KSA Job Analysis & Competency Mapping 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In a competency proficiency scale, what distinguishes 'Level 3 - Proficient' from 'Level 2 - Developing'?
- The employee has completed formal education in the competency area
- The employee can independently apply the competency and may begin to guide others (Correct answer)
- The employee has memorized the relevant policies and procedures
- The employee exceeds all performance targets for the year
Correct answer: The employee can independently apply the competency and may begin to guide others
Proficiency scales typically progress from awareness/learning through independent application to expert/leadership levels, with Level 3 indicating autonomous competent performance.
Question 2: Which job analysis approach uses a hierarchical decomposition, breaking a job's main goal into sub-goals and then into individual tasks?
- Critical incident technique
- Hierarchical task analysis (HTA) (Correct answer)
- Job element method (JEM)
- Repertory grid technique
Correct answer: Hierarchical task analysis (HTA)
Hierarchical task analysis decomposes a job into goals, sub-goals, and tasks in a tree structure, making it especially useful for training design and error analysis.
Question 3: The Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (1978) require job analysis primarily to support:
- Setting minimum wage levels for job classifications
- Demonstrating the job-relatedness of selection procedures when adverse impact is found (Correct answer)
- Designing employee benefit packages
- Developing succession planning programs
Correct answer: Demonstrating the job-relatedness of selection procedures when adverse impact is found
The Uniform Guidelines require employers to conduct job analysis to validate selection tools and demonstrate job-relatedness when a selection procedure produces adverse impact against a protected group.
Question 4: When building a competency model using the behavioral event interview (BEI) method, interviewers ask participants to:
- Rate the importance of a pre-defined list of competencies on a 5-point scale
- Describe past situations in detail where they performed effectively or ineffectively (Correct answer)
- Predict how they would respond to hypothetical future scenarios
- Review and rank job tasks by frequency and criticality
Correct answer: Describe past situations in detail where they performed effectively or ineffectively
BEI uses a retrospective storytelling approach (STAR-based) to elicit rich behavioral data that reveals the competencies underlying high performance.
Question 5: A job analysis that finds a task is performed 'rarely' but has 'very high' consequence if done incorrectly should result in:
- Removing the task from the competency model because it is infrequent
- Retaining the task as a critical KSA requirement despite low frequency (Correct answer)
- Lowering the performance standard for that task
- Outsourcing the task to a third-party vendor
Correct answer: Retaining the task as a critical KSA requirement despite low frequency
High consequence tasks remain critical even when performed infrequently because errors can be catastrophic, so the associated KSAs must be assessed in selection.
Question 6: Which step in the competency modeling process involves verifying that the identified competencies are relevant, observable, and agreed upon by stakeholders?
- Data collection phase
- Validation and review phase (Correct answer)
- Implementation and rollout phase
- Job description writing phase
Correct answer: Validation and review phase
The validation phase involves reviewing draft competencies with SMEs, HR, and leadership to confirm accuracy, relevance, and practical observability before the model is finalized.
Question 7: In competency mapping for succession planning, 'readiness ratings' are used to:
- Assess how quickly an incumbent is willing to relocate for a new role
- Evaluate how prepared a candidate is to move into a target role based on current competency gaps (Correct answer)
- Determine the financial compensation increase associated with a promotion
- Rank job candidates by educational attainment for leadership roles
Correct answer: Evaluate how prepared a candidate is to move into a target role based on current competency gaps
Readiness ratings compare a successor candidate's current competency profile against the target role's requirements, indicating whether they are ready now, in 1-2 years, or longer-term.
KSA Job Analysis & Competency Mapping 5
In a competency proficiency scale, what distinguishes 'Level 3 - Proficient' from 'Level 2 - Developing'?