Competency is the collection of success factors necessary for achieving important results in a specific job or work role in a particular organization. Until a decade ago, a combination of knowledge, skills were the determining factors for the success of an individual in an organization. However, with the advent of the behavioral approach to management, behavioral attributes such as personal characteristics, traits, motives, values and ways of thinking form an important yardstick in determining success at work. Work related competency depends on the superior performance in specific behavioral attributes such as leadership, communication, perseverance, motivation and the like.
[...] A major pitfall of competency mapping when it comes to practical application is that organizations seldom have room for an individual to work in a field that would best make use of his or her competencies. It would only be in rare cases when the individual would be able to make a change from one job to another within the organization, depending on his or her key competency. A related mistake many international organizations make is screen-out competencies that do not fit with the pre-conceived conceptions of the head office. [...]
[...] A person who undertakes a competency mapping exercise discovers his or her behavioral traits and strengths in about five to six areas, and this helps the person find work suited to one's strengths or focus on developing a required, but absent skill. The specific applications of competency mapping for individuals are: 1. It helps identify the behavioral standards of performance excellence required for individuals to be successful in their roles It helps individuals ascertain specific and objective assessment of their strengths 3. [...]
[...] An organization should be clear about the business goals, capability- building imperatives and their core competencies before embarking on a competency-mapping program, for the success of competency mapping depends on its integration with these aspects. The process of competency mapping is long drawn out, time consuming, and complex, and organizations need to devote sufficient amount of time for thought and analysis, money, and resources to see through the program. For instance, L&T InfoTech, one of the pioneers to incorporate Competency Mapping in most of their Human Resource activities took eight months to map the competency for six roles and two variations, and the final list of 16- 18 profiles took much longer. [...]
[...] Now, discover your strengths. Free Press. ISBN 0743201140 Chanda, Ashok; Krishna Sivarama B.; & Shen Jie. (2007). Strategic Human Resource Technologies: Keys to Managing People. SAGE. ISBN 0761935584 e-hr resources. http://www.e-hresources.com/Samples/sample1.html. Retrieved on 2009-05-13 Garrett, Steve. Competency Mapping: What it is and How it can be done by individuals. Retrieved from http://www.careertrainer.com/Request.jsp?lView=ViewArticle&Article=OID%3A Retrieved on 2009-05-13. [...]
[...] Moreover, effective competency mapping depends on the specific competencies of the individual finding mention in the questionnaires or through the interviewer's questions and this seldom happens. Similarly, interviewers or career coaches may not answer accurately an individual's questions about essential competencies for success in a position or organization These factors will require the individual to do some guessing as to the most desired or required competencies. All these possibilities make the role of a career coach who would be adept in recognition of competencies very critical in the competency mapping exercise. [...]
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