Ideal Type of Management

Vol. 1, No. 1, Spring 2012

PP. 59-68

Using Competency Models to Improve HRM

Mohammad Javad Dehghan Ashkezari1*, Mojtaba Nik Aeen2
1. M.A. Student in Business Management, Qom College, University of Tehran, Iran
2. B.A. Student in Public Management, Qom College, University of Tehran, Iran

(Received: 19 December 2011; Accepted: 8 March 2012)

Abstract

Today's many organizations have found that the ability of their workforce is
a key to gain competitive advantage and competency studies has gained more
and more interest and attention. Competency is a combination of tacit and
explicit knowledge, behavior and skills that gives someone the potential for
effectiveness in task performance and Competency model is a narrative
description of the competencies for a targeted job category, occupational group,
division, department or other unit of analysis. Using of competency models in
HRM Integrate HR activities. In fact, Competencies are the common link among
the majority of human resource subsystems. The purpose of this study is the
introduction of competency models and their contribution to promote human
resource management practices in 4 Section. After an introduction in section 1,
we review the competency concept in section 2, In section 3 the applications of
competency models to HRM functions have explained and finally in section 4,
we express Advantages of competency-based HR system.

Keywords
Competency, Competency Model, HRM, HRM Functions.

* Corresponding Author

E-mail: [email protected]

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Introduction
In today's competitive business world, sustainable competitive
advantage is the fundamental factor for achieving organizational
strategies. As capital and technology became increasingly available to
virtually anyone, anywhere, the search of corporations for sources of
sustainable competitive advantage increasingly pointed inward towards
organizational capabilities. Many organizations have found that the
ability of their workforce is a key to gain competitive advantage. Today's
organizations are more concerned about their human competency base
and its development (Ozcelik and Ferman, 2006: 73) so competency
studies has gained more and more interest and attention (Xuejun Qiao
and Wang, 2009: 69).
For over 30 years, business and industry has utilized competency
models to select employees. But the trend to use competency-based
approaches in education and training, assessment, and development of
workers has experienced a more recent emergence (Ennis, 2008: 4). The
competency movement has been in use in business through the
groundbreaking work of David McClelland (1973), Richard Boyatzis
(1982), Spencer and Spencer (1993), and many others in the field
(Ozcelik and Ferman, 2006: 73). Competency is a combination of tacit
and explicit knowledge, behavior and skills that gives someone the
potential for effectiveness in task performance (Draganidis and Mentzas,
2006: 53).
Using of competency models in HRM Integrate HR activities. In fact
Competencies are the common link among the majority of human
resource subsystems (Byham: 6). By linking human resources processes
to desired competencies, organizations can shape the capabilities of its
workforce and achieve better results (Donzelli et al., 2006: 74) and it may
be possible for an organization to build ongoing snapshots of the overall
knowledge capital and skills portfolio of its workforce. Further,
organizations may be able to utilize this information to perform
individual and organizational analysis, reduce education costs, improve
hiring practices, improve retention, improve human resources
performance and developmental planning processes, and deploy its
human capital more effectively (Gangani et al.: 1111).
The purpose of this study is the introduction of competency models
and their contribution to promote human resource management practices.
Competency: An Overview
Definition of Key Concepts
Competency has its origins in the Latin word 'competentia' which

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61

means is authorized to judge as well as has the right to speak

(Caupin et al., 2006: 9).
The competency approach to human resources management is not
new. The early Romans practiced a form of competency profiling in
attempts to detail the attributes of a good Roman soldier (Draganidis
and Mentzas, 2006: 52). McClelland (1976) described competency as
the characteristics underlying superior performance. He is credited with
introducing the idea of competency into the human resource literature;
in his efforts to assist the United States Information Agency improve its
selection procedures (Draganidis and Mentzas, 2006: 52). Competencies
are defined as sets of skills, knowledge, abilities and attributescharacteristics-that enable people to successfully perform jobs (Spicer,
2009: 34).
Some of the main definitions of competencies from different writers
or companies, in addition to that mentioned before, present in Table 1, in
an effort to provide a complete understanding of the different aspects that
this term incorporates (Draganidis and Mentzas, 2006: 53).
Table 1: Current definitions of the competency concept
Author
Definitions
Marrelli (1998) (1)
Dubois (1998) (2)

HR-XML
(www.hr-xml.org)

Boyatzis (1982)
Selby et al. (2000)
UK National
Vocational
Council for Vocational
Qualification (1997)
Treasury Board of
Canada
Secretariat (1999)

Competencies are measurable human capabilities that

are required for effective work performance demands.
Competencies are those characteristics- knowledge,
skills, mindsets, thought patterns, and the like-that,
when used either singularly or in various combinations,
result in successful performance.
A specific, identifiable, definable, and measurable
knowledge, skill, ability and/or other deploymentrelated characteristic (e.g. attitude, behavior, physical
ability) which a human resource may possess and which
is necessary for, or material to, the performance of an
activity within a specific business context.
Boyatzis described competencies as underlying
characteristics of an individual, which are, causally
(change in one variable cause change in another) related
to effective job performance.
Selby described it as an ability expressed in terms of
behavior.
The National Vocational Council for Vocational
Qualification described competency as performance
standards, the ability to perform in work roles or jobs to
the standard required in employment.
Competencies are the knowledge, skills, abilities and
behaviors that an employee applies in performing
his/her work and that are the key employee-related

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Perrenaud (2000)

LeBoterf (1998)

Jackson and Schuler

(2003)

Intagliata et al. (2000)

People Soft
Gartner Group

levers for achieving results that are relevant to the

organizations business strategies.
A capacity to mobilize diverse cognitive resources to
meet a certain type of situation.
LeBoterf says that competencies are not themselves
resources in the sense of knowing how to act, knowing
how to do, or attitudes, but they mobilize, integrate and
orchestrate such resources. This mobilization is only
pertinent in one situation, and each situation is unique,
although it could be approached as an analogy to other
situations that are already known.
Competencies are defined as the skills, knowledge,
abilities and other characteristics that someone needs to
perform a job effectively.
Most
fundamentally,
competencies
provide
organizations with away to define in behavioral terms
what their leaders need to do to produce the results the
organization desires and do so in a way that is
consistent with and builds its culture. They should
provide the North Star by which leaders at all levels
navigate in order to create synergy and produce more
significant and consistent results.
A set of measurable and observable knowledge, skills
and behaviors that contribute to success in a
job/position.
A competency is a set of characteristics, including
skills, knowledge and attributes, that causes or forecasts
performance.

Other terms and processes which are essential in competency based

management systems are defined as follow (Draganidis and Mentzas,
2006: 55):
x Competency identification. The process of discovering what
competencies are necessary for exemplary or fully-successful
performance.
x Competency model. A narrative description of the competencies for a
targeted job category, occupational group, division, department or
other unit of analysis.
x Competency assessment. The process of comparing an individuals
competencies to those of a competency model.
x Competency-based management. Application of a set of
competencies for managing human resources so that performance
contributes efficiently and effectively to organizational results.
x Competency standard. Identifies the essential skills and knowledge
workers must have, and defines the performance levels they must

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63

achieve, to demonstrate competency in a specific work segment or

function.
Competency profile. Document that describes the set of
competencies particular to a position/ job/ occupational group/
functional community.

Different Types of Competencies

Carrol and McCrackin (1988) argue that competencies are generally
organized into three main categories. The first is the core competency
category, which was first proposed by Prahalad and Hamel (1990). A
core competency forms the basis for strategic direction; it is something a
company does well relative to other competitors. Because the workforce
of the organization is crucial in terms of creating strategic value and
organizational performance in the organization, the concept has
influenced the HRM practices. Core competencies refer to the elements
of behavior that are important for all employees to possess as, for
example, a core competency in "result/ quality orientation". The second
category is leadership / managerial competencies. This category involves
competencies that are related to leading an organization and people to
achieve an organization's objectives that relate to managing, supervising,
and developing people. Some examples include "visionary leadership",
"strategic thinking", and "developing people". The third category is
functional (job-specific) competencies, those that are required to be
performed in a particular job role or profession (Ozcelik and Ferman,
2006: 75).
Development of Competency Models
Many companies and governmental organizations have addressed
issues such as organizational transformation, performance improvement,
employee development, succession planning and etc. by the
implementation of competency modeling programs, i.e. through strategic
initiatives aimed at aligning employee performance with job
requirements.
A competency model is a list of competencies which are derived
from observing satisfactory or exceptional employee performance for a
specific occupation. The model can provide identification of the
competencies employees need to develop in order to improve
performance in their current job or to prepare for other jobs via
promotion or to transfer. The model can also be useful in a skill gap
analysis, the comparison between available and needed competencies of
individuals or organizations.
Competencies are the building blocks of competency models. For

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example, a competency model for an Area Sales Manager might include

competencies such as sales planning, team working, market competition,
industry trends and strategic thinking (Draganidis and Mentzas, 2006: 56).
Briscoe and Hall (1999) identify three main approaches that
organizations use to create competency models. The first is the researchbased approach in which top-performing executives are asked to give
examples of critical behavioral incidents that are crucial for success. The
idea is that superior performers are different form good performers and
are thought to demonstrate these superior behaviors consistently. Second,
a strategy-based approach is based on the idea that a company
experiencing changes in its strategic goals will also drive a need for
change in the competency requirements for its employees. Finally a
value-based approach is based on the view that competency frameworks
are derived from the normative cultural values of the organization
(Ozcelik and Ferman, 2006: 76-77).
The development of a competency model consists of different steps,
required for the creation and validation of the model. The validation
process is a means of checking that the competencies predict successful
job performance. Table 2 outlines the most commonly used steps in the
development of a competency model (Draganidis and Mentzas, 2006: 5758).

The Applications of Competency Models to HRM Functions

Competencies can be used in different parts of employee
management applications, having an important role in each one of them.
Competencies are important in the following employee management
applications:
Selection
Competency-based selection is the oldest application among all
human resources systems and can be traced back to McClelland's early
work with competencies for hiring purposes (Ozcelik & Ferman, 2006:
77). Competencies are used in order to compare the capabilities of the
candidate with the requirements of the offered position; once the best
candidate is identified, competency gaps form the basis for an initial
new-hire learning plan (Draganidis & Mentzas, 2006: 55). The purpose is
to establish the "behaviors" needed in a particular job and the extent to
which these are possessed by different candidates (Rowe, 1995). A
competency model provides a complete picture of what it takes to
perform the work so that interviewers can identify characteristics
required to do the job well. Records of selection decisions and ratings of
competency, if regularly acted upon, can help organizations improve the

Using Competency Models to Improve HRM

65

effectiveness of selection decisions (Ozcelik & Ferman, 2006: 77).

Training and Development
Competency gap analysis can identify the needed competencies;
these competencies can be linked with the equivalent learning objects
(Draganidis & Mentzas, 2006: 56).

Table 2: Steps in the development of a competency model

Creation of a Competency
Systems Team (CST)
Identification of Performance
Metrics and Validation
Sample

Development of a Tentative
Competencies List

Definition of Competencies
and Behavioral Indicators

Development of an Initial
Competency Model

Cross-Check of Initial Model

Model Refinement

Validation of the Model

As a first step, many enterprises and organizations

create a CST which consists of human resources
staff, top executives and employees who possess a
deep know-how of the jobs included in the model.
This team has a responsibility for overseeing the
whole initiative.
A proficiency scale is prepared in order to define
superior, average and marginal performance for the
jobs included in the model.
The CST develops a preliminary list of competencies
which serve as a basis for building the model. The
creation of such a list can be successful, through
reviewing competency models that have already
been developed by other organizations and
considering the organizations own business
strategies.
In this step, information is collected on what
competencies are needed to perform the jobs in the
model by conducting interviews, focus groups, and
surveys with employees and managers.
The CST develops an initial competency model
based on the information collected in the previous
step by performing quantitative analysis of the
survey results and content analysis of the themes
contained in the interview and focus group results.
It is important to check that the initial model is
accurate by conducting additional focus groups,
interviews, or surveys with groups of managers and
employees who did not participate in the defining of
the initial model.
The same types of analysis used in developing the
initial competency model are used by the CST to
refine the model.
Validation efforts begin with converting the
competencies into a questionnaire that can be used
for rating individual effectiveness. The individuals
identified earlier as superior, effective, and marginal
performers are rated on this questionnaire by

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Finalize the Model

multiple individuals if possible, such as managers,

peers, and direct reports. The ratings on the
competency questionnaire are correlated to the
performance ratings to determine if each competency
relates to job performance.
The last step involves eliminating any competencies
that do not correlate with the performance measures
to provide a validated model that is linked to
effective performance.

A well-constructed competency model includes not only behaviors

that are indicators of effectiveness on the job but also those required to
support the organization's strategic direction, as well as develop and
maintain the culture needed to achieve business results (Lusia &
Lepsinger, 1999).
Performance Management
Worker performance is evaluated against job competency
requirements as well as objectives (Draganidis & Mentzas, 2006: 56).
Today, performance is not only seen as "what" (objectives) an
employee achieves but also viewed as "how" (competencies
demonstrated) the job is carried out. Many organizations use
competency-based models as a part of their employee development
centers. The objective here is to assess individuals' strengths and
weaknesses so that future development is identified. The competency, as
a measurement tool, identifies behavioral factors relevant to performance
in the job. The performance management process becomes stronger when
employees are appraised on both objectives (what) and behavioral
performance (how), referred to as the "mixed model". The "mixed
model" provides a shared understanding of what will be monitored and
measured, and ensures an understanding of how the work gets done in
addition to what gets done (Ozcelik & Ferman, 2006: 77).
Compensation Management
Competency-based pay provides a link between competency ratings
and compensation. As in the performance-management process, a mixedmodel approach to compensation is desirable. The important aspects of
how a job is performed are ignored when organizations concentrate on
pay for results only. On the other hand, organizations may not adequately
evaluate results if they only focus on pay just for the use of
competencies. Establishing compensation for demonstrate competencies,
that is, both what is accomplished and how it is accomplished, provides
fairness and equity and distinguishes between superior and average
performers. However, as identified by the American Compensation

Using Competency Models to Improve HRM

67

Association, competency-based compensation is the least common

application of competency models among all HRM practices (Ozcelik &
Ferman, 2006: 78).
Career planning
According to McLagan, the competency approach is an effective tool
to be used as a criterion for career development. Competency-based
career-planning systems link competencies with the development
activities, which help employees learn what they need for further
development (Ozcelik & Ferman, 2006: 77). They can review the needed
competencies of all the positions and through comparison with the
competencies they possess and identify potential positions and develop
their career plans (Draganidis & Mentzas, 2006: 56).
Advantages of Competency-Based HR System
Byham say that competency-organized human resource system has
four advantages:
1. Decreased communication, training, and administration time.
Managers must learn only one set of competencies and definitions
for each position. It takes less training time to install each new
subsystem or program because the competencies are understood, and
major concepts, such as focusing on behavior and organizing
behavior into competencies, are used throughout.
2. Subsystems validate one another. Information from different sources
can be compared. Data from one component can be used to validate
the effectiveness of the others. For example, performance review
ratings can easily be used to validate the effectiveness of a selection
or training subsystem.
3. Subsystems reinforce one another. The use of one subsystem
supports and reinforces the use of others. Using the definitions and
rating scales successfully in one subsystem reminds managers the
importance of using them in other activities. For example,
successfully using a performance management system organized
around competencies would reinforce using a selection system
organized around competencies.
4. The entire system and each subsystem can be validated using a
content-oriented validation strategy (that is, the subsystem can be
related to defined job requirements) (Byham: 7).

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Conclusion
Competency Models are effective measurement tools that help
employees agree on a common language and comprehend what is
understood by superior performance. Moreover, Competency-based
HRM is a core strategy to help align internal behavior and skills with the
strategic direction of the organization as a whole. Competency models
translate organizational strategies, goals and values into specific
behaviors. Today organizations realized that if properly designed and
skillfully handled, the competency model leads to individual and
organizational performance enhancements and therefore helps the
integration and promotion of all HRM practices.

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69

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