Competency Mapping

Competency mapping is the process that identifies an individual's strengths and weaknesses. The aim is to make one better understand oneself and tells where career development efforts need to be emphasized.
Competencies are derived from specific job roles and responsibilities within the organization and are often grouped around categories such as strategic development, relationship management, innovation, leadership, risk-taking, decision-making, emotional intelligence, etc.
As far as the path of competency mapping is concerned, the first step is job analysis, where the company lists core competency required for the concerned job. The next step is the development of a competency scale for the job on the parameters previously identified.
The mapping of employees can be a self-made exercise or done by superiors. It can also be done by using the 360-degree analysis where peers, first reports and customers also rate the employee and the activities he is involved in.

Methods of Competency Mapping

1.      Assessment Centre

This is the mechanism used by organizations to assess and evaluate their employees on the basis of the required competencies according to the individual job specifications. There are numerous exercises which organizations adopt in the process of assessment.

The exercise which are used these days are:

·         Group Discussions

·         In Tray analysis

·         Interviews

·         Role plays

·         Case study analysis

2.      Critical Incident Technique

In the technique the analysis takes place on the behavioural outcome of the employee or the organization. How people behave in different situations and what were the outcomes and results due to that behaviour.

3.      Interview Technique

It is a one to one interaction between the interviewer and the applicant. It brings out the first hand information without any intermediaries. It is a technique most commonly used in all companies.

4.      Questionnaires

They contain list of questions to be answered by the applicant on the basis of which assessment takes place

5.      Psychometric Tests

It is a standardized approach having a prefixed set of questions which are measurable and objective type. They can be:

·         Aptitude Tests

·         Achievement Tests