What exactly are ‘excellent communication skills’?
It has to be one of the most clichéd lines in job
descriptions and hence, recruitment advertising – the request for
‘excellent communication skills’.
descriptions and hence, recruitment advertising – the request for
‘excellent communication skills’.
It is omnipresent in today’s recruitment
lexicon. Alternatively, you can substitute another one of your favourite
synonyms such as ‘excellent’, ‘good’, ‘outstanding’, ‘exceptional’,
‘superior’ or ‘high level’.
lexicon. Alternatively, you can substitute another one of your favourite
synonyms such as ‘excellent’, ‘good’, ‘outstanding’, ‘exceptional’,
‘superior’ or ‘high level’.
Unfortunately these phrases/words are of no help
whatsoever to candidates, recruiters or hiring managers.
whatsoever to candidates, recruiters or hiring managers.
Why?
To make an accurate assessment of a candidate’s
suitability for a job, it is necessary to compare the competencies
required to succeed in the job with the competencies possessed by the
candidate. ‘Excellent communication skills’ is not specific enough to be
an assessable competency.
suitability for a job, it is necessary to compare the competencies
required to succeed in the job with the competencies possessed by the
candidate. ‘Excellent communication skills’ is not specific enough to be
an assessable competency.
The test you can use every time to find out whether
you have specific competency or a broad competency (which
I prefer to call a ‘concept’) is to ask yourself ‘do I know the
specific behavior that I am seeking in the candidate?’
you have specific competency or a broad competency (which
I prefer to call a ‘concept’) is to ask yourself ‘do I know the
specific behavior that I am seeking in the candidate?’
‘Excellent communication skills’ fails the test of a
specific competency. There is a two- step follow-up process I recommend
you follow when you are confronted with a job requirement (hence a
required candidate skill) of ‘excellent communication skills’.
specific competency. There is a two- step follow-up process I recommend
you follow when you are confronted with a job requirement (hence a
required candidate skill) of ‘excellent communication skills’.
Step #1 – Identify
the actual behaviour required. Ask the hiring manager (or yourself)
‘could you give me an example of what you mean by
excellent communication skills?’
the actual behaviour required. Ask the hiring manager (or yourself)
‘could you give me an example of what you mean by
excellent communication skills?’
You might hear in response any of the following:
-
can present effectively to a small groupcan write clear and concise management reportscan negotiate effectively with key customerscan win over difficult yet influential team
memberscan confidently speak at a board meetingcan motivate an under-performing teamcan build relationships with key stakeholderscan deliver honest feedback to individualscan speak clear and understandable Englishcan build trust quickly over the telephone with
prospectscan communicate IT issues to non-IT peopleStep# 2 -Understand
the context within which the specific competency will be
required. This will be gained by asking one or more of the following
questions:-
what sort of information?to whom?how often?how many?for how long?You are now on the way to having sufficient
information to construct a behavioural interview question about the
‘excellent communication skills’ that are being requested in the job
brief. In other words, you have drilled down sufficiently from the broad
concept (communication skills) to uncover both the specific
competency and then the context within which the specific
competency will be required.This probing is critical in constructing both a
specific job brief and an accurate key selection criteria. It provides
clarity about the competency being sought simply by a detailed example
being provided.It also helps develop greater respect from candidates
who now have a better chance of highlighting their suitability for the
role because they know the specific competency being sought.Interviewers who lack training on competencies or
behavioural interviewing, will most likely assess a candidate’s
communication skills by how friendly and ‘nice’ they are in the
interview or worse, by how strong their (English-as-a-second-language)
accent is. This is a huge mistake.I would assert that the public demise of each of the
following high-profile people was caused by, amongst other things, a
failure to reach and maintain the specific communication skills required
given the context of their respective positions:-
Ted Baillieu (former Victorian Premier)Kevin Rudd (former Australian Prime Minister)Tony Hayward (former CEO, BP)Sol Trujillo (former CEO, Telstra)The importance of communication skills for success in
an increasing array of jobs, means hiring managers now have a much
greater responsibility to fully understand both the specific
competency and the context of these communication skills.How are you going to respond next time a candidateScroll To Top
with ‘excellent communication skills’ is requested?
This article was originally published in InSight 104 on 21/10/2009SubscribeLogin0 Comments