COMPETENCY MAPPING-An innovation Opportunity
 More often than not , we are besieged  by new management fads at regular intervals of time. This has happened so often that we have developed an immunity  towards them. I wonder why we do not automatically develop a similar immunity to new diseases such as AIDS.
 Is "Competency Mapping" a passing fad or is it a new paradigm in HR Systems? Let us examine some questions , which have been plaguing HR professors for decades :
  1. How do we clearly link training to performance ?
  2. How do we align jobs & people to organizational and customer requirements ?
  3. How do we customize Appraisals to each job position ?
  4. How do we select people who perform ?
  5. How do we reduce apple polishing and bias in appraisals ?
 The ineffectiveness of the underlying systems has gone unnoticed and unaddressed because of the lack of any sort of effectiveness measurement process. The resultant blunders have been costly.
  A Co. "A"short listed two candidates ,No '1"and No."2" for the position of Head "HR". No. "1" got selected  , No"2" got a job in another organization. After 3 years and after considerable HR trouble  , Co A asked No"1" to quit and again selected No"2"for the job. The amount of damage that resulted out of the faulty selection is immeasurable.
  In a Co."B" , there was an effective ASM. He was facing insubordination from one of his reportees. After the failure of repeated private counselling , the ASM took his subordinate to task , publicly . The RSM was a party to the incident. Subsequently, the RSM gave the ASMa D in the area of interpersonal relations in the appraisal form. This had a direct impact on the increment of the ASM , which slowly resulted in mounting his cynicism. This is how a high performer got converted into a cynical organization baiter.
  There is obviously something seriously wrong in the HR practices which have been predominant till now.
Most of the time ,HR departments , have been getting away with such slipshod HR processes.
"Competency Mapping" answers the questions quoted above and also reduces the incidence of cases such as those of Co "A" & Co. "B".
The "Competency Mapping " process is given below :
 
(FIG 1)
Step 1  :  Identifying Job Families
 All the jobs in the organization are grouped on the basis of commonality.
Step 2  :  Identifying Competencies
 This is a crucial step in the "Competency Mapping" process. The competency set emerges from 3 key stakeholders  :
 
      (FIG 2)
 Therefore , each of job family has 3 sets of competencies :
  1. Competency set related to the expectations of the interaction circle .
  2. Competency set related to Internal and External Customer Expectations .
  3. Competency set related to departmental focus areas.
Step 3  :   Defining Competencies
 The competencies identified have to be defined concisely in order to reduce misinterpretation.

Step 4  :   Strategizing Competencies
  The competencies identified are divided into Vital , Essential and Desirable competencies for each job family.

Step 5  :   Defining Measurement Scale
 The calibrations in the measurement scale of each competency are defined.

Step 6  :    Position Profiling  :
 Each position is profiled in terms of :
  1. Vital , Essential and Desirable Competencies.
  2. The expected calibration on the measurement scale of each competency.

Step 7  :   Person Profiling  :
 Each person is profiled in terms of level of knowledge application and attitudes on the measurement scale of each competency. The superimposing of the Person profile on the Position profile has wide ranging ramifications. These two profiles integratively have the potential of enhancing the effectiveness of all HR Systems.
 The gaps between the position profile and the person profile give birth to training needs. The training  programs designed in response to these training needs :
 1. Would have a direct impact on  Job Performance .
 2. Align the person to customer , departmental and Organizational needs continuously.
Therefore , the phenomenon of "Training for Performance"occurs..

 The position profile is conducive to integration with recruitment , selection and induction processes. The competency map for a job would catalyse the streamlining of all the 3 aforementioned processes. For Example : the competency map can be utilized to create In - basket exercises , focussed on determining the competency level of a job aspirant. These in basket exercises may be selected from the live issues at the job workplace. A set of  two in basket exercises per job competency would indicate the competency level of the candidate. Correspondingly , the sheer differentiation of competency set into vital , essential and desirable competencies would enhance the effectiveness of the interviewing process.
 The data generated during the selection process can be utilized for designing customized induction process for the new employees, in order to hasten ,their performance and integration into the workplace.
 Furthermore, the person and position profiles simplify Job enrichment , Rotation  and Enlargement processes . Though  these HR Concepts have been around for quite some time,they have rarely been practiced. There are  very few companies who believe in as well as implement them. An FMCG Co. "C" which strongly believes in job rotation, rotates its sales personnel among the sales training and the sales function. The prevalence of such a limited approach to job rotation , indicates a lot of untapped potential of the concept . Perhaps , Competency Mapping is the trigger which would unleash these HR tigers.
 Appraisals have been an area of brewing discontent for ages. The allegations of huge gaps between the competency level of a person and his appraisal have been flowing thick and fast. Traditionally , companies have been having the same appraisal form for all categories of officers as well as staff. Thus , a sales trainer and an ASM  are appraised on the same form. This seems silly because the competency sets are totally different .The practicing of such processes has brought much disrepute to the HR function. The fact of the matter is that through such processes the HR function has done more damage than good over the ages.
 In terms of compensation , it is about time , we moved  to the paradigm of compensation for competencies and compensation for performance rather than compensation for position.
 From a holistic perspective , if the set of competencies of the people in an organization are more than those of a competing organization , it is a clear competitive advantage. This also provides new light to the HR function in its ability to create competitive advantages for the firm. The sheer act of making a competency map clarifies energy focus points. Hence , Competency Mapping is also useful at an individual level.
 Citicorp Credit Services Ltd. and Gillette are some of the Companies which have successfully implemented Competency Mapping.
 Says Mr.Amanpreet Bhatia , the erstwhile Head of HR  of Citicorp Credit Services, "Competency Mapping has been well accepted at all levels in the organization".
               Says Mr. K.K Srivastava , the  National Sales Training Manager of Gillette ," Competency Mapping has clarified the necessary and desirable Competencies of a job. This has had a positive cascading impact ".
 This concept has been taken to a different dimension by some countries who have defined competency sets & competency standards at  the national level for areas such as small business management,aerspace,fire services,food processing,administration etc.This has paved the way for national level competency certification which in turn has unleashed the freedom of learning.