Kennedy's Column

Competency Cards

Once again, necessity proves to be the mother of invention. In this case, one of our clients wanted our menu of behavioral competencies on forty-eight separate cards. They thought – and they were right! – that this would help their employment group and department managers reach a quick and clear consensus about what qualities an ideal candidate should have. We thought it was a great idea, and we now offer all our clients a set of these competency cards. They are color-coded according to each of the three performance factors – Intellectual, Interpersonal, and Motivation.

Among our clients, executive search firms are now using the competency cards to help hiring managers prioritize the qualities they seek in a particular candidate. And we recently used the competency cards ourselves to come to an agreement with the hiring partner in a major law firm about the competencies his attorneys should be recruiting for. Here's how it worked: we sent him a set of the competency cards, which he reviewed against his hiring needs. We then analyzed the description of the firm's culture on their website, and came up with a list of appropriate competencies. Because the hiring partner knew his culture and had seen our cards, it was easy for him to agree with us about the competencies. Now we can also design a seminar specifically for that firm's unique culture.

We think you'll find that sorting competencies on individual cards is easier and more engaging than doing it from a single list. The cards are available upon request for our clients who take the Effective Interviewing!® seminar or Effective Interviewing!® eLearning. To learn more about the competency cards, contact us.