Q.1 Write a detailed note on competency mapping system and its components.

[10] Ans : A competency mapping evaluates all aspects of the person with respect to the job

role to be performed by the person. It evaluates knowledge, skills, attitude, reflection of attitude that is behavior and possibly values whereas skill mapping is restricted to just that skill. We are using the terms here interchangeably only so that some companies would like to start with skill and then increase the scope to evaluate the entire set of competencies. But in true life these cannot be interchangeably used as their scope varies. A competency mapping exercise results in a report which contains information on knowledge, skills, abilities, and experiences of current employees. It aims to identify the skills an employee has demonstrated or has not demonstrated. If the job role requires the employee to demonstrate skills which the employee has not demonstrated, then that becomes a development area for the employee. Skills can be developed through paid and unpaid work experiences, volunteerism, hobbies, work experiences, and through everyday experience in life. A skills inventory report shows an employee which skills he or she possesses and at what proficiency level. Example An employee Rahul thinks he possesses the same level of skills as Vijay. He also believes his compensation of INR 3 lakhs per annum is far lower than Vijays compensation of INR 6 lakhs per annum. Therefore Rahul feels that he is being unfairly compensated by the company and starts looking out for another job. But if the company had done a competency mapping exercise or skills inventory exercise, Rahul would have know that he possesses only 4 of the 10 critical competencies and is at proficiency level 2 whereas Vijay possesses 8 of the 10 critical competencies and is at proficiency level 4. Then if Rahul is objective, he would start focusing on enhancing his competencies to Vijays level and beyond so that he could get the same level or higher level of compensation, designation and recognition. He would not focus on looking out. This makes Rahul realize that it is not the company which is being unfair to him, but his own limitations that are restraining him from getting higher compensation, growth and recognition. His focus then becomes building competencies rather than looking out for jobs. Competency Mapping System The four essential components of competency mapping system are: Classification system Measurement unit Process of measurement Accessible Data, Information and Knowledge Classification System For any meaningful competency mapping or skills inventory management program, a clear, well defined and detailed system of classification is important to have in place. Without a clear classification system, any inventory management program will tend to fail. Competency mapping or skills inventory cannot be assigned numbers as easily as numbers are assigned to any physical products. A soft skill is particularly hard to define

and therefore it is important that a good classification system is in place, so that everyone is referring to the same behaviors, skills and level of the competency. When it comes to creating the grading system for building a skills inventory, the problem often arises from a lack of standardized definitions for skills. There are no defined standards acceptable worldwide. Internally in the organization we dont want a comparison between apples and oranges. We want a fair comparison and hence a good classification system is essential. If the skills are defined earlier by the HR team leading the competency mapping or skill inventory exercise then the managers do not have to repeat the time consuming process of defining skills. They focus on evaluation of the skills critical for the success of the organization. They focus on identifying the high performing employees to participate in a skills inventory initiative and decide which skills are important to the organizations success. An objective system is important. An established list of predefined skills and an agreedupon set of rules by which to measure them enable competency mapping or skills inventory. Initially an organization should focus on a few critical skills. As the ability of the organization to map competencies or skills improves, in the future additional skills can be inventoried and managed. As a foundation for establishing a skills program, many organizations begin by agreeing on the main objectives and identifying the skills that most closely impact these goals. An objective skills classification system frees decision-makers to focus on the exact skills and organizations objectives, and hence helps to fairly establish the parameters for a successful initiative. Measurement unit While companies have some difficulty tracking their inventory of office supplies or other physical resources which can be measured by number of units, weight, or volume calculating employee competencies or skills is a different matter. Organization A & B have 4 customer service executives and 1 customer service manager respectively. Refer Table 5.4 and analyze if the team and individuals are equal in terms of competencies? Of course, they are not at all equal in terms of their competencies.

Table : Measurement Unit Many organizations can rely on subjective forms of assessments for the answer. For example, employees are asked to self-asses their own skills. Self-assessment is a subjective form of evaluation. Self-assessments are inaccurate, with inexperienced employees overrating their skills or experts underrating their ability. Personal verification is subject to individual influence and may not be a question of a manager being just, but more influenced by familiarity with certain employees. How do you measure an employees level of skill? Clear definitions help managers identify employees level of skill or skills. A well planned measurement system enables decision-makers to rely on

objective data and they are not forced to rely largely on unreliable, subjective skills data. Online skills measurement tools are now available and give managers the unit of measure they require to account for skills levels on a regular basis. Unlike subjective measures, these metrics will not differ from one department to another. The whole system is evaluated, delivered, and reported online. The objective measurement system calculates changes in skills levels over a period of time. That is, with a constant and well detailed unit of measure to track skills, employees and managers may document skills improvement. The management and managers should track skills inventories, identify shortfalls (skills gaps) and surpluses (skills strengths). They should also differentiate between the skills levels of different employees, information that is vital to meeting the demands of each client or project. A constant unit of measure enables decision makers i.e. managers to analyze skill levels within the organization. Process of Measurement The requirement for an easily-administered measurement procedure is probably the most neglected need of a skills inventory plan. An organizations ability to evaluate skills on a regular basis and arrive at a suitable measurement can determine program success. How can organizations develop a practical skills measurement system one that can be continued to be used long after implementation? Ease of use and meaningful feedback are important characteristics of an effective measurement system. While the organization may not have to re-measure or re-evaluate its skills inventory with the same frequency as it tracks other items, repeat measurement is essential. Without the ability to deliver repeat evaluation, a skills inventory management initiative becomes nothing more but a one-time employee test, with unstable data that cannot track changes in an organizations supply of skills. Many organizations have made unsuccessful attempts at tracking skills in the past, and often they still apply the same wrong strategies till today. Employees can be asked to complete and submit self-rating forms, or they can be asked to take a test associated with a career milestone such as a training event or a periodic review. Unfortunately, the results of such assessments often disappear into a records system without re-emerging as actionable information for the organization or for the employee. As results fail to show action, the usefulness of this initiative is compromised, and participation declines. The secret for a successful skills inventory management lies in the ability to automate test administration and provide quick, actionable feedback. Through an online testing system, employees can take a skill evaluation in their own time without the requirement for supervision. Results are calculated and delivered immediately. The online system addresses two issues which have negatively impacted skills inventory management efforts: Ease of Testing It makes it easy for the employees to undertake the skills assessment at their own time and when they are ready. It also allows repeat testing 3 months later or at some point in the future. Online tests ask questions from a questions bank, so different questions are presented to the employee. Fast, Meaningful Feedback

An effective online skills inventory management provides quick or immediate feedback. Armed with this knowledge managers constitute a team with complementary skill sets. It also enables to send the employee to the right training programs or take good performance-related decisions. Performance evaluation in most organizations is not objective and tends to remain subjective. For employees, the quick feedback stimulates self improvement and is provided at the time when motivation for improvement is strongest immediately after an evaluation. A repeatable evaluation system enables employees and managers to track skills improvement over a period of time. Accessible Data, Information and Knowledge The success of any inventory management initiative is based on its ability to deliver constant, actionable results. Skills inventory management is also no exception. The immediate accessibility of objective metrics helps managers to take action such as what training an employee needs, provide assignments that leverage existing skills and provide assignments that develop skills that need to be improved (such assignments require the employee to be mentored) and identifying the right employees to be part of project teams. With an online skills inventory management system, exact and relevant data is just easily accessible. No one needs to manage large amounts of data. If a manager is to manage large amounts of data, his/her initiative in the exercise declines. But if the data is automatically managed by the online system, then his/her inclination is not dented. Using the data and information, managers gain more knowledge about their team members competencies. Over a sustained period of knowledge of the proficiency levels of different skills, help managers take wise decisions and enable them to demonstrate greater wisdom in decision making. The need for skills inventory management is the highest today in the post recessionary period. Motivating Employees Motivating and educating employees about the advantages of the Competency mapping system is important. It is not only the job of the HR department, but also the management, to motivate them constantly. Today skills are the only currency that carries a lot of value in the present knowledge-driven economy. An employees value is determined by the depth of skills he possesses. Any procedure that enhances skills becomes important to the employee as well as to the organization. This is the basic assumption in educating employees about working towards enhancing their skills. For an organization, building a skills inventory has many advantages from improving operational efficiency and productivity to competitive advantage in the marketplace. It creates a learning environment and is a great internal employee building strategy that an organization is able to retain employees as well as successfully attract new employees.