Competency-Based Recruitment and Selection CHS Alliance Module 2

LEARNING OBJECTIVES Attain increased understanding of CHCF Attain increased understanding of using competency-based HR practices in recruitment and selection Apply aspects of the CHCF in recruitment and selection activities Describe the objectives of the session. Ask if any participants have experience using CHCF or any competencies framework in recruitment & selection. Ask what is difference in using competency based recruitment & selection. 1

CORE HUMANITARIAN COMPETENCY DOMAINS “the behaviours that employees must have, or must acquire, in order to achieve high levels of performance in their role” The six domains of core competencies are: Outcomes for the domains: Understanding Humanitarian Context: Understand operating contexts, key stakeholders and practices affecting current and future humanitarian interventions Achieving results: Be accountable for your work and use resources effectively to achieve lasting results Developing & Managing Collaborative Relationships: Develop and maintain collaborative and coordinated relationships with stakeholders and staff Operating Safely & securely at all times: Operate safely and securely in a pressured environment Managing Yourself in a pressured and changing environment: Adapt to pressure and change to operate effectively within humanitarian contexts Demonstrating leadership in humanitarian context: Demonstrate humanitarian values and principles, and motivate others to achieve results in complex situations, independent of one’s role, function or seniority 1 Understanding Humanitarian Context & Applying Humanitarian Principles & Standards 4 Operating Safely and Securely at all Times 2 Achieving Results 5 Managing Yourself in a Pressured and Changing Environment 3 Developing and Maintaining Collaborative Relationships 6 Demonstrating Leadership in Humanitarian Context 2

COMPETENCY-BASED HR PRACTICES Competency Framework Learning and development Planning and organisational design Lets look at some of the competency-based HR practice. We shall focus on four areas namely; planning & organizational design; recruitment & selection; performance development; learning & development. I will briefly describe how each practice incorporates the competencies and the benefits of doing so. Performance development Recruitment and selection 3

Competency Based Recruitment & Selection Right People Right Skills Right Behaviour Right Place Right Time Right Cost 4

RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION PROCESS Analyse the job Short-list the candidates RECRUITMENT SELECTION Develop JD and JS Selection methods Decide recruitment method Making a decision & offer Decide application method Get references Advertising vacancy On-boarding 5

SELECTION PROCESS ELEMENTS Organisational Strategy What are the organisation’s goals and objectives? What are the competencies required to what level, for successful performance? Competency Framework What are the tasks and responsibilities of the worker that contributes to these goals? Job Description What are the qualifications and experience required in an employee to perform these tasks? Person Specification RECRUITMENT POLICY What should be the criteria for selecting the right candidate, based on specifications and competencies required for the job? Selection 6

CONSEQUENCES OF BAD RECRUITMENT Recruitment & selection expenses Loss of productivity Inadequate services to affected population Unfair demands on other staff Unfavourable perception of HR and recruiting line manager Poor team morale Increased level of distress to the manager Reduce organisational effectiveness Unfair treatment of the individual recruited 7

Interview Questionnaire COMPETENCY-BASED RECRUITMENT & SELECTION Gives structure and focus to the recruitment process Concentrates on skills and behaviours (‘how’) and not just background and education (‘what’) Minimises bias by ensuring decisions are evidence-based Ensures selection decisions are consistent and transparent through measuring and rating answers according to a predetermined criteria Allows candidates to know what to expect TOOLS: Interview Questionnaire Reference Questions Scoring Sheet Competency Based approach could make recruitment systems fairer and more open and differences between levels, job titles and grades more transparent. Competency frameworks have also been shown to play a major role in both attracting and retaining staff, particularly when linked to career progression and pay. Hiring decisions are made more objectively, with behaviour-based short listing & interviewing. Under this area we offer the behaviorial interview questionnaire. The interview questions directly correspond to the behaviours listed in the core competencies framework. 8

JOB DESCRIPTION DEMONSTRATE MIX OF COMPETENCIES Core Humanitarian Competencies Competencies Functional Technical Competencies Leadership Competencies For example, post of Head of Programmes do not usually have a technical focus but will require a number of core competencies as outlined in the CHCF and functional competencies. By contrast, an Advisor’s post usually has a technical specialism and therefore requires specific technical competencies related to their area of expertise. The balance of competencies is weighted towards technical competencies. 9

Leadership Competencies COMPETENCIES GROUPS: ADVISOR’S POSITION Leadership Competencies Core Humanitarian Competencies Functional Competencies Technical Competencies Advisor 10

Leadership Competencies COMPETENCIES GROUP: POSITION OF HEAD OF PROGRAMMES Leadership Competencies Core Humanitarian Competencies Functional Competencies Technical Competencies Head of Programmes 11

EXERCISE: 10 MINUTES Work in pairs Identify a role you need to recruit Discuss responsibilities Use diagram to think about the competencies mix Use CHCF you would need in the role Identify the type of assessment against the competencies 12

TYPES OF COMPETENCY-BASED ASSESSMENTS Interviews Group assessments Presentations Written assessments Psychometric testing CV/Application/Reference Letter 13

QUESTIONS: STANDARD VS. COMPETENCY-BASED What are your goals in the next five years? Tell me about one of your personal goals and something you’ve specifically done in the last year to achieve this goal. How do you make decisions? Describe a situation where you had to research and review information for the purpose of making a decision or recommendation. Are you a team player? Describe a situation in which you had a peer that wasn’t cooperating. 14

STANDARD INTERVIEW QUESTIONS Open or closed ended questions Have you managed a team? What attracted you to this position? What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? 15

What would you do if a conflict arises among your team members? SCENARIO TYPE QUESTIONS What would you do in a situation? What would you do if a conflict arises among your team members? You are the Country Representative & one of your female staff members approaches you with a grievance. Female staff member complains of sexual harassment against one your most trusted male manager. How would you deal with this grievance? 16

COMPETENCY BASED INTERVIEW Also known as Situational Interviewing or Behavior Descriptive Interviewing Tool to discover how candidate’s past performance impacts your future performance Candidate’s past behaviour is used as PREDICTOR for future performance More accurate than standard interviewing technique 17

COMPETENCY BASED INTERVIEW Focus on open-ended questions Starts with a main question; citing a critical incident Expects specific examples of candidate’s skills, knowledge, attitude & values required for job Describe a situation when you… Tell us about a time when you… Give us an example of a time when… 18

COMPETENCY BASED INTERVIEW: STEPS Start with a job analysis; need for the post Develop job description Identify competencies required for the post Formulate main questions based on competencies Supplement main questions with probing questions Be mindful of position level (entry or experience) Start with positive questions (accomplishments) 19

SAMPLE QUESTION COMPETENCY DOMAIN 1: UNDERSTANDING HUMANITARIAN CONTEXT What in your opinion, and from your experience in the field, do you think are the current three main issues in the humanitarian response debate? How have you promoted and ensured compliance of humanitarian standards and principles that govern behaviour of staff? 20

SAMPLE QUESTION COMPETENCY DOMAIN 2: ACHIEVING RESULTS Organisations have a tendency to raise crisis-affected people’s expectation in various stages of project cycle including during needs assessment. How can organisations collect, analyse and disseminate information without raising affected people’s expectations? (Accountability) Organisations have a tendency to raise crisis-affected people’s expectation in various stages of project cycle including during needs assessment. How can organisations collect, analyse and disseminate information without raising affected people’s expectations? (Decision Making) 21

STAR INTERVIEW TECHNIQUE STARS technique: S – situation T – task A – actions R – results S – summarise The most common approach to conducting a competency-based interview is to use the STARS technique. Situation and/or Task: Begin by asking a broad, open question about a specific situation or task, e.g. ‘Describe a challenging, work-related situation or task where you …’ Actions: Try to understand the specific actions the candidate took to deal with the situation or task. This is the most important part of the answer. For example, ‘What specific actions did you take to resolve the situation? Tell me what you did to ensure the necessary structures were in place’. Results: Finish by asking the candidate what results they achieved in the end. It may also be appropriate to ask what lessons the candidate learnt. This is the follow-up question, they don’t have to be the same for each candidate but they must relate directly back to the answer given. Summarise: If you are in any doubt as to what the candidate said, it is a good idea to summarise briefly what the candidate told you. This allows you to check that you understood the candidate correctly.   Tips: • Asking follow-up questions, such as ‘what did you learn from this experience?’ or ‘how would you approach the same issue now?’ can illustrate the candidate’s ability to learn from their mistakes and adapt to changes and challenges. • Inform the candidate it will be a competency-based interview beforehand. This will allow them time to reflect on their past experiences and select their most appropriate examples to display their skills, behaviours and overall abilities. • Keep it simple or managers won’t use it! Ten questions should be enough if follow-up questions are used. 22

COMPETENCY-BASED INTERVIEW INDICATORS Demonstrates a positive approach towards the problem Considers the wider need of the situation Recognises his/her own limitations Is able to compromise Is willing to seek help when necessary Uses effective strategies to deal with pressure/stress Positive Indicators Perceives challenges as problems Attempts unsuccessfully to deal with the situation alone Uses inappropriate strategies to deal with pressure/stress Negative Indicators 23

SCORING COMPETENCY-BASED INTERVIEW Not met no evidence of competencies shown 1 Partly met lacks competencies 2 Met demonstrates some evidence of competencies 3 Exceeds strong evidence of competencies 24

RATING ANSWERS DESCRIPTION OF RATING SCORE Answers should be rated according to the level of competency required for the role. Interviewers should consider together what level of competency is needed (based on the job description and knowledge of the role) and what sort of answer would ‘exceed’ rather than  ‘meet’  the required level of competency. This will help interviewers to give the same ratings to similar answers. 25

RATING ANSWERS DESCRIPTION OF RATING SCORE After an answer, consider how the example given would relate to the requirements of the role, 'would this behaviour meet expectations for this role or would it fall short of what is expected?’ and rate accordingly. Occasionally, the rating system can be changed for very important competencies, so more points are awarded to a particular competency. This is known as ‘weighting’ and is acceptable, so long as every interview is weighted in the same way.  26

EXERCISE: COMPETENCY-BASED INTERVIEW (10 MINUTES) In your groups, develop 3 competency based questions based on the competency domain assigned to you. Write your competency-based interview questions clearly on flip chart. 27

INTERVIEW PRACTICE In your respective groups, identify 2 interviewers & 1 interviewee Be prepared to conduct interview using the competency based interview questions you developed You may refer to the interview question bank Remember to ask follow up / probing questions Each interview round lasts 10 minutes Assessors are to rate the interview using the interview record 28

GROUP ASSESSMENTS: EXERCISE Split each group in half. One half to be task group, one half to be assessors. Task group asked to clear table and make space. Assessors given brief to mark a candidate on 3 domains, by recording notable behaviors – positive and negative. Task group given task (10 mins). Assessors then discuss their notes and ratings given for each competency 29

DEBRIEF AND WRAP UP Review and evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of this competency-based job interview. Identify improvement areas and recommend strategies to improve future interviews. 30