Can Competency-Based Hiring Help You Recruit Talented People?
Your company has decided it's time to welcome new members. You start receiving applications, but how can you be sure that the prospective employee has the right skills for their new role? Competency-based hiring is a recruitment strategy that focuses on assessing candidates based on the specific competencies required for certain positions. This approach can help your company attract talent by providing a clear set of criteria for the evaluation and selection process. It also shows potential candidates that your company's hiring process is based on merit. In this article, you'll find 5 tips to use competency-based hiring in your recruitment strategy.
5 Ways To Attract The Right Candidates With Competency-Based Hiring
1. Identify Core Competencies
The first step in this recruitment process is to identify the specific competencies needed for the candidates' success based on current gaps and company objectives. Start by analyzing the tasks, responsibilities, and challenges that are associated with the role. You must also examine the skills and knowledge required by employees to perform daily assignments, taking the team dynamic and workflow into consideration. For example, communication skills are crucial across the board to improve teamwork and prevent on-the-job conflicts.
2. Create Job Descriptions
Develop a set of job postings that describe the talents required for the role. Use specific language and terminology that's directly related to the basic skills needed, as well as include examples and scenarios that illustrate how these competencies are applied in the context of the job position. Ideally, postings should target specific audiences and align with the organization's values to ensure that you find the right fit in record time.
3. Assessment Tools
Utilize a consistent and objective set of assessment tools to evaluate applicants. This may require you to conduct tests, simulations, and branching scenarios using your LMS to measure the candidates' abilities in each of the competencies needed for the role. The assessment process should also be monitored to ensure it's effective and reliable. So, develop clear guidelines for the assessment process to evaluate everyone based on the same set of criteria.
4. Meaningful Feedback
Provide your candidates with constructive and detailed feedback about their interview performance. You can even provide them with LMS reports that highlight their strengths and areas for improvement. That way, they know exactly what they need to concentrate on if they are chosen for the job. On the other hand, these reports might disclose that they're a better fit for another position within your company. For instance, their skill set and experience level makes them ideally suited for your customer service team versus the sales department.
5. Competency-Based Learning
Competency-based learning emphasizes the development of specific skills and knowledge. You can leverage this approach in your employees' ongoing training and development programs that focus on skills and knowledge gaps. Competency-based learning also helps you to prepare existing employees to take on more challenging roles in the future and shift their career trajectories.
What Are The Competency-Based Hiring Benefits?
Targeted Talent Attraction
Competency-based hiring is based on valid and reliable assessment tools, which means that the results are more accurate and consistent. This reduces the likelihood of bias or errors in the selection process and ensures that you evaluate all candidates on the same basis. Also, by focusing on the specific skills required for a position, you can be sure that the candidates have the right experience from day one.
Inclusivity
A recruitment strategy based on competency ensures that your company is perceived as being fair and inclusive. This is because you will solely focus on a candidate's skills rather than their background. As such, your company expands its candidate pool beyond people with traditional qualifications. For example, people who may have acquired their skills and knowledge through alternative means, like volunteering or self-learning, have a high chance of being employed. Not to mention, candidates are more likely to accept a job from a business that's known for its inclusivity.
Employee Retention
Candidates who are selected based on their skills and potential are more likely to feel motivated and invested in their work. This increases employee retention, as they prefer to stay with a company that appreciates their knowledge and hard work. Also, it's financially beneficial for your organization, as it allows you to lower the costs of hiring and training new employees.
Alignment With The Company's Vision
Every company strives to have committed employees that respect its goals and work toward achieving them. By selecting candidates based on their specific talents, employees are more likely to be aligned with the organization's overall strategic goals and objectives. Plus, they've already applied their skills in real-world activities, such as scenarios, during the recruitment process. Thus, they know what to expect and what's expected of them before they even accept the job position.
Conclusion
The use of competency-based hiring can be a powerful tool for attracting talented employees. By providing clear and objective criteria for candidate evaluation and selection, you show potential candidates that you are committed to hiring based on their skills and knowledge. This gives you the opportunity to hire and retain the best and brightest people in your industry as quickly as possible. You can also explore our Top Content Providers For Competency-Based Training list to find the right outsourcing partner for your recruitment and L&D programs.
