What are the competencies?
According to Hay Group (1996) it can be affirmed that the competences are those basic characteristics that the individual acquires and develops throughout his life and that during the work activity will allow a high performance.
Competences refer to the ability of an individual to perform the same productive function in different contexts and based on the quality requirements expected by the productive sector. This aptitude is achieved with the acquisition and development of knowledge, skills and abilities that are expressed in knowing, doing and knowing how to do.
The competencies are characterized by having the following aspects that are repeated:
- Permanent characteristics of people.
- They are revealed when a task or job is running.
- They are related to the successful execution of an activity.
- They have a causal relationship with work performance, that is, they are not associated with success, but are assumed to actually cause it.
- They allow predicting behaviors in work performance.
- They can be generalized to more than one activity.
- They imply an intention, an action and a result.
- They combine the cognitive, the affective, the behavioral.
- It integrates knowing, knowing how to do and knowing how to be.
- It requires each person to assume responsibility as well as to understand what they are doing.
Classification of competences
Hay Group groups the skills into:
- generic: personal characteristics or qualities such as character traits, motivation, values and attitudes. They are more difficult to acquire and develop. Levy-Leboyer calls them personal competencies.
- Techniques: knowledge and skills that are acquired through study, experience and practice. They are easier to acquire and develop. Levy-Leboyer calls them professional skills.
To the previous two, Levy–Leboyer adds a managerial competence: professional effectiveness, which is related to the actions and results in the workplace.
How is this competency profile drawn up in Human Resources?
A group of people, human resource specialists, high-level employees, and specialists in various positions, are responsible for conducting a analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats and key success factors of the organization, establishing the vision of the organization (strategic challenges). On the basis of this, the mission that each job has to fulfill is carried out.
Then proceed to identify competencies and behaviors required by people to perform in the work area.
Next, a number of employees of the organization are identified who present the competencies and behaviors already established to proceed to carry out the Critical Incident Interview. The collected information is transcribed and analyzed, in order to obtain the description of the competencies that will be used as a basis for human resources applications.
This information is validated through a second series of Critical Incident Interviews with a new group of people. Finally, once the competency profile has been created, a decision is made on the use that will be given to said profile, since a set of human resources policies and techniques can be created around it.
He skills profileIn other words, it is the description made of both the generic and technical characteristics that people require for superior performance in an occupation. There is no universal profile, but each organization and each position has its own profile. These competencies must be clearly defined and related to the mission and culture of the organization and occupation.
Competence-based training
Competence-based training has its origin in the contributions of the world of work, since it has been observed in various professionals that they do not transfer the acquired knowledge to professional practice, since they have the information, but do not know how to apply it in specific work situations.
The objective of the development of the competences is to seek the practical capacity, the knowledge and the necessary attitudes to function in the labor field.
Training can be carried out in three different ways, these three being interrelated:
- Training before entering the labor activity, carried out in institutions designed for this purpose.
- Training through short courses during work performance, that is, training.
- Training acquired through professional practice.
The training is aimed at the generation and development of skills in people. For Hay Group, training has two objectives:
- Develop appropriate skills and knowledge for the performance management process.
- Develop a feeling of belonging and dedication of the Human Resource.
The development of competences and the management of professional trajectories are the same activity, since it is based on the principle that mobility through the professional career constitutes a way of learning.
In Hay Group terms, you need to:
- Recognize the skills that allow high performance and that need to be developed. -Understand the competition and its application.
- Assess the level of competition that the person possesses by comparing it with that of the established level.
- Practice skills in simulated situations that allow their analysis. -Apply the skills by setting specific goals at work.
Competence-based training implies a change that responds to a specific situation and particular people and requires a performance evaluation, since each person is responsible for their training process and must be in constant self-assessment of their competences.
Finally, one should consider the practice in simulation situations as a fundamental strategy for the acquisition, development and evaluation of competencies.