The way we work and 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(technical abilities and job-specific knowledge) remain foundational for performing the job, but they're becoming outdated faster than ever.

Behavioural competencies, by contrast, are timeless and transferable across roles, industries, and career stages. These are the capabilities that reveal how we build relationships, solve problems, adapt to change, handle setbacks, manage emotions, learn new skills, analyse situations, and influence others, and ultimately determine long-term success.

As work evolves and technology replaces routine tasks, research, and analysis, behavioural competencies become our primary differentiator - enduring capabilities that determine long-term success, unlike functional skills that can quickly become obsolete.

The research is clear

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.

Summarise with AI

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, and the weighting shifts dramatically with seniority. 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

* Empathy

* Influence

* Learnability

* Problem-Solving

* Relationship skills (EQ)

* Resilience

* Self-awareness (EQ)

* Self-regulation (EQ)

* Social awareness (EQ)

* Strategic Thinking

The Assessment Gap

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.

Advanced behavioral assessment: Your modern hiring advantage

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

The assessment can be customised to focus on any set of up to ten competencies, ensuring we evaluate the exact behaviours that matter most for your specific role.

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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