Defining competencies is one of the best tools to predict performance enablers and help organizations manage talent effectively. It also helps personalize development on a holistic level, as well as expressing a unified and scientifically valid understanding of the high potential talent pool. Thus, competency-based recruitment increases productivity and effectiveness of organizational performance. It also shows appropriate behaviors that achieve the goals and strategies of the organization and gain a competitive advantage.
Advantages of competency-based recruitment
1. Alignment with the vision of the organization
Selecting candidates based on their specific competencies is more likely to align with the strategies and vision of the organization. Thus, candidates know what is expected of them before they accept a job.
2. Makes the organization a preferred workplace
When organizations hire highly qualified candidates, these employees can achieve the organization’s goals. They also know what performance expectations are, and they will be more motivated and experience higher job satisfaction, which leads to improved productivity. This leads to the integration of the employees, and the organization becomes the workplace of choice.
3. Facilitate the recruitment process
Recruitment can be a long and challenging process for both candidates and recruiters, not to mention the cost of hiring the wrong person, knowing that making a bad decision can be very costly to organizations. So, a competency-based recruitment approach spares business leaders from such bad decisions because knowing what the ideal candidate looks like from the start, in terms of required competencies and skills, previous experience, and qualifications, make it easier to identify suitable candidates for the organization.
4. Addressing unconscious biases
Many organizations agree that addressing unconscious biases in hiring is critical to hiring the best talent. When hiring managers focus on competencies, they eliminate these human biases and select the right talent based solely on skills and experience. Thus, attention is drawn to the professional qualities of the candidates, facilitating their assessment and providing equal opportunities to all.
5. Save the organization’s time and money
Competency-based recruitment saves an organization’s time and money by allowing HR professionals to focus on candidates who meet the competencies standard needed to succeed.
6. Improve employee retention
Organizations that hire based on talent are better able to retain their high performers and are more likely to place candidates in the correct positions. Candidates selected based on their competencies are more likely to feel motivated and invested in their work. This increases the organization’s ability to retain employees and allows them to reduce the costs of hiring and training new employees.
7. Improve organizational performance
The entire organization thrives when it makes staffing choices that consider competencies. Competency-based recruitment helps improve productivity, build organizational culture, and increase speed and innovation. Thus, improving organizational performance.
8. Enhancing the quality of candidates
Competency-based recruitment helps recruiters set selection and placement benchmarks, enhancing and increasing the quality of the candidates they interview. A candidate with an appropriate mix of core competencies who needs an appropriate educational qualification is often a better fit than a candidate with lesser qualifications and an appropriate educational qualification. Therefore, candidates who have been particularly successful in each role can be evaluated based on established criteria using biographical data, performance reviews, peer evaluations, and other information.
9. Promote diversity
Numerous studies show that diversity in the workplace is an important indicator when evaluating job offers. But if the recruitment process is biased, organizations will miss out on outstanding candidates and fail to build a diverse workforce. Thus, a competency-based recruitment approach significantly reduces bias and increases fairness and diversity by ensuring hiring teams evaluate candidates based on the same competency criteria through a structured interview process.
10. Increase customer satisfaction
Competency-based recruitment makes employees able to perform their job tasks more effectively. Thus, the positive effect is that in service-related industries, they can provide higher levels of service and increase customer satisfaction.
Scientifically has proven that competency-based recruitment increases productivity and organizational performance effectiveness. It also leads to lower costs and more efficient recruitment and selection processes. Ultimately it allows organizations to hire and retain the best and brightest people in their field as quickly as possible.