Recently, I was honored to speak to the International Institute of Business Analyst (IIBA) in Plano, Texas. The IIBA is a professional association for Business Analysis professionals. The organization develops and maintains standards for the practice of business analysis and for the certification of practitioners.
One of the exercises the group participated in was the development of a competency model for Business Analysts. The exercise consisted of each participant (approximately 30) choosing their own top six competency from a master list of 24 competencies. The list of 24 competencies cover up to 98% of captured job behaviors.
Richard Boyatzis, a professor for organizational behavior, defines job competency as, “An underlying characteristic of an employee which results in effective and/or superior performance.” Competencies are sometimes referred to as differentiating factors. Any given position will have 6-10 associated competencies. This selected group of competencies make up the Competency Model.
Below is the Competency Model the group identified for superior performance for a Business Analyst. The numbers reflect how many people identified this particular competency as one of their top six.
MAIN COMPETENCIES:
Analytical Thinking – 27 Sees implications or consequences; Analyzes situations systematically; Anticipates obstacles and ways to get around them, thinks ahead; Analyzes what is needed to accomplish goal
Customer Service Orientation – 19 Discovers and meets underlying needs of internal and external customers; Follows through on requests and complaints; Becomes a trusted advisor to the customer
Integrity – 16 Is honest and forthright, trustworthy; Takes responsibility for own mistakes, does not blame others; High standard of ethical conduct
Flexibility – 16 Understands validity of opposing view points; Willingness to modify preferred routine; Modifies behavior in response to new information, changing conditions, or unexpected obstacles; Adapts behavior to best suit the situation; Adapts to change without anxiety
Information Seeking – 15 Gathers information systematically; Seeks information from many sources; Gets out to see or touch the situation; Asks questions, looks deeper, presses for resolution
Initiative – 14 Seizes opportunities as they arise; Handles crisis effectively; Tenacity in reaching goals; Willingness to work long hours, as needed; Persistent, does not give up when faced with difficult obstacles or rejection
SECONDARY COMPETENCIES
Conceptual Thinking – 11 Sees patterns not obvious to others; Notices inconsistencies; Reviews complex data and identifies relationships from disparate sources; Able to convey ideas through original analogies and metaphors
Teamwork and Cooperation – 11 Solicits input from others and involves others in issues that will impact them; Provides credit and recognition to others; Encourages and empowers the group; Works to develop teamwork and cooperation; Improves morale, resolves conflicts; Strives for win/win solutions
Achievement Orientation – 9 Measures results, makes cost-benefit analysis; Finds better, more efficient ways of doing things; Sets specific, challenging goals; Makes good person/organization match to improve performance
Having a competency list for superior performers is a key step in recruiting and screening individuals for the role. The next step would be to develop specific job related questions related to each of the six main and three secondary competencies. These will be behavioral-based and include follow-up probing questions. As an example, for initiative:
Provide an example of a time you felt like you worked hard, maybe beyond your normal capacity, to complete an assignment, or reach a goal.
Follow-up: What motivated to you? What were the results?
Setting up a competency model, complimented with probing behavioral-based interview questions is as an excellent way to find the superior employee.
