competency mapping

RESEARCH PAPER ON COMPETENCY MAPPING

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY: Ms. RADHIKA BHUTANI VIKASH GUPTALECTURER, BPIT MBA IIND SEMESTER

ENROLLMENT NO: 021

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: RESEARCH PAPER

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PARTICULARS PAGE NO

WHAT IS COMPETENCY……………………………………………………….. 3

HISTORY OF COMPETENCIES………………………………………………… 3

WHO IDENTIFIES COMPETENCIES…………………………………………... 4

WHAT LANGUAGE TO USE…………………………………………………… 5

AREAS OF IMPLEMENTATION……………………………………………….. 6

ADVANTAGES OF COMPETENCY MAPPING………………………………. 8

CURRENT SCENRIO……………………………………………………………. 9

RECOMMENDATIONS…………………………………………………………. 11

CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………… 12

BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………… 13

2 COMPETENCY MAPPING


RESEARCH PAPER TITLE: COMPETENCY MAPPING

NAME: VIKASH GUPTA

ENROLLMENT NO: 021

EMAIL ID: [email protected]

What is Competency?

Any underlying characteristic required

performing a given task, activity, or role

successfully can be considered as

competency. Competency may take the

following forms: Knowledge, Attitude,

and Skill, Other characteristics of an

individual including: Motives, Values,

Self concept etc.

Competency Mapping is a process of

identifying key competencies for a

company or institution and the jobs and

functions within it. Competency

mapping is important and is an essential

exercise. Every firm should: have list of

competencies required to perform each

role effectively. Such list should be used

for recruitment, performance

management, promotions, placement

and training needs identification

History of Competencies

A team of Educationists lead by

Benjamin Bloom in the USA in mid

fifties laid the foundation for identifying

educational objectives and there by

defining the knowledge attitudes and

skills needed to be developed in

education. The task force lead by Bloom

took several years to make an

exhaustive classification of the

educational objectives that were

grouped under the cognitive domain.

David McClelland the famous Harvard

Psychologist has pioneered the

competency movement across the

world. His classic books on "Talent and

Society", "Achievement Motive", "The



Achieving Society", "Motivating

Economic Achievement" and "Power

the Inner Experience" brought out

several new dimensions of the

competencies. These competencies

exposed by McClelland dealt with the

affective domain in Bloom's

terminology. The turning point for

competency movement is the article

published in American Psychologist in

1973 by McClelland titled wherein he

presented data that traditional

achievement and intelligence scores

may not be able to predict job success

and what is required is to profile the

exact competencies required to perform

a given job effectively and measure

them using a variety of tests. This

article combined with the work done by

Douglas Brey and his associates at

AT&T in the US where in they

presented evidence that competencies

can be assessed through assessment

centers an on the job success can be

predicted to some extent by the same

has laid foundation for popularization of

the competency movement.

Latter McBer a Consulting Firm

founded by David McClelland and his

associate Berlew have specialized in

mapping the competencies of

entrepreneurs and managers across the

world. They even developed a new and

yet simple methodology called the

Behavior Event Interviewing (BEI) to

map the competencies. With increased

recognition of the limitations

performance appraisal in predicting

future performance potential appraisal

got focused. And Assessment centers

became popular in seventies. The

setting up an Assessment center was in

integral part of the HRD plan given to

L&T by the IIMA professors as early as

in 1975. L&T did competency mapping

and could not start assessment centers

until much latter as it was not perceived

as a priority area.

Who Identifies competencies?

Competencies can be identified by one

of more of the following category of

people: Experts, HR Specialists, Job

analysts, Psychologists, Industrial

Engineers etc. in consultation with: Line

Managers, Current & Past Role holders,

Supervising Seniors, Reporting and

Reviewing Officers, Internal Customers,

Subordinates of the role holders and

Other role set members of the role

(those who have expectations from the



role holder and who interact with h

him/her).

What Methodology is used?

The following methods are used in

combination for competency mapping:

Interviews, Group work, Task Forces,

Task Analysis workshops,

Questionnaire, Use of Job descriptions,

Performance Appraisal Formats etc.

How are they Identified?

The process of identification is not very

complex. Some of the methods are

given below:

1. Simply ask each person who is

currently performing the role to list the

tasks to be performed by him one by

one, and identify the Knowledge,

Attitudes, and Skills required to perform

each of these. Consolidate the list.

Present it to a role set group or a special

task force constituted for that role. Edit

and Finalize.

2. Appoint a task force for each role.

What Language to Use?

Use Technical language for technical

competencies. For example: knowledge

of hydraulics.

Use business language for business

competencies. Example: Knowledge of

markets for watch business or Strategic

thinking.

Use your own language or standard

terms for Behavior competencies.

Example: Ability to Negotiate,

Interpersonal sensitivity, Sales

techniques. Too technical and

conceptual knowledge align to the

organization and people may create

more problems than help

Some Tips on How to do it?

The following are some of tips to do

competency mapping at low cost:

Pick up a job or a role that is

relatively well understood by all

individuals in the company. Work

out for this role and give it as an

illustration. For example Sales

Executive, Production Supervisor,

Assistant HR Manager,

Receptionist, Transport Manager,

PR Manager, etc. are known to all

and easy to profile.



Work out competencies for this

role if necessary with the help of

job analysis specialist or an

internal member who has

knowledge of competency

mapping. Prepare this as an

illustration.

Circulate these others and ask

various departments to do it on

their won.

Circulate samples of

competencies done by others

Illustrate knowledge, attitudes,

skills, values etc.

Choose a sample that does not

use jargons

Explain the purpose

Interview of past successful job

holders helps

Current incumbent who are

doing a good job along with

their Reporting officers is a good

enough team in most cases.

Once prepared even on the basis

of one or two individuals inputs

circulate to other role set

members


Areas of

Implementation

The competency mapping can be

applied to the areas depicted in the

following diagram:

1. Recruitment and

selection

Competencies can be used to

construct a template for use in

recruitment and selection.

Information on the level of a

competency required for effective

performance would be used to

determine the competency levels

that new hires should possess.

Depending upon the accepted

definition, competency data may

take the form of behaviors, skills,

abilities and other characteristics.

Competency based selection can

be a way to gain competitive

advantage. Some of these

advantages are listed below:

A firm that knows how to

assess competencies can

effectively hire the best at a

reasonable price, for example

hire under priced but highly

entrepreneurial MBA’s from

lesser-known business schools.

There is high turnover due to

high failure rate among new

hires. The organization needs

to identify new hires with the

potential to become future

managers or leaders.


A gap between the

competencies needed and what

the organization can hire for

indicates the training new hires

will need.

A lengthy training period may

transpire before new hires

become productive. New hires

with the competencies to do a

job become fully productive

faster.

2. Training and

Development

It involves identifying gaps

and helping employees develop in

the right direction. Knowing the

competency profile for a position

allows individuals to compare

their own competencies to those

required by the position or the

career path. Training or

development plans could focus on

those competencies needing

improvement.

If the training programs can

be aligned to the development

needs emerging out of the

appraisal system and to the market

led training needs they can

contribute better to both individual

and business objectives. This can

be achieved in the following

manner:

Firstly determine the

competencies for a particular

position

Secondly identify the

competencies of the person

holding that position

By mapping the competencies,

identify gaps in terms of the

competencies for that role and

the competencies of the person

doing that role to diagnose the

training and development

needs.

Identify the most appropriate

training and development

methodology for each

trainable competency

3. Rewards and Recognition

To attract more competent

than average employees

To reward for results and

competencies developed

To motivate employees to

maintain and enhance their


skills and competencies

regularly

By rewarding employees who

develop relevant competencies

the organization can benefit by

improving its own capability

to face the future

4. Career and succession

planning

It involves assessing

employees’ readiness or potential

to take on new challenges.

Determining a person job fit can

be based on matching the

competency profile of an

individual to the set of

competencies required for

excellence within a profession.

Individuals would know the

Competencies required for a

particular position and

therefore would have an

opportunity to decide if they

have the potential to pursue

that position or not


Competency based pay is

compensation for individual

characteristics for skills and

competencies over and above the pay

a job or organizational role itself

commands. One way of improving

employee performance is by

recognizing and rewarding effort.

Competency pay is the best way to do

so.

Various elements are considered for

arriving at compensation increase.

Enhancement in competencies has to

be one of them. There is a need for

competency based compensation

system

Advantages of

Competency Mapping

1. for the company

The advantages of competency

mapping for the companies or

organizations are as follows:

Establishes expectations for

performance excellence

Improved job satisfaction and

better employee retention

Increase in the effectiveness of

training and professional

development programs because of

their link to success criteria.

Provides a common understanding

of scope and requirements of a

specific role

Provides a common, organization

wide standard for career levels

that enable employees to move

across business boundaries

Help companies “raise the bar” of

performance expectations

Help teams and individuals align

their behaviors with key

organizational strategies

2. for Managers

The competency mapping provides

following advantages to the managers:

Identify performance criteria to

improve the accuracy and ease of

the selection process

Easier communication of

performance expectations


Provide a clear foundation for

dialogue to occur between the

managers and employees and

performance, development and

career-oriented issues

3. for employees

The employees in an organization get

the following advantages by

competency mapping:

Identify the behavioral standards

of performance excellence

Provide a more specific and

objective assessment of their

strengths and the tools required to

enhance their skills

Enhances clarity on career related

issues

Helps each understand how to

achieve expectations

current scenrio

Competency Mapping : A

prooven Boon for L&T

Infotech

L&T InfoTech is one of the ten

companies in the world to get the

PCMM level 5 certification. The

company currently has a workforce of

more than 4,000 professionals. “L&T

has always been focused on HR,”

states Dr Devendra Nath, executive

vice president of L&T InfoTech. The

organization believes that there are

four major pillars of HR—acquiring

talent, enabling talent, grooming talent

and building ‘the culture’. Nath

asserts that competency-based HR is

the essence of good HR.”

Training emphasis at L & T

InfoTech

As a group, L&T has always believed

in a life-long association with its

people. “Most of our top brass have

joined at junior levels and risen

through the ranks. The organization

provides continuous learning

opportunities to its people to develop

competencies,” points out Vinod

Khisty, associate vice president,

Human Resources, L&T InfoTech.


There is a lot of emphasis on training.

It is believed that all those people who

have been recruited in the

organisation after the stringent hiring

process are already champions;

consequently the entry-level training

is called ‘Enabling the champions’.

This includes 100 days of focused

training in classrooms. The modules

range from technical to voice

modulation to team management, etc.

The soft skills training for L&T

InfoTech professionals are conducted

at the group’s Rs 10-crore training

centre at Lonavala, near Mumbai. The

e-learning channel called Gyanpeeth

provides just-in-time technical as well

as soft skills training. “A person in

Sweden might have to make a

presentation to the customer the next

day. What he has to do is to just log in

and learn from the programme on

presentation skills. Furthermore,

based on responses the course will

keep getting updated to the next

higher level. The sense of satisfaction

with training is very high in the

company and is a great motivator,”

adds Khisty.

Innovative HR initiative at L

& T InfoTech

The HR department has recently made

an innovative initiative of inducting

non-

Engineering graduates (BSCs) in the

company trained them for four months

and then put them on the job

(primarily coding work). “The loyalty

of these recruits will be much higher

as this offers them an opportunity to

be a part of the IT industry. The first


Competency Profile of a Project Manager in an

SBU at L&T InfoTech

batch of 30 people has just completed

their training, and has done

exceptionally well,” states Nath. The

quality of training can be gauged from

the fact that many project heads are

now asking them to be included in

their team.

Every quarter, an SBU-based skills

portfolio is published. Nath says that

it has been a very rewarding

experience. As far as training and

development is concerned, instead of

asking people to attend classes, they

themselves get pulled to the classes.

Introduction of competency mapping

has also involved introducing skill

appraisals in performance appraisals.

This has also led to training people on

how to assess subordinates on

competencies. Notes Nath, "The best

human resources development is when

people in the line department do HR.

Where the HR department is the

enabler, the line people see the

advantage and drive us." Competency-

based HR makes this almost-utopian

dream attainable.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Competency-based HR is considered

the best HR. In India however

competency development and

mapping still remains an unexplored

process in most IT organisations

despite the growing level of

awareness. The underlying principle

of competency mapping is not just

about finding the right people for the

right job. The issue is much more

complex than it appears, and most HR

departments have been struggling to

formulate the right framework for

their organisation.

Unless managements and HR heads

have holistic expectations from their

HR departments, the competency

movement is unlikely to succeed as it

requires lot of time, dedication and

money. Before an organisation

embarks on this journey it has to be

very clear about the business goals,

capability-building imperatives and

core competencies of the organisation.

The competency mapping process


needs to be strongly integrated with

these aspects.

Experts agree that the competency

mapping process does not fit the one-

size-fits all formula. It has to be

specific to the user organisation. "My

suggestion is to develop models that

draw from but are not defined by

existing research, using behavioural

interview methods so that the

organisation creates a model that

reflects its own strategy, its own

market, its own customers, and the

competencies that bring success in

that specific context (including

national culture). Start with small,

discrete groups or teams, ideally in

two directions-a 'horizontal slice'

across the business that takes in a

multi-functional or multi-site group,

more or less at the same

organisational level, and a 'vertical

slice' taking in one whole department

or team from top to bottom. From

that, the organisation can learn about

the process of competency modelling,

and how potential alternative formats

for the models may or may not fit the

needs of the business

It is important to focus on one or two

key areas of implementation rather

than the whole HRD agenda in one

scoop. Competency mapping can be

rather good at providing

organisational pain relief when

applied effectively-and so making the

case for extending it. Further, it is

advisable to begin with a 'horizontal'

slice of the management or senior-

most team as the benefits will

percolate down to the whole

organisation.

CONCLUSION

Competency is a set of knowledge,

skills and attitudes required to

perform a job effectively and

efficiently. A Competency is

something that describes how a job

might be done, excellently; a

Competence only describes what has

to be done, not how. So the

Competences might describe the

duties of a Sales Manager for

example, such as manage the sales


office and its staff, prepare quotations

and sales order processing, manage

Key Accounts and supervise and

motivate the field sales force. The

Competencies which might determine

excellence in this role could include

Problem Solving and Judgment; Drive

and Determination; Commercial

Awareness; Inter-personal skills etc,

all of which might be described

further by Behavioral Indicators

relating specifically to that post in that

organization.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Articles:


Article -“The Art and Science of Competency Mapping”- by T.V. Rao,

“Competency Mapping: A pre- requisite for HR Excellence” by Dr. Lovy

Sarikal

Web Sources:

www.tvrls.com www.citehr.com www.hinduonnet.com www.indianmba.com


http://www.indianmba.com/

http://www.hinduonnet.com/

http://www.tvrls.com/

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