A constructive review of competency-based human resources management

Abstract

Competency-based system has played an outstanding role in the Spanish scene of Human Resources Management since 90‟s of the last century. It‟s been considered a serious alternative to traditional management approaches (specially for trait-based systems) and, in short, as the model to follow. However, its application hasn‟t been exempt from controversy. Opposite to the enthusiasm of its defenders are those who question its empirical support, its positive results, its advantages and even its conceptual bases. Under the shadow of this debate, deeper than it seems and with positions often artificially radicalized, Competency-Based Human Resources Management has been widely accepted by many organizations and promoted from different professional forums, consulting firms, and so on. Now, a more detailed analysis of the subject reveals some kind of chaotic and, usually, discouraging situation: conceptual confusion, theoretic imprecision or theoretic-practical incoherence, contextual and situational handicaps for its implementation; these are some of the most representative problems. The goal of this article is analyzing these problems and proposing several courses of action that can lead to solve them.