by Competencies are characteristics of a job, role, or function. An employee’s ability to apply the core competencies of his or her job is a key factor in successful performance and employee engagement. Many companies include competencies in position descriptions and job postings without a clear explanation of the skills or level of proficiency required, which can ultimately lead to high turnover and poor cultural fit.
From an organizational perspective, competence development serves two main purposes:
- To improve the alignment between the competencies of employees and the strategic goals of the organization.
- To stimulate and develop employee involvement in the organization. The result? Content staff and less attrition.
It helps managers at all levels identify core competencies that are critical for success in a particular position. This effort completed, documented, and accepted by organization leadership can be used to guide a number of related performance management components in a systematic fashion, such as:
- Pre-Screening: Creating behavioral-based interview questions relative to competencies.
- Candidate selection: Confirming strengths/potential challenges of candidate in new role.
- Ongoing talent management.
- Managing, appraising, and rewarding performance.
- Identifying HiPo (high-potential) performers and developing leaders.
- Designing corporate and individual training and development plans.
Process
Data Collection
A list of relative job competencies is developed via a basic questionnaire, along with a thorough review of the job description. Interviews are conducted with key stakeholders to discuss these identified competencies. If possible, interviews are conducted with successful employees in the same role.
Competency Development
A summary report is created and evaluated in a systematic process with primary stakeholders to gain consensus. Typically, 6 to 10 key competencies are developed per position.
Measurement
A measurement process is established to determine the skill level of an individual (employee or candidate) ranked against each of the identified core competencies. This may include psychological assessments, scenario-based exercises, and/or 360° feedback.
Framework for competence development
How does one develop competence development? The exact approach may vary depending on the organization, but there is an effective framework that consists of several fixed steps.
Step 1: Preparation
Putting competence development into practice begins with sound preparation.
- First and foremost, determine what goal you want to achieve with competence development.
- What information do you want to collect?
- How and for what purpose do you want to use that data?
- And what scope do you apply?
The answers to these questions allow you to determine what individuals within the organization will be working with the framework for competence development.
Step 2: Collecting information
The next step is information gathering. The more data you’ve got, the more precise and detailed you will be able to organize the process of competence development.
In collecting the necessary information, there are several methods (and combinations of methods) at your disposal.
- Observe how people go about their job. This method is especially useful when it comes to tasks that require manual labor (factory work, construction, etc.).
- Talk to your staff. Interviews can be conducted individually or in groups.
- Design a survey or questionnaire and have it distributed to all relevant employees.
- Analyze work and business processes. Verify whether they are aligned with the strategic goals of the organization and whether they are efficient enough.
Step 3: Building the framework
You have now collected all the relevant information. Good news, because you can now start building a good framework for competence development.
The steps below serve to make the building process easier and more transparent.
- Group all the collected information into competence categories.
- Divide competencies and their associated employees into subcategories. Refine these categories further.
- Identify and name the competencies at the individual level.
Step 4: Implementing the framework
With the final framework ready to go, the time has come to implement your competence development plan into your organization. Communicate with the employees involved. Generating support is an important precondition for successful competence development.
Below you will find some tips on framework adoption.
- Ensure a clear connection between individual competencies and business objectives.
- Reward competencies with a fitting salary and proper growth opportunities.
- Provide high-quality coaching and training.
- Keep it simple. A framework for competence development has to be clear and understandable to all. A complex network of rules beats the purpose.
- Be honest and transparent with your employees when it comes to the how and the why of competence development.
