A solid competency framework allows:
- The organization to proactively plan for its human resource needs both in the immediate and long term
- The establishment of programs that support employees in acquiring the competencies needed for organizational success.
What is a competency?
A competency is any knowledge, skill, ability or other attribute that is observable and identifies successful performance. It is a term that describes a pattern or cluster of actions taken to achieve a result. For example, if an organization requires employees to display "initiative", this competency would be defined using a general definition as well as a set of behaviours that describe the type of performance the employee must display to be successful. An example is shown below.
Initiative: Anticipating and dealing with problems and issues in a persistent manner; seizing opportunities that arise and going beyond what is expected.
Example behaviours:
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Persists in finding solutions.
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Considers ideas from a variety of sources (e.g. literature, peers) to solve problems.
Defining competencies in this way allows the organization to clearly communicate performance expectations for employees and allows employees to understand how they must perform in their jobs to be successful.
Because organizations usually have a range of jobs with varying degrees of complexity and demands, competencies are often defined in terms of proficiency scales. Using "initiative" once again as an example, one science-based organization defined this competency in the following way.
In this case, "initiative" is defined as a scale, where proficiency at Level 1 "Accepts challenges" is the lowest level of performance required within the organization and Level 3 "Seeks to excel" is the highest level of performance that is required. Each level of the proficiency scale is incremental and additive. Thus, performance at Level 2 is higher than performance at Level 1and that performance at Level 2 assumes that the employee can also perform at Level 1. Defined in this way, competencies can cover the full range of jobs in the organization.
How are competencies developed?
Competencies can be developed using a variety of methodologies. There are however some common stages of development that are typically used.
Step 1 - Background documentation review
Rarely do organizations start from scratch when developing a competency profile for a job or role. Typically, there is documentation such as work descriptions, business strategies / plans, training programs, etc. that provide some sense of the competencies that would be needed for successful performance. Also, professional accreditation bodies and other similar organizations have developed competency or occupational skills profiles that can serve as a starting point. In addition, consulting organizations often sell competency profiles, competency dictionaries and competency-building processes could also help.
Step 2 - Data Gathering
Having gathered and reviewed relevant documentation, the next step is to gather information on the behaviours that contribute to success in the particular jobs or roles. So called "subject matter experts" should be able to provide this, from either within the organization or externally. These could include:
- High performing employees who are in the job / role
- Supervisors of employees in the role
- Employees who report to the particular role / job
- Stakeholders who are responsible for setting the vision or strategic direction for the area or function to which the role belongs
- Clients, internal or external
The data gathering methodologies can cover a range of possibilities including: interviews; focus groups and surveys.
The purpose of this stage is to gain as much information as possible about those competencies that distinguish employees who are high or superior performers from those that are just adequate or inferior. The result of this data gathering process is a draft profile of the critical competencies needed for successful performance in the role.
Step 3 - Competency Profile Validation
At this stage, the draft competency profile is "validated" through a process to verify that the defined competencies are truly representative of the type and level of performance displayed by highly effective performers in the job or role. Typically, the draft profile is reviewed in focus groups with incumbents and supervisors of the role.
However, another possibility is to have other groups of subject matter experts to independently identify the competencies that they believe contribute to success in the role. In this way, results can be compared across the various groups of subject matter experts for commonalities and differences. The choice of competencies to be included in the profile can be based on those for which there tends to be common agreement.
What if there are only one or two single person jobs that need competency profiles?
The above process is typically used in organizations where there are several employees who perform one job or a similar set of jobs. Often, however, competencies are needed for one job occupied by one employee. In this case, it is possible to use a pre-existing dictionary or a competency profile that has been developed for a similar job in another organization as a starting point.
The key is to assess the challenges and demands of the job and then to determine the competencies needed to meet these challenges. In this case, the supervisor can select competencies and identify the proficiency levels needed for success in the job using a competency dictionary. The selected competencies can then be reviewed with employee(s) and others who understand the job and required job outcomes (e.g., clients) to verify that in fact these are the competencies that contribute to success in the role.
Why integrate competencies into performance management?
Performance management programs are designed to provide feedback to employees on how effectively they are performing in their jobs. Good performance management programs link the outcomes required of the employees in their jobs to the business goals of the unit and whole organization. As a consequence, performance management processes normally include goals or objectives the employee must accomplish within a review period.
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Goals and objectives effectively define "what" the employee must accomplish within a review period.
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Competencies, on the other hand, define "how" the employee should perform assigned work duties, goals or objectives.
In combination with goals / objectives, competencies provide a more complete performance picture, for and of, the employee:
A performance goal or objective could be to "achieve a certain sales volume for the performance period". However, such a goal could be accomplished in a manner that is not in the best interests of the company in the long run, e.g. by using less than professional sales techniques. Competencies, therefore, define the values and behaviours the employees must display in achieving their work goals and objectives.
Beyond this, because competencies define the knowledge, skills, abilities and other attributes required for success in the role, they can be used to define learning needs (i.e., where are the gaps?) and support the development of learning plans targeted to address these needs. Organizations often develop a library or catalogue of learning options by competency. These catalogues typically cover a variety of learning options to address a range of learning preferences (e.g., on-line courses; suggested work assignments; courses / workshops; videos; etc.).
If competencies are incorporated into the performance management process broadly throughout the organization, it becomes possible to assess learning needs and gaps across the organization and to address these gaps through targeted HR strategies and plans (e.g., short term hiring for skills gaps and longer term training and development for employees).
This requires a consistent approach to defining and measuring competencies and a human resource information management system with the capacity to capture, analyze and report on gaps and strengths in employee competencies within the organization.
Competencies, therefore, provide organizations with a powerful tool to strategically plan for and manage their human resources for success.
How to integrate competencies into performance management?
As noted above, competencies are typically used in a performance management program to define "how" the employee must perform in the job. Five to eight competencies that are critical to success in the job are typically included on the performance management form. Feedback can be provided to employees through a narrative description of employee performance, using the behavioural indicators and / or through a rating scale to assess the competency.
An example, of a competency assessment process included in a performance management form for a long-term care health facility in Canada is shown below.
Conclusion
Competencies provide a very valuable addition and enhancement to the typical performance management process, with benefits for both the employee and the organization.
For employees, the assessment provides information on how their competencies support and contribute to the organization's success as well as a framework for planning learning and development in their current role and also for their advancement within the organization.For the organization, the assessment of competencies can provide valuable insights on the skills and talent pool resident within the organization, as well as the competency gaps that need to be addressed to meet both current and future needs.As such, therefore, competency assessment when broadly applied provides the foundation for making fundamental human resource plans and decisions to move the organization to higher levels of success.