1. Behavioral Interviews &
Competency Framework
Karishma Dhage
PGDM – C
Roll No - 131

2. Behavioral Interviews
A Job Interviewing technique whereby the applicant is
asked to describe the past behavior in order to determine
whether she is suitable for a position

3. Features
• Heart of the Job Competency Assessment process
• Richest source of hypotheses about competencies
that predict effective job performance
• Can be used as psychometric tests to assess
competencies for selection & other HR applications
• Structured like the trait interview
• Includes singular open ended questions about past
events in the candidate‟s work experience
• Interviewing technique is reliable & valid
• Provides basis for linking organizational identity to
the interviewing system

4. Guidelines
1. Know whom you will be talking to
2. Arrange a private place to hold the interview and
the quality time for the interview
3. Arrange to tape record the interview
4. Know what you say

5. Steps in Behavioral Interview
1. Skills analysis
2. Select & edit skill definitions
3. Create a structured interview
4. Gain behavioral examples
5. Rate skills

6. 1. Skills analysis
Systematic process of identifying technical & performance
skills important for doing a job well
• Job experts are able to give accurate description of
what needs to be done to do the job well. Very
different approach from in depth study of high
performers
• Skill analysis coordinator collects existing
information on the job, documents qualification of
job experts and directs job experts on steps of work
analysis
• Skill definition‟s linked to performance skills for
easy selection by interviewer‟s
• Specify essential job functions

7. 2. Select & Edit Skill Definitions
There are 2 approaches to develop skill definitions

8. 3. Creating a Structured
Interview
• It is also called a patterned interview
• A list of pre-planned questions are present with an
interviewer from which he may select his questions
• Comparing it to the scoring guides scores each
answer to the question
• Such a technique is called a linear interview
• Such an interview has to be structured failing which
it looses its effectiveness

9. 4. Gain Behavioral examples
• Behavioral examples are a candidate‟s description
of past instances when he used a skill
• They provide events from the candidate‟s
background to compare to job related skill
definitions
• Selection decision can be based on the extent to
which the person has the skill needed for the
specific job
• Not the entire person but only his job related skills
are assesses

10. 5. Rate Skills
• In this final step, a process called triangulation
evaluates the interview responses
Read the skill definition specifying what to measure
Read all the notes taken in the interview
Compare the notes taken in the Interview to the skill definition by using
rating scale
• After Ratings are completed the pattern of the
ratings along with other candidate information is
used to make the selection decision

11. Behavioral Interview Outline
Introduction & Explanation
Job Responsibilities
Behavioral Events
Characteristics needed to do the job
Conclusion & Summary

12. Introduction & Explanation
Introducing yourself & explaining the purpose & format of the
Interview
• Real purpose is to establish sense of mutual trust &
good will between yourself & the interviewee so
he/she is relaxed, open & ready to talk to you
OBJECTIVES
 Put the Interviewee at Ease
 Motivate the Interviewee to Participate
 Emphasize the Confidentiality of the Responses
 Get permission to Tape-Record ( you can say to pay
more attention and not having to make many notes)

13. Job responsibilities
Getting the Interviewee to describe his/her most important
job tasks & responsibilities
Specific questions are directed at what the person
actually does & with whom on his/her current job
1. “What is the tittle of your present job”
2. “Whom do you report to?” (You can say you don‟t need
name, just his/her title)
3. “What are your major tasks or responsibilities? What
do you actually do?”(If the person has difficulty listing
major job tasks/responsibilities, you can phrase the
question even more specifically)
4. “For example, what do you do in a given day, week, or
month?”

14. Behavioral Events
Asking the Interviewee to describe, in detail, the 5 or 6 most
important situations he/she has experienced in the job- 2 or 3
“high points” or major successes, & 2 or 3 “low points” or key
failures
• This section should take up bulk of the interview time
& should provide specific details
5 Key Questions
1. “What was the situation? What events led up to it?”
2. “Who was involved?”
3. “What did you think, feel, or want to do in the
situation?”
4. “What did you actually do or say?” (you are interested
in the skills that the person showed)
5. “What was the outcome? What happened?”

15. Behavioral Events contd
Pointers on this Technique

16. Characteristics Needed to Do
the Job
2 Basic Objectives
1. To get additional critical incidents in areas that may
have been over-looked
2. To leave the interviewee feeling strong and
appreciated by asking for his/her expert opinion
Pointers on this Technique
• Use the “characteristics” question to get additional
incidents if the interviewee has not been able to come
up with 5 or 6 incidents before this points
• Reinforce the interviewee for whatever characteristics
he/she gives you, in order to end the interview on a
positive note.

17. Conclusion & Summary
• Conclude the interview by thanking the interviewee for
his/her time & the “valuable information”
• You may need to “cool out” the interviewee by
sympathizing with his/her situation
• Attempt to leave the interviewee feeling as strong and
valued as possible

18. Summary Write - Up
Summarize the data from the Interview
1. Introduction & Description of Duties &
Responsibilities (Fill in the interviewee‟s details)
2. Behavioral Events (Make sure you have all the data)
3. Performer Characteristics (List the characteristics in
narrative form)
4. Summary & Interpretation ( The physical appearance
of the Interviewee, the conversational style, Words &
Phrases that the interviewee used repeatedly)

19. The Star Method
A structured manner of responding to a behavioral-based
interview question by discussing the
specific situation, task, action, and result of the situation you are
describing.
• Situation: Describe the situation that you were in or the
task that you needed to accomplish
• Task: What goal were you working toward?
• Action: What specific steps did you take and what was
your particular contribution?
• Result: Describe the outcome of your actions and don‟t
be shy about taking credit for your behavior

20. Challenges
• Behavioral questions are only effective when they
prompt a response that reveals the truth about both
weaknesses and strengths
• Every one of those questions contains an obvious “tip
off” on how to game a response that showcases the
good and hides the bad
• The focus is often on past behavior, which isn't
necessarily indicative of future results

21. Competency Framework
A „competency framework‟ is a structure that sets out and
defines each individual competency (such as problem-solving
or people management) required by individuals working in an
organization or part of an organization.

22. Need for Competency
Frameworks ?
• Translate agency vision into clear measurable outcomes
that define success & that are shared throughout the agency
& with customers & stakeholders
• Provide a tool for assessing, managing & improving the
overall health & success of business systems
• Identify core capabilities in the business & in the individual
to help connect work with behavior, consequently
influencing the performance & results
• Replace existing assessment models with a consistent
approach to competency management
• Implement efficiently
• Undertake pilots as necessary
• Go for the Kill once acceptance is gained for across the
board execution

23. Elements of Competency
Framework
Proficiency
levels &
benchmarking
Role Profiles
Competency
Dictionary
Employee
Band Matrix
Assessment
Data
Conducting the
assessment
center
Short & Long
Term Plans
Competency Development Cycle- Core competence, Strategic
analysis, Vision & Value orientation work, Organizational
Structure Implication
Assessment
Set
Assessment Worksheet
for assessment, including
templates
Technical, Enabling &
Managerial Competencies
Conducting the
Development
Plans
Competency
definitions, clusters, meta
& Sub-Set Competencies
Organizational
Development
Plans

24. Basic Quality Standards
• Is related to the job role
• Clear and easy to understand
• The framework will be relevant & affect all staff
• Takes account of expected changes
• Has a specific behavior indicator
• Can be applied to many situations
• Has been benchmarked against specific standards

25. Level 1 Framework
• Organizational vision, aspiration, foresight & business
landscape in which the business operates
• Articulation of a strategy, core competence, the
delineation of the business plan, defining critical
success factors, key performance indicators
• Creating a competency dictionary in sync with core
competence of the firm
• Defining the HR strategy & its influence on the core
strategy of the firm

26. Level 2 Framework
• Organizational structure & architecture, including
roles, responsibilities
• Defining employee bands, role maps, job
clusters, defining variation in levels
• Determining the Assessment Set
• Assessment worksheets for individuals including
templates, key areas to be covered, mega & sub
competency differentiation

27. Level 3 Framework
• Short term initiatives in terms of Individual
Development plans
• Long term initiatives in terms of Individual
Development plans
• Integrated Individual development plans
• Assessment Data (Individual & Summarized)
• Assessment Technique (Methods, tools, formats, expert
panels, etc)

28. Benefits
• They can link organizational and personal objectives and
ensure that employees are clear about how they are
expected to perform in their jobs.
• They can also make the appraisal and recruitment systems
fairer and more open and differences between levels, job
titles and grades more transparent.
• Competency frameworks have also been shown to play a
major role in both attracting and retaining staff, particularly
when linked to career progression and pay.
• The identification of required competencies can assist with
workforce planning and succession planning – identifying
the requirements for a job and how staff can develop to
move up within an organization.
• Competency frameworks help to target scarce training and
development resources more effectively and encourage
individuals to take more responsibility for their own
development

29. Limitation & Learning's
• The question of specifying a certain model: Is it really
possible to specify a single model of a competency or might
there be other patterns?
• The question from the standpoint of cultivating human
resources: Isn't it too difficult to fortify the weak points of
individual no matter how well you present a model of
competency?
• The question of the reproducibility of results: the model is a
pattern of past success. Can one really generate
reproducible results by continuing to act in the same way ?
• The question of restricting behavior: If anything, doesn‟t it
rather discourage individuality, encouraging the entire
workforce to adopt the same behaviors & attitudes & act in
the same way, and as a result cause the whole organization
to become unicellular, weakening its flexibility to deal with
change?

30. Bibliography
• Competency at Work by Lyle M Spencer & Signe M
Spencer
• Competency Based HRM by Ganesh Shermon
• www.udel.edu
• www.leadershipiq.com
• www.smallbusiness.chron.com
• www.oakleigh.co.uk