A meaningful competency framework can also improve recruiting practices. By aligning organizational competencies and expected proficiency levels with position descriptions, it allows you to hire people who are a good fit for the organization in a strategic and targeted way.

1. Optimize Your Recruitment Process by
Using Competencies
Recently, we wrote about the five steps to optimize employee development with a
competency framework. This 5-step process begins with identifying organizational
competencies and determining expected proficiencies by employee position and
continues. The next two steps include assessing competencies and aligning the
current proficiency with organizational needs and career aspirations. Finally, each
employee should track progress to enhance accountability and results. This process
helps develop employees and optimize organizational performance.
A meaningful competency framework can also improve recruiting practices. By
aligning organizational competencies and expected proficiency levels with position
descriptions, it allows you to hire people who are a good fit for the organization in
a strategic and targeted way. Here are three ways to do this:
1. Assess and categorize competencies by type.
2. Map the minimum expected proficiency by competency within each group
to position descriptions.
3. Identify and align behavioral questions with priority competencies during
the interview process.
Assessing and Categorizing Competencies
Many organizations have “core” or “foundational” competencies that are distinct
from technical competencies. Core competencies are the skills, knowledge, and
abilities that all employees should have and work to improve, no matter their
technical expertise. Examples include effective communication, problem solving,
and customer service. Technical competencies capture areas of expertise needed to
be successful in a particular job series or position. Examples include competencies
related to accounting, mechanical engineering, or computer science.

2. Identifying the expected proficiency for core competencies can often be
streamlined by creating categories instead of defining them position by position.
For example, CHCI recently updated its competency framework and categorized
its foundational competencies into four groups: 1) Corporate Member, 2) Senior
Consultant, 3) Consultant, and 4) Organizational and Project Support. These
categories were defined by responsibilities and experience across all current and
projected CHCI employees. An example of how the categories can be defined is
shown here.
Occupational
Category
Corporate
Officer
Senior
Consultant Consultant
Organizational
and Project
Support
Responsibility
Manages
overall
operations and
management
of the
organization
Integrates the
fundamental
functions and
capabilities to
support clients
Provides
fundamental
functions and
capabilities to
support clients
Supports the
internal
organizational
and project
functions
Minimum 10 years 4 years 2 years

3. Work
Experience
Minimum
Education
Advanced
Degree or
Certification
Associates
degree or
relevant
certification
Mapping Expected Proficiency to Position Descriptions
Once the categories are defined, the expected proficiency by core competency can
be set. This expected competency clarifies the behaviors and skillets expected of
employees in a particular category, at the time of hire or in their current position.
Returning to our example, a small group at CHCI went through each foundational
competency and identified the expected proficiency by competency in the four
categories mentioned above by using a standard proficiency scale ranging from 1:
Awareness to 5: Expert. The process included a select group of individuals who
aimed for consensus agreement. The following criteria and/or process steps were
identified to ensure consistency:
 No category of employee should have an expected proficiency of “5” or
“expert.” This doesn’t mean that an individual cannot have
a current proficiency of “expert” but that it should not be expected in order
to be successful in the organization. This criterion also encourages the idea
of development and growth for all individuals, regardless of title.
 Key assumptions were identified that distinguished the categories. For
example, responsibilities in the Executive Member category focused on
organizational outcomes and integrating processes across the organization
while the Senior Consultant category focused on integration across the
project as well as project delivery and leadership. Other assumptions
included general levels of responsibility and proficiency required to be
successful across all categories.
To define expected proficiency for technical competencies, a slightly different
process was followed in the CHCI example:
1. Position descriptions (PDs) were written for new hires based on priority
needs and organizational capabilities.
2. Each group member independently identified expected proficiency across
technical competencies using the PDs and the standard proficiency scale as

4. their guide. It is worthy to note that not all technical competencies were
required for each PD.
3. The results from each individual’s process were consolidated into a matrix.
The group met to review and analyze results.
4. Expected proficiency scores were agreed upon and finalized for both
technical and “foundational” competencies for each position description. A
rationale for each expected proficiency was documented across all
competencies for each PD to double check the logic.
Aligning Competencies with the Interview Process
The example mapping exercise allowed PDs to become competency-based,
aligning potential employees with both organization culture and performance. The
alignment then streamlined the interview preparation process for hiring managers,
allowing them to prioritize questions based on targeted competencies and expected
proficiencies in a particular position.
For CHCI, that meant preparing interview questions for Senior Human Capital
candidates in four priority areas. Behavioral questions were developed to
understand the depth and breadth of each candidate’s experience. The table below
illustrates some example questions based on high-priority competencies.
Competency Interview Questions
Human Capital
Management
(technical)
Describe an experience where you had to lead a strategic
human capital initiative.
What opportunities and/or threats emerged throughout
the experience and how did you leverage and/or mitigate
them?
What impact did the initiative have on the organization?
Strategic Thinking
(foundational)
What strategic thinking tools and techniques do you use
on the job?
What are some best practices that you apply to

5. encourage all team members to think strategically?
Results-Oriented
(foundational)
Describe a time when you and your team under
delivered and did not meet expectations and/or a
deadline?
What did you do to mitigate the impact?
What did you do after that to ensure lessons learned
were captured?
Collaboration
(foundational)
Tell us about a time when you had to work with
stakeholders who had different perspectives on project
priorities and scope?
How did you communicate with and manage the
stakeholders to ensure project success?
Creating a recruitment process that incorporates the organization’s competency
model will lead to high-performing hires that make a good cultural fit for the
organization, the project, and the position. When individuals fit into the culture of
the organization, they are likely to be more motivated, interact more easily with
other employees, and stay happier in the job. All of this translates into higher
performing employees who will stay longer and potentially become highly
qualified candidates for succession plans.
Once you hire a candidate, you can reinforce the organization’s values, culture, and
competencies through your on boarding programs, annual competency
assessments, and constructive feedback. This helps bring the entire talent life cycle
together Click here.
Do you want to learn more about aligning competencies with your hiring process?
Learn more by contacting us.