inform. educate. connect. Issue #12 - May 2011

Hire the Capabilities and Train the Competencies

By Jim Hopkins, JK Hopkins Consulting

Whether it is the expectation of the company or the assumption that training can fix anything, too often companies are trying to create the perfect employee through training intervention. If we focus on hiring the capabilities we need and training the competencies that are missing, we will be more successful in creating an effective employee for the job opening.

Let’s begin with the interviewing process you are using. After the employment application is completed there is usually someone that is assigned to screen the pile and look for ways to weed out the “unqualified” and move the “qualified” to the top of the pile. This may even be the same person who conducts the first interview, but is rarely the hiring manager. Yet, even if this is the hiring manager, are they both looking for qualifications from experience only? Are they throwing out the application because this person has not done this exact job before? If so, there is a problem in your process from the very beginning!

When we talk about hiring capabilities we are not necessarily always talking about specific tasks. Let’s say you are seeking a new teller. One of the capabilities is handling money, and yet just because they have never held a job as a teller before doesn’t make them unqualified. In this very simple example the capability you are really looking for are people that have held any job that involved cash handling. 

Okay, let’s kick this next example up a notch. You are now trying to hire a manager to run a large branch of 25 staff members. It would be great to find someone who has managed at least 25 people before, but let’s dig a little deeper. With a group of five people a manager is probably managing each individual’s performance as well as the entire operation. Yet with a larger staff a manager must be able to delegate supervisory authority to their direct reports, thus, the capability is to manage an operation as well as manage supervisor performance and be able to explain how they lead this kind of effort.

One last example might be the need for a senior leader to set vision and write strategic plans and processes. If you are lucky you find applicants that have performed these exact tasks. But just because they were the SVP of retail banking down the street, does not mean they have ever set a vision and wrote an actual strategic plan! Never assume that a job function automatically has performed any skill you need a person to have mastered. Have this person demonstrate their ability to describe any kind of vision. Then check for project planning abilities in other work they have performed.

A capability means that the individual has not performed a specific task before, yet possesses similar skills and experience that would allow the person to be trained to perform the required tasks. Training is actually building a bridge from what this person has been able to achieve over to what they will need to achieve in the new role. This is a much easier and shorter bridge to build when you begin with a foundation on which to build from.

Many leaders have been heard to say, “I hire the right attitude, and train the skills.”  In the past I have said the very same thing, and having been in training for years I have seen that the right attitude allows a person to learn faster. However, what this mantra means is that attitude is very difficult to create and train, so leave the other skills to training and hire the person with the right attitude already.

So if we are hiring the right attitude, (servant leader, client-focused, fiscally responsible etc.) then we are back to skill building the abilities to perform tasks.  Start by taking the actual job description and creating a list of capabilities needed to be successful. Create a check box next to each capability that either has been identified as past work experience, similar experience and percentage of skill to be developed. By comparing applicants this way, you determine how much time it will take for this person to come up to speed. How much time will they be in training before they can perform their job will equate to cost of lost revenue as well as cost in training dollars.

By focusing on capabilities you can better determine a development path. By focusing on capabilities and training the competencies you will be able to hire the right attitude, the right fit, and they best applicant for your immediate and future needs.  

<back to May 2011 HR & Training Digest>