What is Competency Mapping and How Can It Help?
A relatively recent development in job
analysis
involves mapping or modeling competencies of job positions and job
incumbents. Competencies are defined as
characteristics required of the incumbent to successfully fulfill
assigned
responsibilities of the position.
Competency statements include descriptions of behavior (tasks
performed), mastery of subject and task knowledge associated with the
behavior,
skill in any cognitive or psychomotor activity required, a degree of
affective
involvement in the outcome of the tasks (such as valuing quality,
timeliness,
or customer satisfaction), and demonstrated experience in successfully
performing the tasks within the competency.
Competency statements may also include some measure of licensure
or
certification by a professional or regulatory agency external to the
organization. Viewing jobs in terms of
competencies takes into account not only the individual, but also, the
context
within which the individual must perform successfully.
While a competency is viewed as containing a
number
of components, the focus of attention is on the
competency as a whole,
not on the incremental parts. Consider
this scenario. A particular job requires
the incumbent possess a particular competency at the expert level. That competency is made up of, lets say,
three tasks which share some general knowledge and skill.
If the incumbent can only perform two of the
three tasks at the expert level, perhaps never having had an
opportunity to
perform the third task, we would not consider the incumbent as
possessing the
competency at the mastery level required for the position.
The incumbent will possess the competency
only when all behaviors of the competency can be performed at least to
the
mastery level required. The results of
competency-based job analysis provide a more robust impact on human
resource
management that incremental job analysis at the task level often
doesn't
provide.
In this application, the job analysis and
competency
modeling is intended to identify key job requirements of incumbents in
the
upper tier of leadership of the enterprise.
For the purposes of this application, competencies are
operationally defined
as having four levels of mastery:
- novice, (some awareness, no detailed training, and no appreciable experience)
- intermediate, (awareness training, performed tasks under training conditions, no independent experience)
- advanced, (detailed training, performed tasks independently without direct oversight, may have extensive experience in some, but not all tasks, possesses applicable industry-standard certifications or license)
- expert, (design and synthesis-level knowledge, trains or educates others, extensive experience in performing all key tasks)
Ultimately, however, we come back to the begining: Surveys are constructed with the end in mind. Almost anyone can combile competency data, but the Art and Science of responsible, effective Competency Mapping requires substantial education, training and experience. Independent Job Analysis is available today to consult with you on the best way to address your Job and Occupational Analysis needs.
