Person Specifications Employed in the Recruitment Process - Research Paper Example

The Relative Strengths and Weakness of Person Specifications and Competency Frameworks employed in the recruitment process (Executive Summary: Person Specification and Competency Framework plays an important role in recruitment process in an organisation. This paper defines Person Specification, Competency, the design and development criteria and the comparative Strengths and Weakness) (word count - 1954 excluding executive summary, content and References) Contents Sl. No Description Page Nos. 1 Executive Summary 1 2 Introduction 3 3 Person Specification 3 4 Strengths and Weaknesses of Person Specification 6 5 Competency Framework 6 6 Strengths and Weaknesses of Competency framework 9 7 Conclusion 10 8 Reference 12 Introduction: As a basic framework for recruitment activities, it is essential to produce job descriptions for all posts. Person specifications and competency profiles are prepared for each post from the Job Description. Person Specifications contain the information around which assessment of the candidates will be structured. They are also needed for issuing Job advertisements. It will help the prospective candidate if she/he is provided with these documents, so that she/he can self analyze her/his suitability for the post concerned at the time of application. Competency Frameworks provide a map or indication of the behaviours that will be needed by an organization from its employees. A candidate will be evaluated while recruitment on the basis of the competency framework of the organization. In this paper we will try to understand the term 'person specifications and competency framework', how it works in the context of recruitment and the relative strengths and weakness of person specification and competency framework in the recruitment process. Person Specification: Person Specification is a document that clearly outlines a framework of the skills a person need to possess in order to do the tasks specified on the job description. A job description describes the nature of the job, whereas a Person Specification describes the qualities of the person needed to do that particular job. The criteria that will be used in selecting candidates are listed in the Person Specification. The Person Specification should provide: A set of criteria against which all the candidates shall be objectively measured. A structured and systematic tool for comparative assessment of all the candidates. A document, which ensures the basis of decision-making transparent. It is very much essential that utmost care is taken while preparing a person specification. It has been found that there is always a tendency to inflate the requirements in terms of academic qualifications, work experiences etc. This results in unjustified rejection of deserving candidates. Hence the first fundamental rule to be followed during preparing Person Specification shall be to minimize the standards required by a person to be able to perform the job satisfactorily. Due consideration should be given to the fact that any person will eventually improve performance while performing her/his job. There also should be consideration for the scope of training the candidate may be given. Several models of Person Specification are in vogue. However the widely followed ones are the ones designed by Alec Rodger in 1952 and Munro Fraser in 1978. The essence of the models can be described as the Person Specification should mainly cover three areas of requirements: Knowledge Skills Personal attributes or Qualities The seven-point plan developed by Rodger is: Physical Make up : If the job requires any special physical requirement Attainments : Academic qualification and training General Intelligence : General intelligent level required for the job. Special Aptitudes : like verbal, vocal or other abilities related to the job. Interests : Personal interest Disposition : Job-related behaviour Circumstances : Job-related circumstances like response to emergency The five-point plan developed by Fraser is: Impact on others Qualification and experience Innate abilities Motivation Emotional adjustments The three dimensions covered in preparing person specification, knowledge, skills and personal attributes are refferred as KSAs and are being used in North America for long. To prepare the Person Specification, each task of the Job Description should be examined thoroughly. The requirements of the Person Specification should be specific and measurable. It is to be determined what each task requires in terms of knowledge, skills and personal qualities and how those skills, knowledge and personal knowledge could be acquired. This is a very subjective matter; one person's judgment may differ from another's. Once a list of criteria is prepared, they need to be arranged in logical and understandable fashion. For example criteria should be designated as essential or as desirable as per requirements. Essential criteria can be describes as those that are critical to be considered eligible for appointment, whereas desirable criteria are those that enhance the employee's capacity to do the Job. Candidates should meet the essential criteria to be considered eligible for appointment. Similar criteria, for example, skills and knowledge involving one particular trait, should be grouped. Strengths and Weaknesses of Person Specification: Strengths It makes the decision-making transparent It ensures equal opportunity to all the candidates. It is objective Weaknesses: Normally the tendency is to inflate the requirements in terms of academic qualifications and experience thus rejecting some deserving candidates. The process is judgmental. A high level of judgment is required to decide on relevant criteria. One person's judgment may differ from another's Competency Framework: Competency is the quality of being adequately or well qualified physically and intellectually1, It is a work related behavior and is necessary for successful performance of a Job. Typical competencies that an organization require from its employees are: Analytical abilities, communication skill, team spirit, people management, result orientation, problem solving, leadership quality and ability to plan. Competency Framework is designed by using new vocabulary each time to describe the skills, knowledge and the personal attributes required that can be applied to all jobs performed. Competency frameworks are useful not only in recruitment but across the whole range of human resource management and development activities. Now-a-days it is seen as an essential vehicle for achieving organizational performance through focusing and reviewing an employees potential. It also can be used as a key element in change management process by setting out new organizational requirements. Well-known HR consultant Ulhas Pagey states, "The competency framework serves as the bedrock for all HR applications. As a result of competency mapping, all the HR processes like talent induction, management development, appraisals and training yield much better results". Developing a Competency Framework is a complex process. It is not the one-size-fits all formula. Stephen Martin, an international authority in the field explains, "My suggestion is to develop models that draw from but are not defined by existing research, using behavioural interview methods so that the organization creates a model that reflects its own strategy, its own market, its own customers, and the competencies that bring success in that specific context (including national culture). Start with small, discrete groups or teams, ideally in two directions - a horizontal slice across the business that takes in a multi-functional and multi-site group, more or less at the same organizational level, and a vertical slice taking in one whole department or team from top to bottom. From that, the organisation can learn about the process of competency modeling, and how potential alternative formats for the models may or may not fit the needs of the business"2. Competency framework of any organization will differ from another organization. It also will vary over time even in one organization. Many organsations design their competency framework through an internal research programme, which in all probability are aided by advisers from external consultancy. However the best possible method may be to adopt an existing model and making it relevant by modifying with internal business relevance. Competency frameworks come in different forms, but the issues that are typically addressed shall include: (as given by Mrgaret Foot and Caroline Hook in 'Introducing Human Resource Management') "Should we adopt a framework geared towards particular categories of employee (e.g. managers) or design one that can be applied to all employees in the organizations What are the competencies relevant to our enterprise How many would we include to build a comprehensive but manageable representation of skills, knowledge and personal qualities required in the organization Which competencies can be grouped together as clusters, how many performance levels should there be for each competency and how will these levels be described How do these competency clusters, individual competencies and levels of competency relate to individual jobs in the organization" In designing a competence framework care needs to be taken that only measurable components are included. The number and complexities of competencies also should be restricted and they should be arranged into clusters, which will make the framework more user-friendly. The framework also should contain definitions and wherever needed, examples, of each competency. It is also important to take account of laws of the land and to ensure that none of the competencies discriminate against any particular group of candidates. The frameworks should not be too general - will not provide enough guidance either to employees as to what is expected of them or to managers. It should not contain too detail also - the entire process becomes excessively too bureaucratic and time consuming and lose credibility. Strengths and weaknesses of Competency framework Strengthss: Can play a significant role in recruitment as it gives reasonably accurate analysis of the job requirements, the candidate's capability, the gap between the two and the training needed to bridge the gaps. There is a link between organizational and personal objectives. Processes are measurable and standardized across organissational and geographical boundaries. The recruitment system is fairer and more open. Weaknesses: There is tendency of it becoming over-elaborate and bureaucratic The language used in describing competencies may be off-putting It may become difficult to review the competencies often enough for them to remain effective whereas ensuring that they do not add confusion. Often too much emphasis is placed on 'inputs' at the expense of 'outputs', raising the risk of become advantageous to employees who are good in theory but not in practice and will ultimately fail to achieve the results that a make a business successful. Generally Competencies are based on what good performers have done in the past. This approach works against present-day rapidly-changing circumstances by setting one particular group attitudes for new ways of working. This also puts pressure on marginally less performers. It tends to produce clones rather than a team with mixed skills who balance each other's strength and weaknesses. It can become expensive and time consuming to keep them up-to-date in this present-day fast paced changing organization as they become out of date very quickly. It may be difficult to derive the underlying relative advantages and uses of the competency framework by the hitherto underprivileged groups like ethnic minorities or women or people with disabilities. This section of people are yet to overcome the impact of earlier discrimination against them by the society, in general. It is an established fact that some behavioural competencies are basically personality traits which an individual may not be able to change. It is not justified to judge someone on these rather than what he or she actually achieves. Conclusion: As we have seen that Person Specification and Competency framework are very essential for the recruitment process in any organization. A Person Specification is easy to design and is derived from the job description and describes the knowledge, skills and attributes that are needed to perform the job. It is objective, makes the decision-making transparent and ensures equal opportunity to all the candidates. If the weaknesses of Person specification can be kept in check it becomes a very powerful tool in the recruitment process. On the other hand Competency framework is a highly professional job. It can be very expensive depending upon the type of organization. The dynamic stature of Competency framework makes it hard to keep it in par with the changing scenario. However it can play a significant role in recruitment as it gives reasonably accurate analysis of the job requirements, the candidate's capability, the gap between the two and the training needed to bridge the gaps. Hence a judicious approach is needed in incorporating the kind of system to be adopted. References 1. Brahman J. (1994) Human Resource Plannning 2nd edition, IPD. 2. Claydon Tim. Human Resource Management - a contemporary approach, 5th edition, Financial Times/Prentice Hall. 3. Foot, Margaret, and Hook Caroline, Introducting Human Resource Mangement 4th Edition, Prentice Hall 4. Miller, L, Rankin N, and Neathy F, (2001) Competency Frameworks in UK organizations: key issues in employers' uuse of competencies. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. 5. http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/perfmangmt/competnces/comptfrmwk.htm 6. http://www.cio.gov.uk/itprofession/competency framework/framework.asp 7. http://www.connectionsrecruit.co.uk/Connections2/templates/textAndLinksList.aspxsiteId=1&menuItemId=50 8. http://www.expresscomputeronline.com/20050131/technologylife01.shtml 9. http://hiu.rcplondon.ac.uk/education/elearningzone/CERtutorial/PersonSpec.asp 10. http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/sedu/recruitment/jobdesc/writeperspec.php 11. http://www.sussex.ac.uk/Units/staffing/personnl/appcom/ps_guide_notes.pdf 12. http://www.swan.ac.uk/personnel/RecruitmentSelection/PersonSpecification/ Read More