To identify good employees you need to go beyond their resumes, professional experience and skills. Behavior competencies often sets candidates apart and help their outstanding performance even in new roles. Behavioral skills of a person depict how they are likely to act, react and deal with different situations at work. Considering these is therefore necessary to make sure you’re bringing on the best employees to the team.  

All days at work are never the same. Evaluating the candidates’ interpersonal skills, their problem-solving abilities, and stress management strategies ensures you hire a great professional with an impactful personality. This blog is all about identifying those behavioral competencies in the candidates you assess. Let’s move ahead then! 

Types of Behavioral Competencies  

When recruiting candidates, there are different types of behavior competencies you should assess them for. Let’s understand them in detail.  

1. Interpersonal Skills

Interpersonal skills are essential behavior competencies in a workplace. They help you work smoothly with diverse teams. These skills are key to achieving common organizational goals. Without strong interpersonal skills, communication within a team can break down.

Here’s why they matter:

• Effective communication: You’ll need to express your ideas clearly and listen to others. For example, in a meeting, effective communication ensures everyone is on the same page.

  
  

• Understanding perspectives: Working with others means respecting different views. Empathy and active listening help you see things from another person's perspective. This skill is crucial when resolving team conflicts or collaborating on a project.

These behavioral competencies can significantly boost team efficiency and harmony. 

Research shows that 85% of long-term job success depends on soft skills, like communication and teamwork. This is a legit reason to prioritize candidates with strong interpersonal skills for this reason.

Assessing candidates and employees for interpersonal skills, you can contribute positively to any team and create a collaborative atmosphere.   

2. Creativity and Innovation 

When assessing candidates’ behavior competencies, creativity and innovation are crucial  especially in marketing, design, and problem-solving roles. One needs to think outside the box to create fresh ideas. This helps companies stay ahead in competitive markets.

Here’s how these competencies help in real situations:

• Generating original content: In marketing, creativity helps you develop unique campaigns that engage customers. A creative ad, for instance, is likely to garner more sales instead of something mundane.

• Innovative solutions: In problem-solving, thinking creatively leads to smarter, more efficient solutions. For example, a tech company might develop a new product feature based on customer feedback.

These behavior competencies not only improve performance but also encourage continuous growth. In fact, 82% of companies see a strong connection between creativity and business results. 

3. Decisiveness

Decisiveness is one of the key behavior competencies that employees should have. It involves making quick decisions and standing by them. This skill becomes essential for keeping projects on track especially in teams that operate in fast-paced environments. 

Here’s how decisiveness comes into play:

• Crisis management: One needs to be quick during a crisis. Decisiveness allows you to choose the best course of action under pressure. For instance, if there’s a system failure, you must decide quickly to minimize downtime.

• Fast decision-making in dynamic settings: In high-pressure environments, situations change quickly. Candidates should be able to adapt your decisions based on new information. Companies with decisive leaders experience better financial performance.

Decisiveness helps avoid  delays and move forward confidently. As a result, you can lead teams more effectively and respond to challenges as they arise.  

4. Stress Management

Stress management is yet another important aspect when it comes to behavior competencies in a workplace. It helps you stay effective under pressure and avoid burnout. When employees manage stress well, they maintain self-control even in difficult situations.

Stress management skills helps one with:

• Handling tight deadlines: Professionals often face demanding timelines. Stress management ensures they complete tasks without feeling overwhelmed. Employees feel more productive when they can manage stress well.

• Managing workload effectively: Juggling multiple tasks is common. Staying organized and prioritizing work are key ways to manage stress. For example, creating a daily to-do list keeps people focused and calm under pressure.

When evaluating the candidates’ behavioral competencies see if they can perform better and remain composed in any situation. 

5. Problem-Solving

Problem-solving abilities are the next most valuable aspects when assessing behavior competencies you can have. It starts with analyzing situations critically to identify the root cause. Someone who understands the issue, can apply effective solutions.

Here’s how problem-solving skills can help:

• Troubleshooting technical issues: When something breaks, you need to find the cause quickly. For example, if a software error occurs, you must investigate and resolve it efficiently.

• Resolving conflicts: Workplace conflicts are inevitable. It’s important to assess the situation and offer fair solutions. Managers view problem-solving as a top skill in leadership roles.

Employees with strong problem-solving behavioral competencies make better decisions and keep the workplace running smoothly.  

6. Adaptability

Adaptability is a necessary behavioral skill for thriving in a dynamic workplace. It helps adjusting to changing conditions without losing focus. In progressive business environments, being adaptable is key to staying relevant.

Here’s how adaptability plays its role:

• Embracing change: New technologies or processes often require quick adjustments. For example, when your company adopts a new software, everyone must learn it swiftly to remain productive.

• Thriving in unpredictable situations: Unplanned events happen often, and require effective responses. HR managers believe adaptability is crucial for long-term success.

Developing strong adaptability is one those behavior competencies will enable employees to face any challenge with confidence.  

7. Initiative and Perseverance

Initiative and perseverance drive success in any workplace. Employees need to take charge, especially when faced with challenges. These traits push them to keep going even when things get tough.

Here’s how they improve everyday work:

• Taking initiative:  Team players shouldn’t have to wait for instructions; they step up and take action. For example, proposing a new project idea shows initiative. Many employers value initiative as a top trait in high-performing employees.

• Persevering through obstacles: When projects hit roadblocks, perseverance keeps people focused on the end goal. A classic example is seeing a complex project through to completion, despite unexpected setbacks.

These behavior competencies make employees more resilient and proactive in work. Make sure to assess them for these aspects before you hire them.  

Take Candidate Screening and Assessments to the Next Level With Redrob

Identifying behavior competencies is crucial for building a strong, effective workforce. These competencies—like interpersonal skills, problem-solving, and stress management—drive both individual and organizational success. By recognizing these traits, you can improve team performance and meet business goals.

To stay competitive, you should actively incorporate behavior competencies into your hiring and development processes. Look for these qualities when recruiting new talent, and nurture them in current employees. Implementing these strategies will help you build a resilient and high-performing team.  

With modern-day recruitment tools like Redrob, you can enhance your recruiting process and select relevant candidates efficiently. It’s one of India’s best recruitment platforms offering a complete suite of necessary tools to meet your hiring expectations. 

What do you get with Redrob? 

• A state-of-art ATS for streamlined recruitment pipeline  

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• 3500+ assessment tests to evaluate candidates based on essential skills 

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