Most organisations believe or assume that COMPETENCIES such as technical skills, qualifications, job knowledge and generic competencies are the key drivers of job performance.

Research very clearly shows that it is in fact CAPABILITY that is the key driver of job performance and differentiator between poor, average and good performers.

Competencies are skills that are learned through education and experience. They encompass both technical or job specific skills such as:

• drawing up financial statements

• planning a production schedule,

as well as generic competencies such as:

• organising,

• negotiating,

• cultural awareness and so on.

Capability however is the inherent potential that is largely hardwired in a person. In a work context the two key capabilities that drive individual performance are

• Cognitive Capability (IQ) and,

• Personality and Emotional Capability (EQ).

There is very strong empirical evidence which shows that Capability is the primary driver of an individuals performance at work. There is a 68% correlation between Capability and job performance, and roughly a 30% correlation between Competencies and job performance.

These findings are based on a meta study done by Frank L. Schmidt and John E. Hunter are American Industrial/Organizational Psychology PhDs, called “The Validity and Utility of Selection Methods in Personnel Psychology.”

Many organisations don’t realise this though and place the emphasis on assessing a candidate’s competencies. Furthermore they over – rely on using interviews, which are the least reliable form of assessment tool. This results in a high percentage of poor selection decisions which has a range of adverse consequences and very high financial costs for organisations.