INTRODUCTION

The pioneer study on competency mapping by David McClelland’s (1973) on “Test for Competence Rather than Intelligence” assesses the competency rather than IQ to test the individual potential and ability required for effective job performance. Emmerling and Goleman (2003), in their research describes that IQ and technical skills of an individual at the time of recruitment are not the predictors of superior performance in the later stage of employment.

Boyatazis (1982) in his study defines competencies as underlying characteristics of the person that lead to or cause effective or superior performance. Spencer and Spencer (1993) in their study defined, the Competency as an underlying characteristic of an individual that is casually related to the superior performance of an employee in a job situation. Thus a causal relationship is established between competencies and performance of an employee. Goleman(1998) in his study defines competencies as learned capability based on emotional intelligence which results in outstanding performance at work. Competencies are thus referred to as characteristics and behavior of an employee rather than skill set of an employee. It is evident from the literature that Competency is defined as a specific behavior of an individual which makes him capable of superior performance in job. Thus competencies describe what an individual is not only capable of doing but is also willing of doing. Competency Mapping is an aid to identify the required knowledge, skills and attitudes for a job to accomplish excellence in performance of employees.

LITERATURE REVIEW:

Competencies and Performance:

Ryan, Emmerling and Spencer (2009) have proposed in their study that competencies are predictive of job performance. Competencies are used as a basis for promotion of employees. Many experts working as consultants for companies have rated those employees as star performers who have shown to exhibit the various essential competencies. The candidate’s suitability for a job is defined by competency framework at the initial stage of recruitment and later on at the stage of performance appraisal (Mabeath, 1990). Sutton and Watson (2013) have suggested that a single competency framework could be implemented in all HR functions including recruitment, performance appraisal and training need analysis.

The only gap is inter-rater reliability of people who are rating employees at different points in employment tenure. Many researchers have suggested that individuals are found to exhibit higher competency level at the time of recruitment in comparison to the later stage of performance appraisal. Sengupta, Venkatesh and Sinha(2011), in their study have proposed a comprehensive performance linked competency model which ensures competitive advantage in an Indian textile company.

The model is divided into three phases such as competency identification, competency assessment, and aligning competencies with other strategy-driven HR functions to gain performance excellence. The study aims at application of a performance linked competency model in HR department of the organization as a pilot study. Based on the current and future business strategies, the author has identified job focused, person focused and role focused competencies for superior performance. The employees were rated on the identified competencies by departmental heads. Star performers were ranked among the rated employees and their competency scorecard was generated for benchmarking, which further helps in training need analysis and performance appraisal.

Competencies and Job Satisfaction:

Job satisfaction is the extent to which people like their jobs (Hirschfeld, 2000). Job satisfaction refers to the employee’s overall affective evaluation of the intrinsic and extrinsic facets of the job (Bettencourt, et. al., 2001).

Hennekam and Irgo (2014), in their study investigates the competencies leading to career success and satisfaction among older workers subscribed to job agency specialized in older workers in Netherland. The study aims to identify the relationship between three competencies such as social skills, integrity and motivation with respect to job satisfaction and career success of older employees. The result found that social skills have significant positive relationship with job satisfaction and success which indicates that workers with higher social skills are more satisfied and successful in their jobs. Integrity is found to be unrelated to extrinsic factor (income) whereas it is found to be positively related to job satisfaction of workers, which indicates that workers with high integrity are satisfied but it has no relation with income of the worker.

Motivation is found to be positively related to job satisfaction and success, which indicates that workers who are highly motivated are highly satisfied and successful in their jobs. Another study by Sani, Yozgat and Çakare (2016) found that the perceptions of employees regarding competency model is positively related to intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction. The perceptions of relevance and fairness of competency model are positively related to intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction. The study suggests that if employees perceive competency model as strategically and personally relevant and fair they tend to achieve social exchange and in turn exhibit extrinsic and intrinsic job satisfaction.

Tool for Competency Mapping: Critical Incident Interview:

Critical Incident technique is one of the important tools for measuring competencies. Ryan Emmerling and Spencer (2009) in their research, analyses the critical experiences in job with respect to peak high and peak low points among the managers. The interview conducted among the managers are recorded, transcribed and coded to indicate competencies with behavioral indicators. The drawback associated with this approach is that there is a requirement of skilled interviewer and coder for the accomplishment of the whole process. Critical incident is an operant technique of measuring competencies which results in a spontaneous response of the respondent rather than a stimulated response through a questionnaire or rating scale. McClelland’s (1998) in his study supported the operant method of assessing competencies over stimulated response or focus groups and expert panel. According to the study, operant measure is predictive of what a person will actually do in a situation rather than what he says he will do through a rating scale technique. Data collected through Critical Incident method is found to be more authentic in comparison to the other tools for measurement of competencies. The respondent tends to reply in a socially acceptable manner rather than his/her real behavior in a particular situation, while giving their responses for other tools of measurement. Critical Incident method is found to be more authentic method then the other methods since it leaves no area for manipulation at the respondents end.

Conceptual Framework of Competency Mapping:

Chouhan and Srivastava (2014) in their study have identified various set of goals which are required in a strategy cum goal linked competency framework. Further, the study divides these into technical and leadership behavior which results into measureable performance outcomes and metrics which is directly linked to the set objectives and goals of the organization. Yuvaraj (2011), in his study has used the competency model defined by Arthur Andersen. Ihe study identified the business strategy and processes which are required to accomplish the defined strategies. Further the competency modeling is done on organizational level, team level and job level. The resulting competency modeling is used for Training and Development, Performance Management and Reward/Action.

Sengupta, Venkatesh and Sinha (2011) in their study have proposed a comprehensive performance linked competency model as a tool for competitive advantage. Firstly, person focused, job focused and role focused competencies are identified. Secondly, the employees are assessed on the identified competencies and a competency scorecard is prepared. Lastly, the competencies are aligned with strategy driven HR functions to earn competitive advantage. The first stage of the model helps in recruitment and selection based on identified competencies. The second stage helps in training need analysis based on assessment of competencies.

The last stage helps in performance management, reward policy and succession planning. Johri (2014) has framed a competency model, defining competency mapping as a strategic HR tool. The competency mapping process starts with understanding the mission and vision of the company. Then the competencies are identified that are required to attain the mission and vision of the company. The identified competencies are benchmarked and then the employees are assessed on the benchmarked competencies. The results are utilized for various HR practices and development.

Osteen and Subramanian (2013) in their study have proposed an assessment maturity model for competency mapping. They framed a four step model including Define, Discover, Determine and Develop. At the define stage, various competencies that are required at different levels are identified. At the discover stage, the current state of possessed competencies are identified. At the determine stage, skill gaps are identified and at develop stage, improvement plans and actions are identified. Shraddha Manohar Kulkarni (2016), in her study has proposed a competency mapping model to be used by HR managers in banking sector.

The model has been proposed to act as an aid to HR mangers for developing leaders in an organization and thereby acting as strategic partners. Accordingly the HR Managers were asked to list down the various competencies required to perform tasks. Then the reporting heads were asked to rate the importance of each listed competency in upper level of job. With the help of Delphi method, the managers and reporting heads have narrowed down the list of competencies into five competencies required for leadership development.

As a result of analysis, five competencies were identified as essential competencies to be acquired by HR Managers in order to be leader and strategic partner. These five competencies are analytical, technical, leadership, interpersonal and operational, which are best fit for the roles of Strategic Architect, Business Expert, Leadership Champion, Change Agent and HR Expert.

In the proposed model, a comprehensive framework for competency mapping is drafted in which competencies are linked with the organizational goals, objectives and other HR related functions to integrate all the activities towards the accomplishment of superior performance and goal accomplishment. Organizational goals acts as inputs to the process of competency identification, as it helps in identifying the various competencies required to attain the goal of the company.

The identified competencies are then incorporated in the process of recruitment and selection to hire employees with relevant competencies. Assessment of current competencies aids to training need analysis and performance appraisal of employees based on the presence or absence of required competencies among employees. Assessed competencies are then linked to strategy driven HR functions for the purpose of Career and Succession Planning.

Thus the given model is ubiquitous in nature, pervading in all HR related functions, and performance of employees and goals of an organization.

CONCLUSION:

In the current business scenario, the competency management is considered as a strategic tool for HR by many organizations. A few organizations have a fully implemented competency modelling and reporting system in place. However, many organizations are still striving to build a concrete competency model and its implementation. Most organizations, of all sizes, are still struggling with defining, designing and implementing competency model projects in the organization. Customizing the competency model with respect to the organization size, management philosophy, customer requirement and business needs requires management support, efforts and time. Performance linked Competency models designed and implemented by experts, have given a comprehensive framework for aligning competency mapping with performance of an employee which results into gaining competitive advantage. Managers equipped with the high level of leadership competencies are found to be more satisfied and are accomplished with high job performance. It is evident that the competency mapping is a need of hour with an aim of attaining effective human resource management for competitive advantage and sustainable growth. With help of the present proposed model, a framework is established which is linking the organizational goals and objectives with HR driven functions. This will help the companies to align their business strategies with the human resource system to achieve company’s goals. It serves as a base to look for particular set of competencies required in an employee during the process of recruitment and selection. Further, it helps in identification of training need analysis and performance appraisal of employees. Also it helps in defining career and succession planning. A single competency framework is not only easy to implement but is also easy to revise with time.

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Received on 03.01.2018 Modified on 20.02.2018

Asian Journal of Management. 2018; 9(1):697-701.

DOI: 10.5958/2321-5763.2018.00108.7