Competence as an improved employee selection process
Summary for Skill & ShareMembers to use in writing and reading their Profiles and using the
StaffShare CV Builders:
Competency based selection makes it much easier to compare candidates against the job role.
Start by reviewing the job description for each vacancy to ensure it is accurate and up to date.
Using the job description (and performance review documents if appropriate), identify the key
competencies or skills relevant to the candidate or ‘secondee’.
Focus on a few main priorities (consider selection provided) applying these job-related headings to
enable you to clearly link these to the role.
Use open and descriptive terms to help explain HOW the candidate has applied experience and skills.
Where appropriate (e.g. operating machinery or software packages) describe practical tasks or uses of
competence.
Take notes to ensure you cover all competencies and for ease of handling new employer /ShareMember
enquiries about the secondee..
What is competency-based selection?
Competency-based selection is becoming increasingly popular, particularly within larger organisations.
It follows a structured format, where each candidate is measured against a number of key
competencies, or applied skills, typically around 4-8 in total. Each competency is broken down into jobrelated headings to ease linking to each role. StaffShare applies a selective process and guide to
competence within its Profiles and encourage you to use these notes in building CVs to help guide
potential new employers and feel for the ability and skills any secondee has to offer.
Why is it used?
By meeting required competencies, employees should be adding value to their employer’s operation.
This may be directly, such as the technical skills of a Financial Controller, who might identify
overfunding in a particular part of the business, or indirectly, such as the administrative skills of a
finance clerk, who identifies a way of improving a process and saving several minutes each day. Both
examples ultimately leading to a cost saving.
This style of assessment is designed to provide and reflect evidence of past experience and skills
directly related to required competencies. For instance, rather than the candidates simply telling
you they can solve a difficult problem, they must explain to you how they work through the process,
thereby evidencing that they have the skills, knowledge and possibly experience of doing so.
StaffShare Member Resources © 2010
Guide to Competence-based Selection 2010
Benefits
Competency-based selection:
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presents a more structured process and therefore professional image of the organisation
enables managers to focus with much more precision on the job requirements and necessary
people skills and behaviour
provides the recruiter / ShareMember with evidence that the candidate actually meets the
particular competencies for the role
makes it easier to compare candidates.
Using or directly judging skill value through this technique
Basically by answering a series of open questions during the interview, or undertaking particular tasks
or tests, the candidate is allowed to demonstrate the required competencies.
For example, to test decision-making skills, you might begin by asking the candidate to give you an
example of the last time he/she had to make a difficult decision. If the candidate cannot think of an
example (this need not necessarily be within the context of the current job), then ask him or her to
consider: if presented with a particular situation, how would he/she work through it?
Should your initial question not give you the desired level of understanding, then a series of further
questions (known as funnelling) can be asked to clarify. Use "how", "why", "when" questions and ask
about the outcome of the situation if that has not been forthcoming.
In answering such questions, the candidate may cover more than one competency in his/her answer.
Example competencies
Here are some examples of commonly used competencies: clearly you may need to draw up your
own list from the job description for your particular vacancy. You may consider certain competencies to
be key to your vacancy, e.g. managing relationships, working with information, decision making,
solution finding, generating ideas, managing deadlines, objective-setting, identifying priorities etc.
Prepare competencies which can add real value to your business: where you have these within
your performance review systems, the same ones should be used in selection processes.
The sub-headings should be sufficiently varied to ensure they can be matched to each role. They
should also be generic descriptions, which can be adapted as appropriate.
StaffShare Member Resources © 2010
Guide to Competence-based Selection 2010
Key competency
Leadership
Commercial
awareness
Communication
Sub-headings
Description
Achieving results
through others
Provides focus and monitors progress against objectives to
ensure deadlines met.
Team building
Integral team member/leader. Encourages others to
contribute to team activities.
Motivating
Provides guidance and encouragement to achieve
objectives.
Self and team
development
Continually seeks opportunities to develop self. Encourages
team to identify, undertake and apply new skills towards
team success.
Customer service
Provides guidance and encouragement to achieve
objectives. Strives to provide best possible service to both
external clients and internal customers.
Business
awareness
Knows who external clients are and how the business
provides them with required service.
Flexibility
As well as carrying out duties required in own role, offers
assistance in other areas, where this may add value to the
business.
Team interaction
Aware of role of other departments/employees and how the
business fits together to meet a common goal.
Verbal
Interacts comfortably with colleagues and clients; prompt
response to telephone enquiries.
Written
Produces well written and clearly presented reports,
correspondence and other documentation.
Follow up
Keeps internal and external customers aware of current
issue status.
Meeting
participation
Interacts well with group and contributes to meeting (may be
non-verbal).
Adding values through StaffShare Profiles and CVs
Employers posting prospective secondee details on-line i.e. SkillMembers can select one or more of
the broad competence descriptions displayed in the Profile form as a simple indication of any
secondee’s applied skills. Naturally these broad descriptions can and should be extended and
evidenced in the CV in order to add useful information for the intended new employer.
StaffShare Member Resources © 2010
Guide to Competence-based Selection 2010
Evidence sheet
Having defined your key competencies for a particular role or vacancy, you then work out suggested
means to test each one and mark the candidate against these. You may wish to hold a simple
‘assessment day’ rather than just a stand-alone interview. You may also find it useful to have an
interview checklist prepared so that you can put your answers straight onto the form and score against
each competency. That way you can be sure you have covered all competencies and it may be easier
to compare candidates' answers, e.g.:
Competency
Question
Leadership:
team building
When was the last time you had
to integrate into a new team?
How did you go about it?
Commercial
Awareness:
Customer
Service
Answer
Score
How would you define good
customer service?
Don't just have competency-based questions, include some more general interview questions too,
based around personal or career aspirations, their objectives or reservations in the secondment
process, outside of work interests etc. And as with traditional style interviews, don't forget to allow the
candidate time to seek clarification and ask you questions about your business and the new role being
provided.
Wider uses
A competency approach can also be valuable in training and development, reward and recognition
frameworks, performance management and succession planning.
We trust this information is helpful to Members. Clearly it is not in itself a full or comprehensive
system or professional guide and is provided as a simple introduction to the use of competence
methods as an improved way to applied skill evaluation.
The StaffShare Support Team
support@staffshare.com
StaffShare Member Resources © 2010
Guide to Competence-based Selection 2010