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A talent management mechanism that speaks a coherent language and can identify a talent pool who demonstrates winning behaviours which deliver on business goals every time becomes an unbeatable competitive advantage for any organization.

Competency-Based Assessment is arguably one of the most popular talent acquisition processes where the four pillars of success of any applicant – ability, skill, potential, and performance are judged on the same page.

Identifying competencies is one of the best tools that can effectively predict performance enablers and helps an organization to manage talent, customize development intervention at a mass level, and articulate a unified, scientifically valid understanding of high potential talent pool.

Before we discuss the proven 7 benefits of using competency-based assessments for recruitment for any size of the company let’s have a reality check first:

Until now most of the recruitment and selection process is a multi-level process. And it requires multiple rounds of interviews for selection of suitable candidates.  This eats up considerable amount of time, money and energy of any organization. And in critical junctures when you need quick replacements often the recruitment is done in a hurry bypassing established norms and procedures. And in turn many times the whole process misfires.

Here is a video from Next Generation Recruitment which explains the hidden cost of a bad hire:

Today in Europe and The US more than 2/3rd companies are using competency-based assessments.  These assessments are designed to make the recruitment and selection process as objective as possible, removing any conscious or subconscious bias by the interviewer.

Competency-based interviews have certain advantages. Here we would discuss 7 Benefits of Using Competency-based Assessments for Recruitment.

1. Ensures greater objectivity in the Recruitment process:

Competency-based interview puts emphasis on situational or behavioural questions. Suppose you are trying to judge leadership skills. As a hiring officer, you should ask questions like, “tell me about a situation where you led from the front in your previous company?”  “Did you succeed in leading the team that time?” “How did you do so?” “If a similar situation happens, how can achieve the same this time also, given the fact our team and machinery are different from that company?” “Tell me a time when you led any team in sports during college days?”

Here in such cases, the competency-based interview is different from the traditional interview. Competency-based interview tries to fathom what every candidate would help in value addition of the company in future.

2. Creates clarity and removes personal bias in hiring decisions:

Benefits of using competency-based assessments for recruitment is that it creates clarity and removes personal bias in hiring decisions. The total selection process concentrates on the commitment to bringing clarity in selection and recruitment procedures.

Competency-based approach negates gut feelings from any party’s ends. The candidate cannot suppress his behavioural traits. A single person in the interview panel cannot overpower the hiring decision as the selection procedure is governed by objective analysis.

3. Reduces risk of Bad Hires in Recruitment Process:

Relationships between two people depend on the behaviour of each person. An in-shop floors and workshops attitudes matter the most. Attitudes not only create various emotions among the team, but it is also essential for one’s growth and learning and development also. Suppose you choose an efficient sales executive for the store, but what if under stress he/she behaves rudely with customers and clients?

Using a competency-based approach to the selection process, employers can create project teams of people with complementary skills.

Not only does this outline employee development and promotional paths within the organization and give employees the opportunity to learn more competencies beyond their roles, but it also provides the organization with greater ability to scale and flex as needed, thereby reducing the risk it faces in attrition.

4. Helps you to Choose the Future Leader Effectively:

While some assessments are designed to screen out risky candidates while others are designed to take a deeper diagnosis into numerous competencies and help you identify the cream of the crop.

Benefits of using competency-based assessment for recruitment is this that it bridges the transfer gap between the training environment and working on the job. As a result, it takes less time for employees to become competent in the required areas. This, in turn, contributes to improved efficiency where training and assessment are concerned.

5. Increases Cost-effectiveness of the Recruitment Budget:

Competency-based Assessments save your organization time and money by letting your personnel focus their time with candidates that meet the benchmark on competencies needed for success on the job.

This is especially important for organizations that have a small recruiting team, or just want to leverage their recruiting talent in other ways.

How much time and resources you could have saved if you knew ahead of time that the candidates weren’t the right fit? A little money spent on an assessment that screens out the wrong candidates translate to hours of time back in your teams’ day.

6. Makes the Organization an Employer of Choice:

When employees are competent in meeting their work objectives, know what the performance expectations are, they are usually more motivated and experience higher job satisfaction. The result is improved productivity for organizations.

When employees become engaged with their organization, the company becomes an employer of choice.

7. Witness Increased customer satisfaction:

Employees who have been assessed using a competency-based approach are able to perform the required tasks associated with a job with much more effectiveness. The knock-on effect is that, in service-related industries, they can provide high service levels, thereby increasing customer satisfaction. Clearly, your brand gets a thumb up from your loyal customers.

You can use competency-based assessments in your selection procedures. And let us know if they have added any value to your recruitment process.