Anyone visiting the main page of the HR.com website will see yet another reminder that the HR technology marketplace is becoming more integrated.   Recruitmax announced today that it has changed its corporate name from Recruitmax Software, Inc. to Vurv Technology, Inc.  This new name more accurately reflects the focus of this company on integrated workforce management.   The movement towards more tightly integrated human capital management processes continues to evolve, as does the technology marketplace, continuing to support a focus on not the process, but the results. 

As I prepare for my upcoming FOSE presentation on competencies, I have been exploring the question of the role of competencies to facilitate integration.  How are organizations using competencies to get improved results?   With increased focus on results, the following quote by Michael Zwell from "Creating a Culture of Competence," 2000 remains relevant:

  "The exact taxonomy of competencies is less important than the use to which those components are put."

As part of my research, I dug up a copy of the original competency article written by David C. McClelland in 1973 for American Psychologist.  Since the publication of the article ´Testing for Competence Rather Than for "Intelligence,"´ the use of competencies has evolved; however, McClelland´s recommendations remain relevant today.   It is important to note that he offered his recommendations stating: 

"My goal is to brainstorm a bit on how things might be different, not to present hard evidence that my proposals are better than what has been done to date." 

McClelland´s recommendations that followed included:

"1. The best testing is criterion sampling."

"2. Tests should be designed to reflect changes in what the individual has learned."

"3. How to improve on the characteristic tested should be made public and explicit."

"4. Tests should assess competencies involved in clusters of life outcomes."

"5. Tests should involve operant as well as respondent behavior."

"6. Tests should sample operant thought patterns to get maximum generalizability to various action outcomes."

All these suggestions speak to the importance of making sure information gathered is useful, practical and supports a focus on learning and development.   

So how do we, as Zwell suggests, use competency identification most effectively?   Some of the themes we may take from McClelland´s recommendations can include:  analyze the components of  performance, believe in the ability of others to learn and grow, maintain a focus on demonstrating improved performance, group competencies to make their use manageable and include the what and the how,  focus on how individuals demonstrate skills and make "real life decisions." 

My upcoming educational webcast on Linking Learning and Development and Performance will no doubt contain a discussion on this topic, as will a number of my upcoming Reality HR interviews.  I encourage you to join in an ongoing discussion on this topic.