"Using Competency-Based Interviewing to Make Good People Decisions"

To be successful in today's marketplace, organizations need employees who possess the competencies and work style that are aligned with the organization's culture and strategic objectives. The overall effectiveness of each organization's workforce and its ultimate business success depends on the ability to maximize the "fit" between job candidates' competencies and the needs of the business. In other words, will the person's style, values, and skills match the requirements of the position?

The most often used method used by organizations to assess a job candidate's "fit" is the selection interview. Unfortunately, as it is typically configured, the unstructured one-on-one interview used in most organizations is often the most unreliable and least valid step in the selection process. This need not be the case. The overall effectiveness of the interview process in terms of reliability, validity and ROI can be greatly improved by utilizing a structured, competency-based interviewing protocol. We provide our clients with the expertise needed to develop and implement a structured interviewing process that is job-related and focused on assessing the competencies that are most critical to successful performance.

Our approach to competency-based interviewing is straightforward and practical. Our process begins with defining the competencies that are most critical to superior job performance. We work closely with our clients to capitalize on existing sources of job information and to define the most efficient and cost-effective approach to any additional data that may be required. We then utilize a systematic and structured approach to examine the work process, organizational culture and business environment to define the competencies that are most important to success based on the organization's unique needs.

Once the required competencies have been identified and defined, we work with our clients to develop customized open-ended, behavioral event interview questions that target each of the required competencies. These behavioral event questions are then incorporated into a structured interview protocol. In addition, we provide clients with objective scoring guidelines for assessing overall job "fit." We also provide interview training or train-the-trainer options to our clients to assist in the implementation process.