Step Two

Use subject matter experts to identify the activities required to accomplish the objectives for a specific job family or position (focus on the future objectives, not the past). Then they should identify the skills required to effectively execute the activities (both interpersonal and technical can be identified, but the technical are most important at this point). Define each skill and assess employees (via tests or multiple raters) that are in that position or that job family against the skill to determine how skilled they are. Then look for the skills that are common to the highest performers based on the assessments. These are the most important skills and should be saved as a high-performer model. For selection purposes, use the competencies that are common to the high performers, but not the low performers (these are called 'differentiators').