Wainwright Shaw

The way we work and the skills we use are changing.

The skills we once thought most important are no longer the best predictors of success. Functional skills (technical abilities and job-specific knowledge) are becoming outdated faster than ever. Yet behavioural competencies remain timeless and transferable across roles, industries, and career stages.

As work evolves and technology replaces routine tasks, research, and analysis, it's the human-centred skills that become our primary differentiator.

Functional competencies, such as technical skills and prior experience, remain foundational in ensuring people can perform functions, but behavioural competencies reveal how we build relationships, solve problems, adapt to change, handle setbacks, manage emotions, learn new skills, analyse situations, and influence others.

Unlike functional skills that can become obsolete, behavioural competencies are enduring capabilities that determine long-term success.

Research from leading institutions, including Harvard Business Review, Boston Consulting Group, PwC, Deloitte, the World Economic Forum, and the Project Management Institute, consistently shows that behavioural competencies are the real predictors of sustainable performance and career progression.

Yet despite this shift, most organisations are not equipped to assess the breadth of behavioural competencies needed in the modern workplace when hiring.

Most white-collar roles require 8-10 behavioural competencies from a pool of 15-20. The more senior the position, the more critical these competencies become. Take, for example, a technical role is typically weighted 70% functional and 30% behavioural, while a leadership role inverts this ratio to 30% functional and 70% behavioural.

Key behavioural competencies include:

* Accountability

* Adaptability

* Agility

* Collaboration Skills

* Communication Skills

* Curiosity

* Creativity
* Critical Thinking

* Emotional Intelligence (self-awareness, social awareness, self-regulation, relationship skills)
* Empathy
* Influence
* Learnability
* Problem-Solving
* Resilience
* Strategic Thinking

No matter how experienced your hiring team is, objectively assessing 8-10 competencies in a one-hour interview is extraordinarily challenging.

Hiring managers have traditionally excelled at evaluating functional competencies: the technical skills they use daily and understand intuitively. When functional expertise was the primary predictor of success, this approach served them well. But in most roles today, behavioural competencies are the critical factor determining whether a candidate will truly succeed. Relying solely on the skills hiring managers are comfortable assessing is no longer sufficient.

That's why we created Advanced Behavioural Competency Assessment (ABCA).

Using a structured one-hour video interview conducted by one of our skilled consultants, we produce an executive summary and a detailed report featuring BARS scores, in-depth analysis, insights into role and industry suitability, and areas for development.

Every shortlisted candidate includes both functional and behavioural assessments, providing hiring managers with the complete picture they need to make confident decisions, ensuring rigorous, structured evaluation of the competencies that are truly critical to long-term success.

Transform your hiring outcomes with ABCA

Don't let critical behavioural competencies go unassessed. Our detailed candidate assessment reports give you the clarity and confidence to select candidates who will thrive in your organisation for years to come.

Get in touch to discuss how ABCA can support your next important hire.

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