F.

Competency-based human
resources management 38How is the
concept of labour
competency
applied to human
resources
management?

38. How is the concept of labour competency applied to

human resources management?

Apart from the experiences of labour competencies ap-

plied to vocational training, there is another possibility of ap-
plication of this approach: human resources management.
Many enterprises in the United States, Europe and lately
in Latin America, have incorporated competency-based hu-
man resources management as a tool to improve productivity
and to foster a positive atmosphere in the relationships with
their collaborators. These efforts are justified by the attempts
of the organisation to improve productivity and competitive-
ness levels by means of knowledge and learning ability. Thus,
it becomes evident that there is tendency to revalue human
contributions to organisational competitiveness.
This application of the competencies approach comprises
the traditional areas of human talent management at the
organisation: selection, remuneration, training, assessment and
promotion. Several experiences of applications of standardised
competency systems have taken place in England, Ireland,
Scotland and Australia. These experiences are framed within
national systems of training and certification. In these cases,
the main characteristic is their national projection and the ar-
ticulation of training institutions with the needs of enterprises
through training based on competency standards.
In addition, several enterprises motivated by the pressures
of change and reorganisation of work have set about imple- 121
 menting competency-based systems of human resources management in order
to maintain their competitiveness.
The implementation of these systems goes through the process of defin-
ing the key competencies for the organisation. Then they are discussed with
the participation of workers, but not necessarily all of them, and then applied
to selection, determination of training needs, performance assessment and per-
sonnel remuneration and promotion.
The experiences that confirm this answer are based on applications of the
behaviourist approach on labour competency, according to which the compe-
tencies shown by the best workers are determined and then taken as a refer-
ence of best performance.
Below there are some definitions of labour competency that are typically
based on behaviour and best performance:
• A competency is an ability that may be subject to measurement and that is
necessary to do a job efficiently, that is, to produce the results expected by
the organisation. Competency analysis has the aim of identifying the knowl-
edge, skills, abilities and enabling behaviours that employees are supposed
to demonstrate for the organisation to fulfil its goals and objectives. To
have a competency, it may just be necessary one type of knowledge, skill,
ability or behaviour, or it may require a combination of all of them.1
• An underlying characteristic of the individual, which is causally related to
an effective or high-level performance in a working situation and defined
by a certain criterion.2
• Groups of knowledge, abilities, aptitudes and behaviours that a person
possesses and that enable him to carry out an activity successfully.3
• A skill or a personal attribute of an individual’s conduct, which may be
defined as a characteristic of his behaviour, and, according to which the
task-oriented behaviour may be classified in a logical and reliable man-
ner.4

1
Marelli, Anne, Introducción al análisis y desarrollo de modelos de competencias, 2000.
2
Spencer, L. M.; Spencer, S. M.; Competency at Work, New York, John Wiley and Sons,
1993.
3
Rodríguez T., Nelson; Feliú S., Pedro, Curso Básico de Psicometría.
4
Ansorena Cao, Álvaro, 15 casos para la Selección de Personal con Éxito, Barcelona, Paidós
122 Empresa, 1996.
• Group of knowledge, abilities, skills and attitudes in terms of observable
behaviour, required to perform in the assigned roles in the processes of
the organisation (Electricidad de Caracas).
• Measurable and observable knowledge, abilities and skills, as well as char-
acteristics associated with an excellent performance at work and the
achievement of results (Buck Consultants, Inc.).
• Group of knowledge, abilities, skills, attitudes and values whose applica-
tion at work is translated into a high-level performance, which contributes
to the achievement of the key objectives of the business (Petróleos de
Venezuela).
Competency-based human resources management has the following char-
acteristics:
Enterprise-focused: One of the main features of these experiences is not
placing the emphasis on the problem of training as a national problem; such
experiences simply take place at an enterprise level. The premise that facili-
tates this methodological attitude derives from considering that the competen-
cies of one occupation may be different in two different organisations. The
organisational philosophy, of manufacturing and customer service, varies from
enterprise to enterprise. In this case, each organisation needs to find its key
competencies so that its collaborators can achieve the expected results.5
The best ones as reference: Behaviourist competency-based manage-
ment models identify the best workers, i.e. those who are obtaining the best
results. From there the profile of competencies is derived, based on the as-
sumption that if the best performance becomes a standard, then the whole
organisation will improve its productivity.
Designed competencies, rather than consulted ones: Some of the com-
petencies that are required by the organisation cannot be obtained by consult-
ing workers. This is not enough; it is necessary that the management office
defines the types of competencies expected from their collaborators in order to
achieve their goals and that those competencies are included within the stan-
dards so as to facilitate knowledge and training. With this idea, workers are
not the only element to define competencies; it is necessary to consult them
but that is not enough.

5
Cubeiro, Juan Carlos, Cómo sacarle fruto a la gestión por competencias, Training and De-
velopment Digest, 1998. 123
39
39. How are key competencies defined by behaviourist
human resources management?

Behaviour-oriented definitions of key competencies tend

to concentrate on the success factors of performance. Some
How are key examples are provided below:
competencies
defined by “The initial objective was to determine the critical or key
behaviourist competencies, understanding as such the knowledge, attitudes,
human resources skills, abilities, values, behaviour and personal attributes that
management? are more directly related (in a causal way) with the successful
performance of individuals at work and in their functions and
responsibilities” (Arión Consultores).6
“Personal key characteristics that promote and maintain
efficiency at a high-performance enterprise. They define what
the person is and they are reflected in everything the person
does. They are personal characteristics that go from deep and
profound aspects of the individual to quite easily observable
and modifiable features” (Electricidad de Caracas).
“Personal characteristics that make a difference between
correct performance and excellent performance in a specific
position, enterprise or culture. They are certain ways of doing
things; they are the behaviours and skills that people show
when carrying out work with excellence” (Mavesa).
The above definitions focus on the personal characteris-
tics that define high performance and they are strongly linked
to McClellands remarks. He says that in each job some people
perform much more efficiently than others because they use
different ways and behaviours to carry it out. Therefore, the
best way to identify the competencies that lead to high perfor-
mance is to observe the most successful workers.7
When defining the competencies model for the
organisation it is fundamental to find those behaviours that

6
Muñoz, Julián, Implantación de un sistema de selección por competencias,
Training and Development Digest, May 1998.
7
Spencer, Lyle; McClelland, David, Competency Assessment
124 Methods:History and State of the Art, 1984.
best contribute to the achievement of objectives. The steps that are usually
followed when setting up the model are:
• Considering the strategic objectives of the enterprise.
• Analysing the capacity of the organisation and its resources.
• Studying the economic and financial feasibility of the model.
• Devising and adopting the principles and structure of Human Talent
Management.
• Designing their own competencies model.
• Applying competencies profiles in the different stages of Human Tal-
ent Management.
A delicate point when implementing the competencies model lies pre-
cisely in their identification and definition. To that effect, enterprises have a
number of possibilities; there are methodologies that foster workers’ partici-
pation in the identification of competencies and those which offer catalogues
and dictionaries to entrepreneurial executive bodies.
Some authors defend the idea that competencies should be defined by the
executive body of the organisation.8 Others consider that when facing the com-
petencies approach based on the best performance (behaviourist) with the ap-
proach based on labour functions and results (functionalist), two different con-
cepts are being discussed: the first one focuses on the person’s competencies
and qualities; the second one, on the requirements of the occupation.9 Others,
on the contrary, build up the concept of competency from two large groups:
personal competencies, associated with attitudes and behaviour and, on the
other side, technical competencies, associated with the knowledge, abilities
and skills involved in labour performance.10
From the point of view of a global analysis, there are some important
differences between the approach on training and that of competency-based
human resources management. Basically, competency-based training takes into
account results and the application of knowledge, skills and attitudes to achieve
them. To the behaviourist approach, knowledge and behaviour seem to be
enough to achieve a “high-level” performance.11

8
Cubeiro, Juan Carlos, op. cit.
9
Moloney, Karen, ¿Es suficiente con las competencias?, Training and Development Digest,
1998.
10
Buck Consultants, Competency-Based Performance Management, Washington D.C., 1998.
11
This aspect is treated with more depth in: Vargas, F., Competencias en la formación y
competencias en la gestión del talento humano: Convergencias y desafíos, Cinterfor/ILO, 2000. 125
40
40. How does the competencies approach contribute to
human resources selection?

Competency-based systems of human resources manage-

ment facilitate the execution of the functions related to talent
How does the management, among them the selection. Generally, the pro-
competencies cess begins with the identification of competencies and con-
approach tinues with the candidate’s assessment against such compe-
contribute to tencies. In this way, the candidate’s competency for perform-
human resources ing the desired occupation can be established.
selection?
Thus, the selection process is founded in competencies
that are defined by the organisation, either through the appli-
cation of competency standards established by Functional
Analysis (functionalism) or through the definition of the key
competencies required (behaviourism).
Competencies facilitate the creation of a criteria frame-
work that may be taken into account when carrying out the
selection process, but they may introduce some variations to
the traditional characteristics of the process.
These variations may be summarised in: the change of
emphasis in the search for a candidate for a position, a candi-
date for the organisation; consider the difference between per-
sonal and technical competencies; introduce simulation exer-
cises to detect whether the candidates have certain competen-
cies or not.
A candidate for a position or a candidate for the
organisation? Clearly, this dilemma is solved in favour of the
organisation. What the organisation needs is someone who has
a good reservoir of competencies required for different labour
situations taking place at the organisation. Then, there appear
demands such as “what the enterprise needs from its people”
which perfectly differentiate the candidates’ profile beyond
their technical ability.
Many organisations create their own model of key com-
petencies and, with that as a reference, they choose their col-
laborators. Usually, the “model” of competencies reaches the
definition of the expected levels and behaviours in a group of
126 not more than 6 or 7 competencies. This group of competen-
cies also includes the description of related behaviours, as well as the levels of
competency to be achieved by each behaviour.
This group of competencies are disaggregated into a more detailed and
specific group called subcompetencies. At this point, subcompetencies are of-
ten expressed at different levels, to which there corresponds a behaviour indi-
cator.
The graph provides an example of this structure:

Typical structure of an enterprise-level model of competencies

COMPETENCY Indicator 1 Level 1:

1
Level 2:
Indicator 1
Level 3:
COMPETENCY
1 Indicator 1 Level 4:

COMPETENCY
1

Several behaviour indicators may be associated to a competency such as

“working with information”. Some examples of those behaviours are:
• Identifying and using all sources of information appropriately.
• Identifying precisely the type and form of the information required.
• Obtaining relevant information and keeping the appropriate formats.
The levels of functionality12 or levels of depth or complexity seek to de-
scribe the degree of competency in terms of the scope of performance and the
possibility to include activities such as planning and decisions concerning re-
sources or the work of other people.

12
Term used by Anne Marelli, 2000. 127
 For example, for the indicator “obtaining relevant information and keep-
ing the appropriate formats” several levels of functionality could be consid-
ered:
Level 1: Handling of general and free-access information and registration
in computer systems.
Level 2: Handling of information with a certain degree of specialisation
or that is occasionally restricted, registration according to priorities and filling
in different computer applications.
Level 3: Handling of results and confidential information, decision on the
types of files for registration and occasional writing of reports on performance.
Level 4: Handling of confidential information, keeping that information
on restricted-access files and destruction of paper copies.

Competencies possessed and competencies to be developed

Many competency-based management models establish a distinction be-

tween competencies that individuals already possess –which cannot generally
be modified– and competencies that can be acquired and developed.
The former are related to their perceptions, values and preferences, their
behaviours and reactions, their involvement with others, their attitudes, etc.
Some models of competencies imply that there is little or no margin at all for
the alteration of such features. Either they are possessed and coincide with the
enterprise’s requirements or not. This group is formed by competencies such
as: “achievement desire, team work, quality concern, perseverance before chal-
lenges, customer orientation, self-learning”.
This group of competencies are detected by carrying out simulated exer-
cises of critical situations. The person is faced with a fictitious event, already
thought of, and his reactions are examined to determine whether he displays
the desired competencies.
The latter –the ones that may be developed– are technical and operational
competencies. These competencies represent the knowledge, abilities and skills
applied to the occupation. For example: use of tools, reading of instruments,
ability to interpret graphic information, software management, etc.
Usually, these competencies are assessed through the application of knowl-
edge tests and/or exercises of practical application at work.
128
 In any case, to carry out a competency-based selection process, the enter-
prise should make explicit their competency-based management model, which
is related to the directors’ will and which has a clear specification of compe-
tencies that, in this case, become the language shared by the management of-
fice and the collaborators and, in sum, the guide of the selection process and
the human talent management.

129