Recruitment and Selection

The increasing shortage of skilled professional and technical workers means that more detailed and analytical approaches is needed for those human resource techniques that contribute best to managing demand and supply. This means that employers and HR managers need to more quickly and accurately quickly identify:

• what people can actually and potentially do
• the required skills and knowledge for competent performance
• current skills, and skills which can be acquired through on-the-job training to meet job requirements.

Units of competency, skill sets and qualifications provide a useful starting point for recruitment and selection processes. The details contained within units of competency describe the required skills, knowledge and behaviours which appear (either singly or in groups of units), within a job description and personal specification. The competencies required by the job, as specified in the position description, can be easily mapped against an applicant’s skills, knowledge and experience.

Once a listing of competencies is obtained, it is then a relatively easy process to agree on selection criteria for a position, ie essential skills, interview questions designed to demonstrate past performance and potential behaviours on the job, and so on.The evidence requirements detailed within units of competency can also be used to design interview questions and other activities within the selection process (eg gathering portfolios, certificates, copies of previous work etc) to ensure that the candidates knowledge, skills and abilities are actually relevant to the job.

A traditional interview focuses on education, qualifications and credentials and relies on answers to questions which are only partially indicative of a candidates competence. Often responses given address the applicant’s opinions and feelings but do not provide information on actual performance on the job or about job experiences or achievements. For example, instead of asking “what is risk management?”, the applicant would be asked “describe a situation where you identified a serious risk, and how you responded”.

The major benefits of using such a competency-based approach to recruitment and selection include:

• clearer definition of what is actually required of the applicant by the enterprise
• the applicant can more clearly communicate what he or she can do on the job, rather than just simply stating their education and experience
• the interview process is more likely to result in an effective comparison of what is required on the job, and what is heard or seen at the interview.

** Click  HERE ** 

for a simple process which integrates a competency-based approach into enterprise recruitment and selection processes for the Security Sector.