Skills matrix application in supervisor candidate evaluation

Public Personnel Management

The evaluation of the potential candidates is a crucial procedure because the selection of wrong candidate may result in the reduced efficiency of the organizational processes and can adversely impact the organizational objectives. The utilization of Skills Matrix in the evaluation procedure has been proved as less time consuming and effective. In this study, three candidates are evaluated for the position of supervisor who will be responsible for the analysis of quantitative data, implementation and coordination. Therefore, the candidates were evaluated by the Skills Matrix which was developed according to the knowledge, skills and abilities of the position that are required for the available position. The results obtained from the Skills Matrix were less time consuming and were in accordance to the job requirement and facilitated in the identification of the best potential candidate.

Contents

Introduction

Competencies Required for the Position

Factors to Evaluate 1

1. Critical Thinking 1

2. Organizational Savvy 1

3. Interpersonal-Skills 1

4. Personality 1

5. Experience and Education 1

Matrix 1

Candidate A -- Jill Owens 1

Measures Suggested 1

Candidate B -- Bruce Hughes 1

Measures Suggested 1

Candidate C -- Mary Washington 1

Measures Suggested 1

Result 1

Interview Questions 1

Conclusion 1

REFERENCES 1

Introduction

The employees working in an organization are considered to be an extremely important resource for the organization. Therefore, the organization that is willing to achieve competitive-edge on its competitors is required to attract and retain such human-resource that is capable to contribute in the achievement of organizational goals (Youndtet al., 1996). The organizations need to attract and retain competitive employees and in order to do that the organizations are required to evaluate the candidates to assess their potential and job-organization-fit (Sekiguchi, 2004; Sekiguchi, 2007). The Skill-Matrix is used to analyze the skills of the candidates and the extent to which they possess the required skills for the job. Furthermore, the skills-matrix provides direction to select the evaluated employees by identifying the gaps and differences that the candidates possess in accordance with the competencies that are required for the job (Gatewood et al., 2010).

The employees working in the organization are not only responsible to achieve their work related objectives, but they also play their part in the bottom-line of the organization by making sure that the organization is working in an effective and efficient manner with the accomplishment of organizational goals (Luthans et al., 2006). Moreover, the procedure for the selection of employees from the potential candidates referred to be crucial for the organization by Wanous (1992) due to the fact that the right candidate can positively contribute in the organizational objectives whereas; the wrong selection of candidate can decrease the organization's efficiency and can impact adversely on the organizational objectives. Therefore, the potential candidates should be evaluated in an effective manner by ensuring that their possessed knowledge, skills and abilities are not neglected during the evaluation process.

The Skills Matrix is used in the evaluation process so that the candidates can be evaluated thoroughly with respected to the work related requirements in the position. Skills Matrix is developed by analyzing the job and determining the task, duties and responsibilities that will be assigned to the job-holder, after that major factors are determined and weighted based on their significance in the job on which the selected candidates will be evaluated (Bratton & Gold 2001). The candidates are evaluated instantly during the evaluation process of interview in order to make sure that any important observation and aspect related to the described factors are not neglected. The candidates are scored according to their potential and the weighted score is calculated and the total of the weighted score determines the extent at which the candidate possesses the required skills. The evaluation that takes place by using the Skills Matrix is considered to be less time-consuming and is considered to be effective by selecting the right person for the job.

In this study, the candidates for the position of supervisor as the junior management function in the city manager's office are evaluated and analyzed in order to select the best possible candidate for the position.

Competencies Required for the Position

The competencies that are required for the position of supervisor are discussed below:

1. The employee should be able to analyze and interpret the quantitative data and should be able to make decisions accordingly.

2. The employee should be experience enough to be assigned to the projects and should be able to manage his work

3. The employee should be able to communicate the data that has been analyzed to his associates and should be able to implement the necessary measures in accordance with his analysis of quantitative data.

4. The employee should possess respectable degree in the related field with the exceptional grades. The professional experience is also required so that the candidate will have the knowledge about workplace behavior and will be sensible enough to manage himself at the workplace.

5. The employee should have the understanding about the organization and the workplace. The candidate should know that about the organization for which he will be working.

6. The employee must be developed with ethical manners in order to work and pursue the work objectives at the workplace and should possess pleasant personality.

Factors to Evaluate

The factors that are required to be analyzed in order to perform the effective evaluation process for the candidates are described as follows:

1. Critical Thinking

The candidate should possess the ability to think critically with respect to the provided quantitative data. The candidate should be able to analyze and interpret the given data and make decisions for the implementation of the process.

2. Organizational Savvy

The candidate should possess the better understanding about the organization and in this way the candidate should be considered familiar with the organizational processes and culture.

3. Interpersonal-Skills

The candidate should be able to communicate his analyzed data to his peers and managers so that the necessary measures can be taken in accordance with the analyzed quantitative data. The candidate should possess oral communication skills to define and present his findings to his associates in a better way so that the communication gap among inter-department and intra-departments could be minimized.

4. Personality

The candidate should possess the pleasant personality and possess good manners to meet the ethical requirements of the organization.

5. Experience and Education

The candidate should possess respectable degree in the related field so that it will be ensured that the candidate has the basic and practical knowledge about his work. Moreover, the experience in practical field is required to ensure the professionalism of the candidate. However, the experience in related field will be preferred.

Matrix

The Skill Matrix is developed on the basis of the factors that are required for the position of supervisor who will be responsible for the data analysis, implementation and coordination of the results. The factors are given weightage and the candidates are given rating on the basis of their observed skills and, the weighted score has provided the evaluated score of the candidate.

Candidate A -- Jill Owens

FACTORS

COMPETENCY

WEIGHTAGE

RATING

WEIGHTED SCORE

1

Critical Thinking

20

Quantitative-Analysis

20

12

2

Organizational Savvy

20

Organizational Understanding

20

20

3

Interpersonal-Skills

20

Oral Communication / Delegation

10

10

Active Listening

10

4

40

4

Personality

20

Appearance

10

8

80

Manners

10

8

80

5

Experience and Education

20

Prior Experience

10

6

60

Education

10

8

80

TOTAL

Gap

The candidate does not meet the basic requirement of the position i.e. The candidate should be adept at the analysis of quantitative data. Moreover, the candidate does not possess good listening skills. The job holder for this position should possess active listening skills because he will be responsible for the coordination with the workplace associates about his progress and should be a good listener in order to delegate and get orders from his supervisor.

Measures Suggested

The candidate can be provided with projects consisting of quantitative data at the beginner level and candidate's quantitative skills can be enhanced by providing him an opportunity to learn about the analysis of quantitative data. Moreover, the candidate's supervisor can mentor him and can make sure that the information provided to the candidate is fully understood by the candidate and, the candidate has not missed anything during the conference or briefing. This way, the listening skills of the candidate can be enhanced.

Candidate B -- Bruce Hughes

FACTORS

COMPETENCY

WEIGHTAGE

RATING

WEIGHTED SCORE

1

Critical Thinking

20

Quantitative-Analysis

20

20

2

Organizational Savvy

20

Organizational Understanding

20

10

3

Interpersonal-Skills

20

Oral Communication / Delegation

10

6

60

Active Listening

10

10

4

Personality

20

Appearance

10

6

60

Manners

10

7

70

5

Experience and Education

20

Prior Experience

10

10

Education

10

10

TOTAL

Gap

The candidate lacks the ability to communicate properly which is the basic requirement of the job because the candidate will be responsible for the delegation and coordination of his work to his workplace associates and if the candidate fails to communicate properly then the work related conflicts may rise resulting in the reduced efficiency of the project and can cause delay in the project completion. Moreover, the candidate does not possess the understanding about the city government process which may result in the candidate's lack of awareness about the workplace and workplace-behavior.

Measures Suggested

The immediate supervisor and the associate of the candidate can help in the better communication of the candidate by providing him the friendly and motivating environment to speak and coordinate. Moreover, the immediate supervisor and the orientation program of the organization will have to play their parts in order to make the candidate organizational savvy so that he will possess the better understanding about his workplace.

Candidate C -- Mary Washington

FACTORS

COMPETENCY

WEIGHTAGE

RATING

WEIGHTED SCORE

1

Critical Thinking

20

Quantitative-Analysis

20

9

2

Organizational Savvy

20

Organizational Understanding

20

5

3

Interpersonal-Skills

20

Oral Communication / Delegation

10

10

Active Listening

10

10

4

Personality

20

Appearance

10

10

Manners

10

9

90

5

Experience and Education

20

Prior Experience

10

9

90

Education

10

6

60

TOTAL

Gap

The candidate lacks the basic requirement of the job due to which the candidate will not be able to analyze the quantitative data. Moreover, the candidate does not possess the understanding about the organization in which he will be working which will cause him time to adjust in the new workplace's environment. The candidate also lacks the relevant experience with respect to the city government.

Measures Suggested

The candidate can be trained at the basic / beginner level about the analysis of quantitative data in order to perform the basic duties of the job. However, the candidate possesses good listening skills so the candidate can benefit from the organization's orientation program and the immediate supervisor's mentoring in order to gain the better understanding of the organization.

Interview Questions

According to Campion et al., (1988), structured interview questions are developed to analyze all the potential candidates on the predefined standard. The following structured questions are developed in order to evaluate the candidates

1. Describe your strengths and how do you utilize your strengths to accomplish your work objectives?

Rational: The candidate should know his strengths and the ways in which he can utilize his strengths in order to accomplish the work related objectives.

2. Describe your weaknesses and how do you think they might become an obstacle in the accomplishment of your assigned objectives?

Rational: The candidate should know his drawbacks and should know that if he possesses them then what can be done in order to minimize or eradicate the negative effects of his possessed weaknesses. Furthermore, it can also be identifies if candidate is trying or willing to overcome his weaknesses or not.

3. When did you fail in the most recent times and what measures you adapted to overcome the consequences of your failure?

Rational: The candidate should show assertive behavior towards his failure and the perspective of candidate will be known if the candidate sees his failure as a learning experience or neglects the learning experience obtained from his failure.

4. How do you think you can contribute in this organization?

Rational: This question will tell if the candidate possesses quantitative knowledge and if he is able to connect his knowledge with this organization

5. Why makes you perfect for this job position?

Rational: The candidate should be able to relate his skills, qualification and talents with the available job position.It will tell how much the candidate understands the job and how much is he willing to perform his work-related tasks.

Conclusion

The employees working in the organization are considered to be an important asset because these employees are responsible for the completion of work related objectives and makes the organizational processes effective and efficient. The selection of adequate candidates in crucial for the organization because if the wrong candidate is selected for the position then it may increase the overall recruitment cost. The short listed employees with almost same potential tends to be difficult for the evaluators in order to judge if they are appropriate for the available position and in order to make the evaluation process effective and efficient, Skills Matrix is utilized in the evaluation procedure so that the candidates can be judged according to the job requirement. In this study, position for the supervisor is evaluated using the Skills Matrix which has indicated that the highest weighted score is secured by Candidate 'B' with the excellent quantitative skills and above average interpersonal skills whereas, Candidate 'A' has secured the second highest weighted score and Candidate 'C' has secured the third highest score. Therefore, the Candidate 'B' should be selected and the selection procedure has proven to be less time-consuming and the decision making procedure became easier by analyzing the candidates with respect to the job requirements.