HR Definitions

Capability assessment is quite often misused in the workplace debate about the development of people.

There is confusion in many circles about the term capability, and its use to describe competence.

The terms are NOT interchangeable.

At HRworkbench, we use the term capability to refer to the potential for a person to be developed. If they are competent, the development has been achieved. There is a point in the realisation of capability where a person achieves competence.

If we are looking at capability assessment, we are trying to determine what latent capacity a person has that may respond to a training or development process.

Capability assessment is a more difficult task than measuring competence. To measure competence, you determine what the competence looks like and compare the person to that model.

With capability, there is no static model; different people may react differently to a variety of training or development interventions.

To take a simple example away from the workplace, a young person may be a fast runner but cannot hurdle. They are not competent at hurdling. A test of their body flexibility and reaction timing may reveal that they have the capability to become a great hurdler, and with an appropriate training and development program could become a competent hurdler. They have capability but not competence.

Capability assessment can be used as an input of the following processes:

• Selection
• Career Planning
• Succession Planning
• Performance Management
• Workforce Planning
• Development
• Development planning
• Organisational Change

Capability assessment is the realm of a trained workplace assessor or psychologist.

The tools that HRworkbench provide can contribute to the understanding of the behaviour, skills, or knowledge of a person, and can significantly contribute to that assessment.

It is the view of HRworkbench that the variables in assessing capability are so great that the assessment should be conducted by a professional within the area or topic.

The variables include things like:

• Physical attributes of the person
• Mental capacity to absorb new information
• Mental capacity to solve problems
• Environmental stimulants
• Personal Values
• Motivation to change
• Entrenched, learned behaviours

Competence
Skills Assessment
Training Needs Analysis