Executive Order 24-04 | Toolkit | Part One

There have been several questions about how EO 24-04 will impact our current classification structure. The short answer is it will take time to determine this. In our initial look at the enterprise-wide class specifications, we only found a few classification specifications where a college degree was a requirement and these were addressed. A college degree was most often found in the desired qualifications, and there is no decision at this time regarding removing the desired qualifications section. However, we will be taking a closer look at the class specifications to ensure alignment with EO 24-04 and this will take some time. We were planning to have a thorough review of the class structure this year, but that project has been put on hold due to budget constraints. We can confirm, however, that using years of experience to qualify candidates for progressive class series is acceptable per the executive order as there is an established standard for it by OFM State HR.   

Competencies

Achieving equity and diversity within our workforce requires a comprehensive approach to recruitment and hiring that identifies and eliminates barriers to employment and institutional discrimination. 

SHB 2216 requires agencies to remove degrees as the only way to meet a required qualification (unless the degree is required by law to perform the essential functions of the job). How else can we assess candidates? Agencies must look at experience through alternate ways. Agencies must either offer at least one other alternative way to meet that qualification or list competency-based requirements. 

By focusing on behavior, competency-based selection can ensure that people of all ages and backgrounds receive consideration, regardless of the length of their formal experience or other factors. To achieve diversity in hiring, start by appointing diverse panels. It’s important to have people on interview panels who don’t all look and think the same. 

A “competency” is simply the ability to do something successfully or efficiently. In assessing competencies in the communications area, for example, an organization might evaluate a candidate’s proficiency at “asking questions effectively, confronting conflict, telling stories, paraphrasing, and presenting ideas with clarity.” 

• Create a panel of top performers. Input from top performers is an effective way to define competencies. Top performers know their job inside out and excel at it. They can tell you what it takes to do a great job.
• Focus hiring managers on the task. Get hiring managers to understand the critical competencies needed for the position. For example, a customer service employee may need empathy in certain situations, such as dealing with a customer needing services. 
• Reduce the scope to a manageable level. Narrow down the competencies to be evaluated. Less is more. Be focused. There is never a need for more than eight competencies. Keep it simple. Competencies should always be very straightforward and easily understood.
• Develop competency-based interview questions. Questions should be open-ended to help identify behavioral attributes. A common way to create questions is by providing examples of how a competency might be exhibited. For example, if you are trying to determine if someone was ‘action-oriented,’ you might ask, "Tell me about a time when you had to work on a project or task that you were dreading. How did you get started?"
• Conduct a competency-based interview. Competency-based questions ask candidates to navigate hypothetical scenarios and explain or demonstrate what they would do in certain circumstances. For example, ask a social worker candidate to “pose questions for a hypothetical case.” This gives the interviewer a real-life way of judging somebody’s competency to interview and gather information.