A Comprehensive Guide to Competency Mapping with Psychometric Assessments

In today’s dynamic workplace, hiring the right talent is crucial not just for filling roles, but for ensuring long-term success and team synergy. Enter competency mapping—a strategic process that links job competencies to behavioral traits, providing a clearer picture of what it takes to excel in a role. With tools like TalentClick’s Attitude-Values-Personality (AVP) assessment, HR professionals, hiring managers, and leaders can refine their recruitment processes with precision.

Research underscores the value of integrating job competency mapping with behavioral assessments. A study by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that organizations using such methodologies experienced a 24% increase in employee performance (Source: Society for Human Resource Management, 2020). Furthermore, according to a report from the Harvard Business Review, companies that align competencies with behavioral assessments can see a 36% improvement in productivity and team dynamics. These statistics highlight the transformative impact that a well-structured competency mapping process can have on recruitment and overall organizational effectiveness. By aligning job requirements and competencies with individual personality traits, organizations are better positioned to predict on-the-job behavior, leading to more informed hiring decisions.

What are Job Competencies?

Job competencies are a blend of skills, knowledge, and behaviors required for effective performance in a specific role. They go beyond mere technical abilities, encompassing soft skills like communication, adaptability, and team collaboration. Competencies serve as benchmarks that help organizations predict on-the-job behavior and whether employees or potential hires have what it takes to succeed in the role.

How to Identify Job Competencies

1. Analyze Job Descriptions:

Analyzing job descriptions is a critical step in understanding the tasks and responsibilities associated with a role. By breaking down job descriptions into specific duties, employers can identify the essential skills and knowledge areas required for success. 

For example: In a description for a customer service representative there may be something along the lines of: “Identify customer needs or desires in order to recommend appropriate products or services”.

This type of description could be mapped to a few traits around listening and communicating with the customer, such as: 

• Open Communication – Open with thoughts, feelings, opinions, and information to embrace sharing knowledge to work towards a solution with the customer.

• Empathetic Interpersonal Orientation – Concerned with the needs and feelings of others and will therefore work to help solve the complaint, typically a tactful communicator.

• Positivity – Maintains an optimistic outlook when communicating with a customer who may be frustrated while trying to communicate their needs.
  
  

2. Consult with Departments and Job Experts

Consulting with departments and job experts is a valuable step to gaining a realistic picture of the role. Engaging with department heads allows for a deeper understanding of role-specific needs and provides the opportunity to gather insights from high-performing employees. 

For example, understanding how a crane operator executes their job day-to-day may be foreign to HR employees. Therefore, it is important they speak with leading crane operators about what their job looks like, and what skills are needed to translate into a safe and effective crane operator. 

Traits such as: 

• Reserved – comfortable working alone, up high in a crane box.

• Coachability – responds positively to suggestions and is motivated to improve behavior, and technical skills.

• Regimented – prefers a systematic approach to work tasks, necessary for making tasks predictable and safe for all involved including the materials being lifted.

• A degree of Thrill-Seeking – Comfortable with a degree of risk when travelling up and down the crane each day. Clearly, a fear of heights is a no.

3. Use Historical Data

Using historical data can provide valuable insights. By reviewing past performance reviews and feedback, organizations can identify trends and common traits among successful employees. According to research published in the Harvard Business Review, companies that leverage historical performance data in their hiring process can significantly improve employee retention and performance (Cascio & Boudreau, 2011). These examples underscore the importance of a comprehensive approach to job analysis, which integrates various data sources and stakeholder insights to ensure effective and strategic hiring decisions.

For Example, our data analysis of 911-call Operators challenged hiring managers and HR assumptions about the importance of a candidate scoring high in Empathy in the Direct vs Empathetic dimension of the AVP. Upon review, it was revealed that 911 dispatchers who were extremely high on the Empathetic dimension were more at risk for burnout, and recorded more sick leave and absences than those who scored lower on the Empathetic trait, and whose communication styles were more Direct. Armed with this data, HR and hiring managers were able to adjust the competencies for the role and make better hiring decisions.

Download Data Analysis

How to Map Personality Assessment Results to Job Competencies

Once you’ve identified the key competencies, the next step is to align them with personality traits that can be measured by assessments like TalentClick’s Attitude-Values-Personality (AVP).

1. Understand the AVP Framework:

• Familiarize yourself with the dimensions of AVP (attitudes, values, and personality). TalentClick’s reports and Quick Reference Guides are great resources to help understand how each trait predicts behavior on the job. The Certified TalentClick Assessor certification training will take your understanding to a deeper level.

2. Correlation and Analysis:

• Match each competency with relevant traits identified in the assessment. This could be one or more traits.
• For example, pair the required job competency of “effective communication” with measurable AVP traits like open communication.

3. Create Competency Profiles:

• Develop profiles for various roles, combining competencies with corresponding behavioral traits.
• Train hiring managers and HR teams on the competencies you are looking for and what traits help predict good fit for the role’
• You can also work with TalentClick experts to create Ideal Profile benchmarks

4. Deploy in Recruitment and Development:

• Use these profiles or benchmarks alongside your other best practices when screening candidates or planning for employee development.

 Questions to ask when determining the importance of a behavioral trait for the role: Download Resource

Benefits of Mapping Competencies to Assessment Results for HR Teams

Mapping competencies to assessment results provides HR teams with numerous advantages, significantly enhancing hiring and development initiatives. By aligning job competencies with personality assessments which are validated for use in hiring, organizations gain deeper insight into a candidate’s fit for a role beyond what they see on the resume. This process aids in creating detailed candidate profiles, to help ensure candidates have the necessary skills but also align with the company’s culture and values. According to a 2022 report from Deloitte, organizations utilizing competency mapping in their recruitment strategies see a 30% reduction in turnover rates, underscoring the method’s effectiveness in building a stable and engaged workforce.

Other benefits of Competency Mapping include:

• Reduces Subjectivity: Provides a data-driven approach to evaluating candidates, minimizing personal biases.

• Improves Hiring Efficiency: Streamlines the recruitment process by focusing first on candidates who best match the profile.

• Decreases Time to Hire: Quickly filters candidates based on competency fit.  These insights, along with other best practices, help to reduce the time spent on unsuitable applicants.

• Enhances Employee Retention: By better matching candidates to roles, organizations can reduce turnover rates and increase employee satisfaction.

• Customized Organizational Approach: Allows tailoring of competencies to fit the unique culture and requirements of the organization.

Competency mapping, when paired with psychometric assessments like the AVP, can revolutionize the way organizations approach hiring and talent management. By understanding job competencies and using assessments to map these to behavioral traits, HR teams can use the power of predictive analytics to make informed decisions that lead to stronger, more cohesive workforces.

To explore how TalentClick’s AVP assessment can enhance your recruitment strategy, consider scheduling a demo or consultation with our team today. Transform your hiring process into a strategic advantage with insights that truly matter.

Try TalentClick’s AVP Assessment today and start mapping your job competencies to TalentClick’s behavioral traits.