position.

4.