Competencies (Measurable Characteristics)
Recommendation, 2004-08-02
This version:
Competecies.doc
Previous version:
Competencies.doc
Editor:
Chuck Allen, HR-XML
Contributors:
Naomi Bloom, Bloom & Wallace; Dan Bork, iXmatch; Paul Kiel, HR-XML; David Scott, J.D. Edwards; David Cohn, Burning Glass, Inc.; Kim Bartkus, HR-XML; Robert Mickley, Gazebo Software; Enrique Kortright, DOD; Jason Weiss, DDI; Kathi Dolan, Manpower
Copyright statement
©2004 HR-XML. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.
Abstract
This document describes HR-XML’s competencies schema. The competencies schema allows the capture of information about evidence used to substantiate a competency and ratings and weights that can be used to rank, compare, and otherwise evaluate of the sufficiency or desirability of a competency.
This schema is intended as a fragment or module that would be incorporated within broader process-specific schema. The competencies schema is particularly relevant to processes involving the rating, measuring, comparing, or matching an asserted competency (for example, a skill claimed in a resume) against one that is demanded (for example, a skill required in a job description or requisition).
Status of this Document
2004-Aug-2: This specification remains unchanged from the 2003-November release. The version number (2004-08-02) has been updated on the document title page and the “version” attribute of the “xsd:schema” element.
The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119.
Table of Contents
1.1.1 Enhancements/Future Directions
1.3.2 Items Outside of Design Scope
2 Supported Business Processes
4 Implementation Considerations
5 Appendix A - Document Version History
6 Appendix B – Related Documents
7 Appendix C – Reference Examples
7.1 Competency with Years of Experience and Test Score
7.2 License as Competency Evidence
7.3 Education as Competency Evidence
7.4 Recursive Competencies: Communication Skills
7.5 Describing Language Skills
7.6 Direct Observation as Competency Evidence
7.7.1 Skills: Reading Comprehension
7.7.2 Abilities: Oral Comprehension
7.7.4 Work Activities: Performing Administrative Activities
7.7.5 Clerical: Example Combining O*Net With Privately Defined Measure
1 Overview
1.1 Objective
The objective of this project is the creation an XML Schema that provides trading partners a standardized and practical means to exchange information about competencies within a variety of business contexts. The competency schema delivered by this workgroup is intended as a fragment that will be used within broader, process-specific schema developed by the HR-XML Consortium and other organizations. For example, the HR-XML competencies schema is intended to be part of a future version of HR-XML’s Staffing Exchange Protocol.
1.1.1 Enhancements/Future Directions
Competencies Version 1.1 includes four minor changes:
§ In Version 1.1, CompetencyWeight is optional and repeatable. In the prior version, CompetencyWeight could appear up to two times.
§ In Version 1.1, the “type” attribute of CompetencyWeight is modified to use the “string pattern extension type.” In the prior version of the specification, “levelOfInterest” and “skillLevel” were the only enumerated values of the type attribute. In Version 1.1, additional values are allowed if preceeded by “x:”
§ In Version 1.1, TaxonomyId is optional and repeatable. In the prior version, TaxonomyId could occur zero times or just once.
- The HR-XML Consortium’s UserArea component was added to the root of Competency to allow for trading-partner extensions.
The first three changes are intended to fix problems that prevent implementers from using taxonomies, such as the U.S. Department of Labor’s O*Net, within the Competencies specification. The fourth change simply brings the Competencies specification up-to-date with the Consortium’s approved means of enabling trading-partner extensions.
All of the above changes are backwardly compatible, meaning that a message conforming to the Version 1.0 specification will remain valid under the Version 1.1 specification.
Version 1.1 is intended as a quick fix for recognized problems within the Version 1.0 specification. A project to develop a Version 2.0 also has been discussed. Some of the possible changes that have been discussed for Version 2.0 are:
- Alignment with the “reusable competency definition” adopted by other e-learning consortia;
- Developing a generalized means of describing measurement systems or scales;
- Developing the means to better express relationships between different competencies, between competencies and learning objects, and between competencies and occupational classifications.
1.1.2 Terminology
One of the challenges in creating a standard schema for the exchange of competency information is the many ways that the term “competency” has been used by different people at different points in time within disciplines such as human resource management, organizational theory, behavioral science, industrial psychology, and education.
One of the HR-XML Competency Workgroup’s important design goals was the development of a competency schema that would be relatively simple and sufficiently flexible to be useful within a variety of business contexts. Towards this end, HR-XML’s Competency Workgroup wanted to avoid binding its schema to a definition of competency that would require difficult distinctions, such as the differences between “innate” and “learned” characteristics. Likewise, the workgroup did not want to bind the schema to a definition of competency that would limit the schema’s usefulness in capturing and exchanging information about behaviorally revealed competencies versus those competencies evidenced by assessments, certificates, or degrees.
In exploring the appropriate scope for the competencies schema, one of the concepts considered by the workgroup was “KASOCs,” as defined in Bloom & Wallace’s HRM Business Model "Starter Kit.” KASOC is an acronym for Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Other Characteristics. The concept of KASOC was specifically developed as a generalized and flexible descriptor for the type of measurable, performance-related characteristics that are important to numerous HR management processes. The KASOC concept was the basis for the following definition of competency adopted by the Workgroup:
Competency. A specific, identifiable, definable, and measurable knowledge, skill, ability and/or other deployment-related characteristic (e.g. attitude, behavior, physical ability) which a human resource may possess and which is necessary for, or material to, the performance of an activity within a specific business context.
Additional elaboration is required to understand some portions of this definition:
- Competencies are measurable. The
competencies schema is intended to capture information about measurable
characteristics. Some competencies are measurable, but nevertheless are
difficult to quantify. In some cases, the measure may be simply whether
the characteristic exists or does not exist. Some competencies can be
objectively measured, whereas others may only be subjectively recognized.
Example: In the context of HR-XML’s competency schema, education would be considered a competency when it can be quantified or when it is used a measure for a given business purpose. An educational degree may be evidence of a competency. Descriptive information about an educational degree – e.g., the location of the school or institution granting the degree – is not a competency.
§ Competencies are related to performing an activity. Competencies can be thought of as a level of ability or characteristic useful or necessary to performing an activity.
- Competencies are attributes of a human resource. However, the model developed by the Competency Workgroup is generalized enough so that it might be applied to other entities, such as organizations.
§ Competencies may include deployment-related characteristics such as "willing to relocate," "non-smoker," etc., but generally would not include purely demographic characteristics, such sex, race, or religion.
- Competencies can be recursive. A competency may include other competencies. One competency might be decomposed into several component competencies, each of which might be separately measurable.
NOTE: While the workgroup’s definition of competencies is based on the concept of KASOCs, the term competency was chosen over KASOCs because it was deemed to be more meaningful to a wider audience. Moreover, the acronym KASOC was not considered be appropriate based on the element naming conventions outlined in the HR-XML Consortium’s Schema Design Guidelines.
1.1.3 Domain Issues
The concept of competency pervades HR management processes. Competencies are not merely descriptors of an employee, position, organizational work unit, or training resource; they are the glue that holds together major HR management activities. It is difficult to discuss any major HR management process without the concept of competencies.[1]
The HR-XML Consortium’s competencies schema is designed as a reusable schema fragment that might be applicable to a wide range of business processes. Generally speaking, the schema could potentially be useful in any process involving the comparison, matching, weighting, or rating of a competency demanded against an actual available competency. While competencies have immediate relevancy to HR management processes, they also are relevant to certain business process outside the HR domain.
Examples of some of the principal HR management activities in which a standard for the exchange of competencies information could be valuable are described below.
Staffing the organization. Differing skill definitions and the use of widely varying skill taxonomies pose a barrier to efficient data interchange in many recruiting and staffing processes. Some employers have developed their own internal taxonomies of describing skills and competencies. Some of these taxonomies may be formal, whereas others may have developed informally over time. Other employers make use of third-party skills taxonomies. Job boards, staffing firms, and other recruiting and staffing venues also might have their own way of classifying positions by skill and/or industry and they also make use of internal as well as third-party skills taxonomies. Because of differing skill taxonomies, an employer might need to map its internal descriptors or taxonomies to those used by each of its recruiting and staffing vendors. Adding a new job board or vendor may require the creation of a new set of mappings.
A standard schema for competencies will make it easier to create mapping between different taxonomies.
Staffing data exchanges typically would take place between human resource management systems (HRMS) and recruiting systems and the systems of recruiting venues such as job boards and temporary staffing firms.
Developing the Workforce. A standard model for the exchange of competency information could have many uses in skills evaluation, gap analysis, and training. For example, a standard for competency information could enable gap analysis of a person’s current competency levels compared to the requirements of that person’s current position. Similarly, the standard could enable gap analysis between a person’s current competency level and that required by a target, or an aspired to, job or position. Gap analysis could be useful in determining available training to meet gap requirements and in forecasting training requirements across an organization or department.
The data exchanges might take place between HRMS, training development systems, and systems of vendors offering training programs.
Managing the Organizational Structure. This might involve reviewing the needs of an organization without considering personnel with existing positions. This process might involve a hierarchical breakdown of work and an assessment of competencies rated with relative weight at the optimal level by job. Once this is completed, one may create a model to support:
- Forecasting for re-organizations or acquisitions;
- Mapping competencies between the jobs and personnel; and
- Conducting analyses of gaps between competencies required and those currently available.
The data exchange might be between an organizational planning system and the human resource system.
Administering Compensation. A standard means for the exchange of competency information would have many uses in compensation administration:
- A standard for the exchange of competency information could be useful in conducting job evaluations aimed at determining the rank or worth of jobs.
- A standard for competencies also could be useful in supporting performance management systems by enabling the tracking of changes in competencies that may be pertinent to decisions regarding rewards.
- A standard for competencies could be useful in mapping equivalent skills across differing taxonomies. This might be useful in applying wage survey data to job pay structures.
- Competency standards could be useful in administering competency-based pay programs.
Data exchanges would be between HRMS, performance management and appraisal systems, and a variety of compensation planning and administration systems.
1.1.4 Business Reasons
A standard schema for the exchange of competency data has the potential to improve communication across many HR activities and to enhance business intelligence. A standard competencies schema has the potential to greatly simplify data transfer processes, thereby helping HR organizations save time and money. Many more cross-disciplinary transfers of business intelligence will be possible.
Job and position postings provide one of the clearest examples of data-exchange barriers and their associated costs. There is tremendous diversity in the way job boards classify the way jobs are advertised. Consequently, there is not an easy way to map between different classification systems. Because creating and maintaining mappings between an employer’s internal taxonomy and the ones used by job boards is difficult, many employers use third-party services to manage the mappings as well as handle the different formats required by different recruiting instruments. The use of a standard way of exchanging competency information within the HR-XML Consortium’s Staffing Exchange Protocol’s would make it much easier to create and maintain mappings and eliminate the extra expense of a posting middleman.
1.2 Design Requirements
HR-XML competencies schema is designed to fulfill the following requirements:
- The competency schema is simple and sufficiently flexible and generalized so that it is useful within a variety of business contexts.
- The schema provides structure to enable competencies to be easily compared, ranked, and evaluated.
- The schema is capable of referencing competency taxonomies from which competency descriptions were taken or used.
- The competency schema is relatively simple and compact so that it does not add to the complexity of the process-specific schemas within which it is used. For instance, the competencies schema would likely be used as an alternative or replacement for the “Skill” element within the HR-XML Consortium’s Staffing Exchange Protocol. Thus, the Competency element is as compact and as simple as possible, while still meeting the other design goals listed above.
1.3 Scope
1.3.1 Major Components
The initial deliverable will be a single schema for competencies. Other related or supporting schemas may be developed with future versions of the competencies schema. For instance, a generalized schema describing taxonomies, or a schema describing measurement scales, are examples of supporting schema that could be developed in conjunction with a future version of the HR-XML competencies specification.
1.3.2 Items Outside of Design Scope
- Taxonomies. The ability to reference taxonomies from which particular competency descriptions were taken or derived is a design requirement. However, the development of specific competency taxonomies is outside the design scope. A generalized framework for describing taxonomies also is outside of the scope of the initial version of the competencies schema. However, a generalized schema for describing taxonomies has been identified by the HR-XML Competencies Workgroup as a possibility for future development.
- Mapping between taxonomies. The competencies schema will enable the capture of competency metadata that may be useful in creating mappings between different taxonomies. However, the schema’s design scope does not consider the specific means by which such mappings are created.
- Measurement scales. The initial version of the Competencies schema allows for the capture of measurement values as well as an identifier that could be used to relate a value to a particular measurement system or scale (for example, a grade point average on a 4.0 scale). However, a generalized framework for describing measurement systems or scales is outside the scope of the first version of the competencies schema.
- Capture of
descriptive detail. Certain business processes may require the
capture of supporting information that goes beyond what is captured by the
competencies schema. As explained in Section 1.1.2, Terminology, the HR-XML Consortium competencies schema focuses on broad array of “measurable characteristics.” The competencies schema allows the capture of information about evidence used to substantiate a competency and ratings and
weights that can be used to rank, compare, and otherwise evaluate of the
sufficiency or desirability of a competency. However, a business process
might require additional information. For instance, a hiring process might
require the capture of contact information (telephone, address, etc.) for
a school or institution from which a degree or certificate is claimed.
Descriptive detail for specific types of competencies or competency
evidence is beyond the immediate scope of this project.
NOTE: While the competencies project does not consider descriptive detail for specific types of competencies or competency evidence, other specifications produced by the HR-XML Consortium as well as by other standards groups may be useful in this regard. For instance, Staffing Exchange Protocol Version 1.1 includes useful structures for capturing location and contact detail for schools and institutions. SEP also includes detail for capturing information about employment references as well as reports from those references. Note also that the IMS Global Learning Project has developed a Reusable Competency Definitions Information Model, which may be useful in capturing definitional and descriptive information about competencies. For further information, see http://www.imsproject.org/rcd/rcdinfo01.html
2 Supported Business Processes
The Competencies schema is intended to be a fragment that can be incorporated within a wide-variety of process-specific schemas. Among the range of processes the competencies schema may help support are:
§ 360º Feedback (Evaluation by Peers)
§ Other performance measurement instruments that measure competencies
§ Competency Modeling (an expert service)
§ Individual performance development planning and goal setting
§ Performance monitoring & reporting
§ Training curricula and individual courses that build competencies
§ Career development systems
§ Inventories of workforce competence (taxonomies for general and specialized uses)
§ Selection procedures that assess competencies
§ Succession planning systems
§ Pay-for-competencies compensation systems
§ Automated job descriptions
§ Core competencies for strategic planning
§ Psychometric (Personality) testing
§ Recruiting
3 Schema Design
The following sections illustrate and explain the components of the HR-XML Consortium’s Competency Schema.
3.1.1 Competency
|
Component Name [Global types listed at the end of the table.] |
ContentModel* |
Definition |
|
/ |
CompetencyId
- [complexType] - S
(0/1) |
A specific, identifiable, definable, and measurable knowledge, skill, ability and/or other deployment-related characteristic (e.g. attitude, behavior, physical ability) which a human resource may possess and which is necessary for, or material to, the performance of an activity within a specific business context. |
|
/
Competency/ |
- xsd:string - |
The name for the related component. |
|
/
Competency/ |
- xsd:string - |
This optional attribute is available to provide additional information about the Id. |
|
/
Competency/ |
- xsd:boolean - |
A boolean used to indicate whether the CompetencyEvidence is mandatory for a particular position or given context. |
|
/
Competency/ |
id - xsd:string - required |
An identification code assigned to identify or classify the Competency. A taxonomy might include an identification code for each Competency or identification codes might be agreed upon by trading partners. |
|
/
Competency/ |
id - xsd:string - required |
A code that identifies the taxonomy. |
3.2 CompetencyEvidence
|
/
Competency/ |
EvidenceId
- [complexType] - S
(0/1) |
CompetencyEvidence is used to capture information to substantiate the existance, sufficiency, or level of a Competency. CompetencyEvidence might include test results, reports, performance appraisals, evaluations, certificates, licenses, or a record of direct observation, such as a report given by a former supervisor or other employment reference. |
|
/
Competency/ CompetencyEvidence/ |
id - xsd:string - required |
A code that identifies the CompetencyEvidence. |
|
/
Competency/ CompetencyEvidence/ |
xsd:extension base: xsd:double |
NumericValue is the required or desired level for the competency. The content of NumericValue is a rating value. The minValue, maxValue, and name attributes of NumericValue provide information about the rating scale that is being used, so that the rating value can be interpreted. |
|
/
Competency/ CompetencyEvidence/ NumericValue/ |
- xsd:double - |
The minimum value of the rating scale. |
|
/
Competency/ CompetencyEvidence/ NumericValue/ |
- xsd:double - |
The maximum value of the rating scale. |
|
/
Competency/ CompetencyEvidence/ NumericValue/ |
- xsd:string - |
This optional attribute is available to provide additional information about the Id. |
|
/
Competency/ CompetencyEvidence/ |
xsd:extension base: xsd:string |
StringValue is the required or desired level for the competency. The content of StringValue is a rating value. The minValue, maxValue, and name attributes of StringValue provide information about the rating scale that is being used, so that the rating value can be interpreted. |
|
/
Competency/ CompetencyEvidence/ StringValue/ |
- xsd:string - |
The minimum value of the rating scale. |
|
/ Competency/
CompetencyEvidence/ StringValue/ |
- xsd:string - |
The maximum value of the rating scale. |
|
/
Competency/ CompetencyEvidence/ StringValue/ |
- xsd:string - |
This optional attribute is available to provide additional information about the Id. |
|
/
Competency/ CompetencyEvidence/ |
- xsd:string - S (0/*) |
Contains additional descriptive information to substantiate or clarify a rating, measure, value, etc. |
|
/
Competency/ CompetencyEvidence/ |
- AnyDateTimeType - |
The date on which the CompetenceEvidence first establishes the existence of the Competency. |
|
/
Competency/ CompetencyEvidence/ |
- xsd:string - |
The name for the related component. |
|
/
Competency/ CompetencyEvidence/ |
- xsd:string - |
A description of the type of CompetencyEvidence. |
|
/
Competency/ CompetencyEvidence/ |
- AnyDateTimeType - |
The identification of any applicable expiration date, such as the date that a license or certification expires. |
|
/
Competency/ CompetencyEvidence/ |
- xsd:string - |
A code identifying the type of CompetencyEvidence. |
|
/
Competency/ CompetencyEvidence/ |
- xsd:boolean - |
A boolean used to indicate whether the CompetencyEvidence is mandatory for a particular position or given context. |
|
/
Competency/ CompetencyEvidence/ |
- AnyDateTimeType - |
A requirement or assertion for the date on which the Competency was last used. |
3.2.1 CompetencyWeight
|
/
Competency/ |
NumericValue
- xsd:double - C
(1/1) |
CompetencyWeight allows the capture of information on the relative importance of the Competency or the sufficiency required. |
|
/
Competency/ CompetencyWeight/ |
xsd:extension base: xsd:double |
NumericValue is the required or desired level for the competency. The content of NumericValue is a rating value. The minValue, maxValue, and name attributes of NumericValue provide information about the rating scale that is being used, so that the rating value can be interpreted. |
|
/
Competency/ CompetencyWeight/ NumericValue/ |
- xsd:double - |
The minimum value of the rating scale. |
|
/
Competency/ CompetencyWeight/ NumericValue/ |
- xsd:double - |
The maximum value of the rating scale. |
|
/
Competency/ CompetencyWeight/ NumericValue/ |
- xsd:string - |
This optional attribute is available to provide additional information about the Id. |
|
/
Competency/ CompetencyWeight/ |
xsd:extension base: xsd:string |
StringValue is the required or desired level for the competency. The content of StringValue is a rating value. The minValue, maxValue, and name attributes of StringValue provide information about the rating scale that is being used, so that the rating value can be interpreted. |
|
/
Competency/ CompetencyWeight/ StringValue/ |
- xsd:string - |
The minimum value of the rating scale. |
|
/
Competency/ CompetencyWeight/ StringValue/ |
- xsd:string - |
The maximum value of the rating scale. |
|
/
Competency/ CompetencyWeight/ StringValue/ |
- xsd:string - |
This optional attribute is available to provide additional information about the Id. |
|
/
Competency/ CompetencyWeight/ |
- xsd:string - S (0/*) |
Contains additional descriptive information to substantiate or clarify a rating, measure, value, etc. |
|
/ Competency/
CompetencyWeight/ |
- ExtendedWeightType - |
Identifies the type of CompetencyWeight. Enumerated values are: levelOfInterest (A level of interest asserted or required for the competency) and skillLevel (A level of skill asserted or required for the competency). |
3.2.2 Global Simple Types
|
/ |
- [Union]: CompetencyWeightType,xStringPatternExtensionType |
Globally scoped data type. See element or attribute declaration for definition. |
|
/ |
xsd:restriction base: xsd:string [Enumerations]: levelOfInterest, skillLevel |
Globally scoped data type. See element or attribute declaration for definition. |
3.2.3 Competencies.xsd
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xsd:schema targetNamespace="http://ns.hr-xml.org/2004-08-02" xmlns="http://ns.hr-xml.org/2004-08-02" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" elementFormDefault="qualified" version="2004-08-02">
<xsd:annotation>
<xsd:documentation>
"Copyright The HR-XML Consortium. All Rights Reserved. http://www.hr-xml.org"
Name: Competencies.xsd
Status: Recommendation
Date this version: 2004-08-02
Purpose: Defines the Competencies Schema
Author(s): Competencies Workgroup
Documentation: Competencies.html
Terms of license can be found in license.txt.
</xsd:documentation>
</xsd:annotation>
<xsd:include schemaLocation="../CPO/DateTimeDataTypes.xsd"/>
<xsd:include schemaLocation="../CPO/UserArea.xsd"/>
<xsd:include schemaLocation="../CPO/xStringPatternExtensionType.xsd"/>
<xsd:attributeGroup name="id">
<xsd:attribute name="id" type="xsd:string" use="required"/>
<xsd:attribute name="idOwner" type="xsd:string"/>
<xsd:attribute name="description" type="xsd:string"/>
</xsd:attributeGroup>
<xsd:element name="Competency">
<xsd:complexType>
<xsd:sequence>
<xsd:element name="CompetencyId" minOccurs="0">
<xsd:complexType>
<xsd:attributeGroup ref="id"/>
</xsd:complexType>
</xsd:element>
<xsd:element name="TaxonomyId" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="unbounded">
<xsd:complexType