Theoretical Background On HR Based Competency Selection

Date:06/10/2010
Author:GborDargai
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3.TheoreticalBackgroundofCompetencybasedRecruitment
andSelection1
In this chapter we discuss the concepts and models that will come up hereinafter
and the advantages and challenges of their application in the field of competency based
recruitmentandselection.
Firstandforemostwewillsumupthemajorconceptsthatwillbementionedinthe
chapter.Theconnectionsbetweentheseconceptswillbedescribedtoo.TheworkofBinning
and Barrett will be discussed next, in order to get to know the origin of nowadays
recruitment and selection theory foundations. That is followed by the key components of
competencybased recruitment and selection itself: the process and its effects will be
explained, thus we will examine competency management: we will look at the features of
competencies,competencymanagementandjobroledesign.Attheendofthechapterthe
termofontologywillbeintroducedandalsothemeansitcancontributetotheworkwith
competencies. In this context we show our Educational Ontology which will play an
importantroleduringthelifetimeoftheOntoHRprojectandalsointhefollowingchapters.
3.1Conceptsinbrief
In order to see the concepts and the context clearly we would like to settle and
clarifysomedefinitionsatthebeginning.
This paper is the third chapter of Gbor Dargais BSc Thesis Work (Corvinus University of Budapest), which
deals with the topic of ontology-based competency modelling, specifically with the development of an ontology
model for the Information Systems Analyst job role. The work is carried out within the frame of the OntoHR
project.
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This communication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission
cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information
contained therein.
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The most important concept that will appear continuously in this Thesis is
competency. Competency is a temporally stable, narrowly defined, and trainable latent
abilitytocompleteanorganizationallyvaluedprospectivejobtasksuccessfully.(Mol,tobe
published)
Inordertobenefitfromcompetencies,competencymodelsshouldbebuiltupfora
jobroleoranentireorganization.Acompetencymodelreferstoagroupofcompetencies
requiredinaparticularjob(OntoHRproject2010a)
Ifthecompetencymodeliscompletethenextstepisjobdesign.Jobdesignrefers
tothewaytasksarecombinedtoformcompletejobs.(Robbins&StuartKotze1987)
Competencies and the relationship between competencies can be described with
thehelpofontologies.AccordingtotheirdefinitionOntologiesaimtocaptureconsensual
knowledge in a generic and formal way, so that they may be reused and shared across
applications(software)andbygroupsofpeople.Ontologiesareusuallybuiltcooperativelyby
agroupofpeopleindifferentlocations.(Corchoetal.2003,p.44),theyalsoprovidefurther
practicalpossibilitiesforresearchers.
Themostrelevantappliancefieldsofthecompetencyontologiesarerecruitmentand
selection. The aim of recruitment: exploration and identification of as many potential
candidates as possible, attraction of their attention to the job prospects at the company.
When HR experts managed to recruit right applicants, the selection of the most qualified
ones and of those who fit the organization and the job the best, can start. (Bokor et al.
2009,pp.142143)
3.2BinningandBarrettTheroots
contained therein.
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First of all we would like to introduce the theory of Binning and Barrett who put
down the foundation of todays recruitment and selection. According to them there are
three approaches to establish the validity of predictor measures: the contentrelated
approach, the criterionrelated approach, and the constructrelated approach (Binning &
Barrett1989):
Figure1Modelforpersonneldecisionresearch(Binning&Barrett1989,p.489)
The main objective is to find the connection between the Predictor Measure and
thePerformanceDomain(Figure1).Thesimplestwayisinference9,whichlinksdirectlythe
twopoints. InthiscaseonlythePredictormeasureisusedtoestablishvalidity.Thisisthe
contentrelatedapproach.Thecriterionrelatedapproachtakesinference5and8.Therethe
sampling of the Performance Domain, the Criterion Measure (inference 8) is compared to
the Predictor Measure (inference 5). The last possibility is the constructrelated approach,
whichisamoretheoreticalone.Itconnectsthetwopointsapplyinginference6and7.The
contained therein.
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UnderlyingPsychologicalConstructDomainshouldbecreatedaccordingtothePerformance
Domain(inference7).ThePredictorMeasurewillrestonthisdomain(inference6).
These inferences are advisable to think through and utilize when designing
ontologyandcompetencybasedrecruitmentandselectionmethods.
3.3Competencybasedrecruitmentandselection
Recruitmentandselectionisusedforpredictingthepotentialjobperformanceof
theapplicants.Withthehelpofthismethodorganizationscanfindthebestpeopleto
achievetheirobjectives.Thedifferencebetweentraditionalandcompetencybased
recruitmentandselectionisthatthesecondoneconcentratesmoreonformal,measurable
competencies.
Thefollowingillustration(Figure2)demonstratestheprocessofcompetencybased
recruitmentandselection(Dubois&Rothwell2004).Howeverthefigurespeaksforitself,it
is important to mention that from the first to the fourth steps the recruitment process is
definedandtheonesaftershowhowtheselectionworks.
contained therein.
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Figure2Competencybasedrecruitmentandselection(Dubois&Rothwell2004,p.113)
Thismethodresultsinnumerousadvantages,forexample:
Itisresultoriented.
Discriminationisoutofthequestion.
contained therein.
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Identifyingbackupsforpositionsiseasier.
Traditionaltrainingtimesareless;employeesperformancelevelsarehigher.
However competencybased recruitment and selection has several benefits, there

aresomechallengestoo:
A disciplined approach to job and work analyses is necessary so the
preparationfortherecruitmentandselectionprocessesneedsmoretime.
Inefficientwhenrecruitingunskilledorsemiskilledworkers.
Soiftheconditionsaresuitablethiscanbeahighlyeffectivetechniquetodevelop
anorganizationshumancapital.
3.4Competencymanagement
Inordertocarryoutcompetencybasedrecruitmentandselectionforapositiona
competencymodelisessentialtoevaluateapplicants.Butobviouslythisisnottheonlyfield
that can benefit from the concept of competency. Competency management can make
things easier for organizations by facilitating the design of jobroles and its competencies
accordingtotheorganizationalobjectives.
3.4.1Competency
Competencies have come up as a conception for naming and managing abilities,

knowledge and skills and applying them on many different areas. Once the competency
contained therein.
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based approach is applied candidates performance can be anticipated easier and more
exactly.Itprovidesamorepreciseapproximationoffutureperformancethanthetestingof
knowledgesinceitalsoexplainshowtheknowledgeisapplied.
Besidesknowledgethereareotherterms,likejobperformanceorpersonalitythat
are similar to competency but must not be mixed up with it. The difference between job
performance and competency is that job performance describes an actual work behavior,
whilecompetencyreferstothepropensityofit.Personalityalsodiffersinalotofwaysfrom
competency:personalityismorestablebutnotasspecificascompetenciesanditisnotso
significantwithintheeducationalandorganizationalcontext.Itisalsoacrucialmatterthat
competencies have a value component according to how much they worth for the
company. Furthermore, contrary to personality, competency is related with knowledge
(OntoHRproject2010b).
Inordertogetadeeperunderstandingofcompetencies,theclassificationofthem
andtheircomponentswillbedepictednow.
Differentcompetenciesareclassifiedashardcompetenciesandsoftcompetencies.
Hard competencies are based on educational background and knowledge. Soft
competenciescanbederivedfromthepersonalityofanindividual,buttheyarestillrooted
inknowledge.
Besides these, competencies can be divided into another four categories
(ExploreHR.org2007):
EmployeeCoreCompetency:relatedtothevalues,missionandstrategyofthe
organization
ManagerialCompetency:relatedtoskillsforperformingmanagerialworkand
process.Applicationofthiscompetencyrelatestothosesituationswhenthereisinteraction
withotherpeople.
contained therein.
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Managerialcompetencycanbedividedintotwosubcategories:
o Human Competency: ability to work with, understand, and motivate other
people.
o ConceptualCompetency:abilitytoreducethecomplexityinagivensituation
Technical/FunctionalCompetency:coversspecificknowledge,techniquesofa
narrowfield.
PersonalAttribute:competenciesrelatedtoinherentpersonalcharacteristics
thatpotentiallyaffectworkattitudeandperformance.
Since competency is a complex concept, it consists of different components. The

followingsareitsfourelements(ExploreHR.org2007):
Skill:practicalexperiencesdevelopedduringtraining.
As well as competencies skills also can be classified as hard and soft ones. While
technicalknowledgebelongstohardskills,theabilitiesthatdependonourpersonalitiesare
consideredassoftskills.Softskillsincludebothinteractionskillsandmotivationskills.
Knowledge: the product of learning. Knowledge is simply and solely the
informationthatisnecessarytoknowinordertoperformajob.
Personal attributes: inherent characteristics, essential for developing
knowledgeandskills.
Behavior: the observable manifestation of utilizing knowledge, skills,
competenciesandpersonalcharacteristics.
contained therein.
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3.4.2Competencymodeling
The concept of competency allows us to collect competencies and then
developcompetencymodelsforparticularjobrolesandalsoforthewholeorganization.The
organizationsandthejobrolescompetencymodelsshouldbeconsistent.Moreoverthejob
rolescompetencymodelshouldbederivedfromtheorganizationsone.
Tobesuccessfulindevelopingacompetencymodelitisimportanttoexaminesome
relevantcircumstances(ExploreHR.org2007):
ContextWillthemodelrefertothetotalorganization,anentirefunction,a
specificroleoraspecificjob?
LeveloforientationWillfutureorcurrentjobrequirementsbeinthefocus?
Levelofcomplexity
Themodelmustbelinkedtostrategy(itshouldbecompanyspecific,flexible
andfutureoriented)
Oncethemodeliselaborated,thecompany,themanagersandalsotheemployees
canprofitfromitinseveralways(ExploreHR.org2007):
The effectiveness of the trainings can be enhanced by connecting it to the
successcriteria(forthecompany).
contained therein.
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Employees can move across business boundaries as there are common
standardsforcareerlevels.(forthecompanyandforemployees)
Performance criteria can be identified in order to improve the accuracy and
easeofthehiringandselectionprocess.(formanagers)
Performancestandardsaremoreobjective.(formanagers)
Differenttoolsandmethodsareavailableforemployeesfordevelopingtheir
skills(foremployees).
3.4.3Jobdesign
The life of organizations that employ numerous people possessing different

competencies can be complicated as they have to pay attention to their employees
satisfaction too. With the aim of keeping employees motivated the most suitable and
satisfying tasks have to be found for them, therefore job design methodology is invented
andapplied.Luckilywiththehelpofcompetencymanagementthistaskissimplerandmore
comfortable.
Accordingto(Bowenetal.2001,p.15)theapplicationofjobdesignconsistsoffive
stepswhicharethefollowings:
1.
Reviewthemandateormissionoftheorganization;
2.
Look at how various functions/components/tasks are carried out to achieve
themission/mandate(taskanalysis,taskidentity,tasksignificance);
3.
Establishthequalitiesthatwillbeneededtoperformthevariouscomponents
ortasks,asdefined
contained therein.
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Skill analysis: find the characteristics and abilities that will be necessary to
completethetasks.
Skillvariety:prospectiveworkersshouldhavemostoftherequiredskillsand
learntheonestheydont.
Autonomy: the level of control an employee has over the tasks and
assignments.
4.
Identifyanddescribediscreteassignments(jobdescriptions);
5.
Matchselectedhumanresourcestojobsorassignments.
3.5Ontology
Competencymodelingapproachescanbewaymoreeffectiveiftheyaresupported
by ontology. Ontology is a semantic technology which is used for defining concepts of
phenomena and the relationships between certain objects. Tom Gruber drafted the most
widelyknowndefinitioninthetopic:Anontologyisaspecificationofaconceptualization.
(Gruber1993,p.1)
One of the numerous benefits of using ontology is that in theory even the most
complex systems can be described in a well structured way. Furthermore, this structured
descriptionissharableandreusable,whichisforinstanceusefulforenrichingAI(Artificial
Intelligence)software.
Usually competency ontologies consist of competencies, competency types,
competencylevelsandlastbutnotleastcompetencyrelationships.
If an organization decides on developing an ontology model, it will recognize that
ontologybased competencyoriented modeling approaches have to deal with some
challenges(Schmidt&Kunzmann2007):
Awelldefinedcommonunderstandingofeachcompetencyisrequired.
Semanticallycoherentsystemsandserviceshavetobeconstructed.
contained therein.
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Thereforetheseeffortsrunintoaproblem,namelythatmoredistinctandrealisticmodels
go with more complicated management and controlling tasks. For example, it is more
complicated to prepare a job advertisement or to rate the candidates on the basis of a
modelwhichcomprisesagreatdealofcompetenciesasifwehaveonlyafewcompetencies.
But if this difficulty is handled the use of ontologies can be a very profitable
solution.
3.5.1 Sustainable CompetencyOriented Human Resource Development with

OntologyBasedCompetencyCatalogs
TheworkoftheProfessionalLearningprojectoftheFZIinKarlsruhe,Germanyisa
good example of ontologybased competencyoriented modeling approaches (Schmidt &
Kunzmann 2007). An ontology based reference model for HRM was developed within the
frame of the project. Their model supported HR development by connecting its strategic
and operational levels. Besides not only the continuous updating of the organizations
competency catalogue became possible but the competencies of individuals and the
organization are also connectable with the help of the model. Furthermore competency
modelscanbeintegratedintobusinessprocessessincethankstotheontologythemodel
issharableandreusableacrossdifferentITplatforms.
contained therein.
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Figure3ProfessionalLearningOntology(Schmidt&Kunzmann2007,p.3)
3.5.2EducationalOntology
VasRkasEducationalOntology(Vas2007)wasdevelopedfortheDepartmentof
InformationSystemsattheCorvinusUniversityofBudapest.TheEducationalOntologyisa
general ontological model for describing different training programs. During the Ontohr
projectthemodelwillbefurtherdevelopedandextended.
contained therein.
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Figure4TheEducationalOntology(RkaVas2007,p.128)
As it is visible on Figure 4 the top half of the model describes the concepts that
belong to the job. On the other hand the bottom half pertains to the training. The
connectionbetweenthetwopartsisprovidedbythecompetenceclass,consideringthat
competenciesshouldbepickedupthrougheducationandthenutilizedattheworkplace.
The Scope of Activities class involves the activities that can be performed after
finishingagiventrainingprogram.ItselementsarespecifiedbyorservedbytheTasks.
In order to be able to carry out the tasks defined by the Task class the relevant
competencies have to be acquired. The Group of Tasks and the Competence Module
classes define the sets of tasks and competences. The Competency class is in require
relation with the Knowledge Area that belongs to a certain Curriculum Module. The
BasicConcept,TheoremandExampleclassesarepartsoftheKnowledgearea,which
contained therein.
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can be part of other Knowledge Areas too. With the help of the Test Questions the
KnowledgeAreasandtheSubKnowledgeAreascanbeassessed.
Nowadays ontology is gaining ground in computer science. It facilitates the

improvementofunderstandingbetweenpersons,organizationsandevensoftwares.Taking
advantage of it in the field of competence management can be a huge boost for HR
solutions.OntoHRprojectattemptstoutilizethispossibilityandusesontologyasthebasisof
itsresearch.
contained therein.
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References
Binning,J.F.&Barrett,G.V.,1989.ValidityofPersonnelDecisions:AConceptualAnalysisof
theInferentialandEvidentialBases.JournalofAppliedPsychology,74(3),478494.
Bokor,A.etal.,2009.Emberierforrsmenedzsment,Budapest:Aula.
Bowen,P.etal.,2001.AMatterofDesign:Jobdesigntheoryandapplicationtothe
voluntarysector.Availableat:http://volunteer.ca/files/MatterofDesignEng.pdf
[AccessedOctober16,2010].
Corcho,O.,FernndezLpez,M.&GmezPrez,A.,2003.Methodologies,toolsand
languagesforbuildingontologies.Whereistheirmeetingpoint?Data&Knowledge
Engineering,46(1),4164.
Dubois,D.D.&Rothwell,W.J.,2004.Competencybasedhumanresourcemanagement,
DaviesBlackPub.
ExploreHR.org,2007.CompetencyDevelopmentGuidebook.Availableat:
http://www.explorehr.org/Download/Competency%20Development%20GUIDEBOOK
.zip[AccessedOctober18,2010].
Gruber,T.R.,1993.Atranslationapproachtoportableontologyspecifications.Knowledge
acquisition,5,199199.
OntoHRproject,2010a.PreliminaryStudyonExaminerelevantkeytheoriesofcompetence
basedjobroledesign,definetheconditionsofitsapplication.
OntoHRproject,2010b.VETcompetenciesandpersonnelselection:Thestateoftheart.
Robbins,S.P.&StuartKotze,R.,1987.Management:ConceptsandPractices,Canadian
Edition.TransparencyMasters,PrenticeHallCanada.
Schmidt,A.&Kunzmann,C.,2007.SustainableCompetencyOrientedHumanResource
DevelopmentwithOntologyBasedCompetencyCatalogs.IneChallenges07.Den
Haag.Availableat:
http://74.125.155.132/scholar?q=cache:gSzsblkIkXUJ:scholar.google.com/+schmidt+s
ustainable+competnece&hl=nl&as_sdt=2000[AccessedMarch16,2010].
contained therein.
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Vas,R.,2007.TheRoleandAdaptabilityofEducationalOntologyinSupportingKnowledge
Testing.CorvinusUniversityofBudapest.
contained therein.
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Theoretical Background On HR Based Competency Selection

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Theoretical Background On HR Based Competency Selection

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Date:06/10/2010

However competencybased recruitment and selection has several benefits, there

A disciplined approach to job and work analyses is necessary so the

Competencies have come up as a conception for naming and managing abilities,

Since competency is a complex concept, it consists of different components. The

Knowledge: the product of learning. Knowledge is simply and solely the

Personal attributes: inherent characteristics, essential for developing

Behavior: the observable manifestation of utilizing knowledge, skills,

The concept of competency allows us to collect competencies and then

The effectiveness of the trainings can be enhanced by connecting it to the

Employees can move across business boundaries as there are common

Performance criteria can be identified in order to improve the accuracy and

The life of organizations that employ numerous people possessing different

Look at how various functions/components/tasks are carried out to achieve

3.5.1 Sustainable CompetencyOriented Human Resource Development with

Nowadays ontology is gaining ground in computer science. It facilitates the

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