Competency-based human resources management
Competency-based human resources management
A.B. Susanto, Consultant, Jakarta Consulting Group
To undertake Human Resources Planning in the ever-changing
and highly competitive business environment is not an easy
enterprise as it involves anticipating the future business
environment.
These forecasts include projecting volumes of products and
services, evaluating expansion plans, personnel requirements and
the qualifications personnel should possess.
Basically, Human Resources Planning is translating a business
target into a specific job requirement and, as Human Resources
Planning is actually an expansion of strategic planning, it is
therefore inseparable from corporate strategy and strategic
planning.
Human Resources Planning determines job qualifications,
encompassing the knowledge, skills and attitude (KSA) desired to
satisfy the company's core competencies. The KSA needed to
achieve high performance in a business is called competence.
In Competency-Based Human Resources Management (CBHRM),
competence is an elaboration of the corporate target and
strategy, allowing target achievement and corporate strategy to
be bridged on the one hand, and the development and maintenance
of competence on the other.
In other words, the development and maintenance of human
resources means developing the company's core competencies.
Consequently, all functions in human resources management are
directed toward improving the company's competency, which is
expected to be able to shape the company's competitive edge.
Various functions in human resources management can be
integrated here -- from competency-based selection, competency-
based training and development, competency-based performance
management to competency-based reward.
This approach is in line with Human Resources Planning, as the
latter not only deals with the quantity of human resources but
the specific qualifications required. Thus, information that only
outlines quantity will be of little value.
In CBHRM, the competence of employees should be well
documented and developed in line with enhancement of the
company's core competencies. Discrepancies between an employee's
competence and the job qualifications can be identified so that
the employee's scope of development can be determined.
This development should be under the guidance of good human
resources and career planning so that the model of employees'
development and competencies will fit the needs of the company as
well as the career goal of each individual in the future.
CBHRM will make the process of Human Resources Planning easier
as it is basically the elaboration of the corporate strategy in
utilizing human resources. Transforming the company's competence
into individual competence is akin to translating the company's
objectives into a specific job requirement, a duty which is
performed by Human Resources Planning.