Competency-based interviews may not be the best approach when recruiting senior managers, according to Alan MacKinnon, recruitment delivery manager, Transport for London (TfL).

Speaking to Recruiter at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) ‘Recruitment, Resourcing and Talent Management Conference’ in London this week, MacKinnon (right) said: “A competency-based approach could be viewed as quite prescriptive and stilted and not allow the interview to flow.

“This can be quite appropriate for junior or middle managers, but the competency-based approach needs to evolve to reflect the behaviours needed in senior management roles. These behaviours are different to those needed for junior or middle management roles.”

MacKinnon said one example is political awareness. “This might not be relevant at a more junior level, but at senior level the ability to understand and operate in a political environment might be increasingly important.”

However, he wasn’t advocating scrapping competency-based interviews for senior managers. “Senior level assessment needs to be built on existing competency-based assessment,” he explained.