Tool 25/30 - Competency-based Hiring

 

The objectives of this short ten minute exercise -

1. To learn a management tool that will be helpful in work life 
2. To apply the learning

1. To start a great day using this morning ritual

Step 1 - the warm up

Keep your journal and pen at hand

Sit in a relaxed position with an intent to go into a ‘flow state’ to learn something new

Take three deep, powerful breaths to lock in your focus and start the next step

Step 2 - the learning

About Competency-based hiring

Competency-based hiring is a recruitment approach that assesses candidates based on specific skills, behaviors, and qualifications needed for the job. It became widely used in the 1970s, primarily through the work of McClelland, a psychologist. It ensures better job fit and improved performance by aligning candidates' competencies with organizational needs.

Situations (examples) where this tool can be best used

• When you are embarking on a major IT transformation, requiring a new Function Head to lead the project
• When you need a senior manager to lead a diverse, cross-functional team tasked with launching a new product
• When you are planning to expand into an unfamiliar international market and require a senior leader to oversee the expansion

The top three mental muscles (competencies) developed by practicing this tool

• Critical thinking

• Pattern recognition & analytical thinking
• Emotional Intelligence

A corporate story to understand the usage of this tool

The Richard Branson (Virgin Group) story - interviewing Josh Bayliss, CEO

Context: Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, is known for his unconventional leadership style, which places a strong emphasis on hiring employees who align with Virgin's values and culture. Branson has consistently applied a competency-based hiring approach to ensure that potential candidates possess the right skills and behaviors for success within his organization. Let us take this example of recruiting his CEO. 

Competencies assessed - Strategic thinking, leadership and communication

Question asked to assess strategic thinking - 

Can you share a specific example of a time when you identified a long-term opportunity that others might have missed? How did you turn that insight into a strategic action?

Question asked to assess leadership - Can you provide an example of when you empowered your team members to take ownership of their work?

Question asked to assess communication - Tell me about a time when you had to communicate a complex idea to a group with varying levels of understanding?

A story from the World Wars

My personal story

Context

As head of communication, I had to select someone to head this function. I interviewed Arun. He was matriculate (by general perception, recruiting a non-graduate was a foolish act). Was I right in my selection?

Role specific competencies - Arun provided clear and impactful writing samples (written communication skills), He shared a number of creative initiatives from his previous role (creativity), He gave me some examples of managing diverse teams (interpersonal skills), gave me detailed view of how he was planning to create his team (team building strategy) 

Behavioural competencies - 

Arun shared some incidents about managing sensitive communication situations (tact and diplomacy), 

He showed amazing commitment to staying up-to-date with industry trends and emerging technologies (continuous Learning)

Also I was appreciative of his army public school background (discipline). 

Outcome - Arun joined us. He created an amazing team. He soon became our role model recruiter. Over time, he actually became my peer.

Step 3 - the reflection

Sit back, go down memory lane, think of various events in your work life where you could have used this learning.

If nothing comes to mind, think of a situation that would help you answer any one of these interview questions.

1. “How do you define competency-based hiring, and why do you think it is more effective than traditional hiring methods?” - This question assesses your analysis about competency based hiring vs Traditional hiring
2. “How do you determine which competencies are critical for a specific role?” - This questions is to assess how you analyze job requirements
3. “What are some competency-based questions you would ask when hiring for a leadership role?” - To assess how you design structured interviews that reveal behavioral traits and technical skills for different roles

Step 4 - the practice

Apply your learning to the situation you selected above.

• Role-specific competencies
• Behavioural competencies
• Cultural fit

Step 5 - the victory lap

Celebrate your achievement for a minute. Maybe a quick victory lap doing some energizing exercise?

**

To those who felt, “We must stick with familiar approaches, even if new tools might offer benefits. Maintaining the status quo is better than sticking your neck out” - Do you feel that the last ten minutes were worth the effort?

While most companies have adopted this practice, these three are the early adopters (General electric, IBM, Accenture). 

This exercise is not only about management tools. It’s about building a neural pathway. And it’s about my mantra for creating small daily acts of feeling successful and happy. 

Don’t forget to carry this image 👇 in your mind. There could be a great situation where you may want to use the tool. Keep a log of all such situations. This practice will help you when you want to train someone.

My congratulations for your first dose of the day of success and happiness. Have a great day ahead.