Competency

Ridwan Saptoto
Faculty of Psychology
Universitas Gadjah Mada
History: McClelland

Testing for competence

rather than for
intelligence. American
Psychologist, 28 (1), Jan.
1973, 1-14
Testing for competence rather
than for intelligence
Argues that while traditional intelligence tests have been
validated almost entirely against school performance, the
evidence that they measure abilities which are essential to
performing well in various life outcomes is weak. Most of the
validity studies are correlational in nature and fail to control
for the fact that social class might be a 3rd variable
accounting for positive correlations between test scores and
occupational success, and between level of schooling
achieved and occupational success. It is suggested that
better measures of competence might be derived by analysis
of successful life outcomes and the competencies involved in
them, criterion sampling, and assessment of communication
skills. (41 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all
rights reserved)
Competency Research
 USIA (US Information Agency)

 Outstanding vs Secure
 Inquiry Question
 Expert Panel ≠ Employee
 Validity: Concurrent
Competency
 Competencies can be defined as skills,
areas of knowledge, attitudes and
abilities that distinguish high performers
(Sanghi, 2007)
Competency
A combination of skills, job attitude, and
knowledge which is reflected in job
behavior that can be observed,
measured, and evaluated
 Focus: behavior, which is an application
of skills, job attitude and knowledge
People Management Framework
Based On Competency
Competency = Experience?
Competency Categories
 Threshold competencies: These are the
essential characteristics that everyone in
the job needs to be minimally effective,
but this does not distinguish superior from
average performers.
 Differentiating competencies: These
factors distinguish superior from average
performers.
Developing Competency
Model
 Use generic model
Build from scratch
Example
 Assertiveness:
Ability to take command
during face-to-face situations while
displaying appropriate tact and diplomacy

 Problem-solving Skills: Anticipating problem-

inviting ideas, distinguishing symptoms from
causes, modifying proposals and
implementing solutions
Scales for Assessing Importance
Scales for Assessing Performance
Assessment Methods
 Scales/rating form
 Fact finding exercises
 Analysis/scheduling exercises
 In box/in basket exercises
 Oral presentation
 Group exercises (role play, LGD)
 Interview
 Simulation
 Observation
 Test and Inventories
Competency: Start from
where?
1
0
 -1
 ???
Competency Types
 Core Competency
 Managerial Competency
 Technical Competency
Model of Competency
Core Competency:
Results/Quality Orientation
 Definition: Drives to complete work product within
deadlines and within performance standards to
achieve superior value for the business
 Behaviors:
 Sets high standards for the quality of own and other’s
work.
 Adopts or develops techniques for quality assurance
and organizational excellence
 Anticipates problems that may interfere with the
quality of results or goal achievement and develops
possible ways of overcoming them.
 Holds people responsible for checking the accuracy of
their work and the work of others
 Leadership Competency:
Developing People
 Definition:Champions continuous learning,
recognizes employee development needs and
opportunities, provides on-going feedback and
coaching
 Behaviors:
 Recognizes and rewards accomplishments within
the organization.
 Provides challenging and stretching assignments
globally for employees
 Functional Competency:
Financial Analysis/Planning
 Definition: Uses key financial information to evaluate
and select optimal solutions for the company and
identifies financial problems and opportunities
 Behaviors:
 Provides timely and accurate data for financial
planning/ analysis.
 Uses standards business and financial analysis
instruments and tools in planning.
 Analyzes and solves complex financial
transactions and problems.
Competency Assesment
Pre-Interview
 Askhe/she to bear in mind that you’ll be
interested in:
 Examples from their work life
 Recent examples preferably; the last 2-3
years
 What they specifically did or said, not the
team as a whole (it’s fine if they need time to
think of an example)
Structure of Questions and
Probes
 Situation – What is the example?
 Task – What was your duty?
 Action – What did you do?
 Result - What was the outcome?
Alternative
 Situation – What is the example?
 Action - What did you do?
 Result - What was the outcome?
 Reflection - How did it go/what would
they do differently?
Selection Interview Questions (1)
1. Describe an incident in which your workload was
too heavy.
2. How did you handle the situation?
3. Tell me about a situation when you were trying to
accomplish something and did not have ready
access to the necessary resources. How did you
get them?
4. Describe a situation in which you had to juggle
more than one task. How did you handle them?
Which one did you handle first and why?
5. How did you manage your time and task?
Selection Interview Questions (2)
6. Tell me about a situation when your planning
was not helpful. What happened then and how
did you recover?
7. Tell me about a time when you had to deal with
two people asking you to work on different
projects that required more than 100 per cent
of your time. How did you resolve the situation?
8. State an example when you were not able to
achieve the goals. What did you do?
9. Describe a situation where your performance
was excellent. What were the circumstances?
What did you do? How did the people
respond?
Funnel Questioning
Make A Judgement

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References
 Sanghi, S. (2007). The Handbook of
Competency Mapping (2nd Ed.). New
Delhi: Response Books.
 Center for Professional Learning and
Development. (2010). Competency Based
Recruitment and Selection: A Handbook
for Managers. Nottingham Trent University.
Image Credits
 http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/case/Mc
Clelland.html
 https://www.griffith.edu.au
 www.eduworks-uk.com
 www.talentclick.com
 www.awakenthedawn.ca
 www.successthrougheducationprogram.com
 www.adimasterclass.co.uk
 www.halogensoftware.com
 ctsi.mcw.edu
 en.hdyo.org