Competencies Defined

Competencies Defined While competencies are not new to most organizations, the language used can often be confusing. When embarking on a competency-initiative, it is important to understand what is meant by the various terms, and how all the pieces fit together. Here’s a cheat sheet for you to use within your organization. Making sure everyone is speaking the same language will go a long way in increasing buy-in into the concept of using competencies, conveying the benefits of competency-based talent management, and more quickly ramping up adoption of the tools. Competencies: We define competencies as the observable abilities, skills, knowledge, motivations or traits defined in terms of the behaviors needed for successful job performance. Properly designed, competencies translate the strategic vision and goals for the organization into behaviors or actions employees must display for the organization to be successful. Competency-based Talent Management (CbTM) standardizes and integrates all HR activities based on competencies that support organizational goals. Sample Competency: Client Focus

Behavioral Indicator

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Competency Definition: The definition describes the competency and the essence of the behaviours contained within. Proficiency Scale: Proficiency Scales, or Levels, are used to define incremental degrees of proficiency for a given Competency. As you move up the proficiency scale from level 1 to level 5, the required behaviors become more complex, have more impact and are more strategic in nature. If we look at an example of a sales department, Level 1 behaviors would be required for entrylevel positions, such as a telemarketer or account development representative, and the Level 5 behaviors would be expected from a Vice-President of Sales who communicates strategically to achieve specific objectives. Notion: The notion of a proficiency scale summarizes the overall theme of the behaviors identified within that level of proficiency. Behavioral Indicators: A Behavioral Indicator is a task statement that demonstrates the use of a competency at a specific level of proficiency. Behavioural Indicators must be S.M.A.R.T.

Singular

cover only one behavior.

Measurable

can be objectively observed or measured.

Achievable

can be accomplished by most employees capable of functioning at the fully effective level.

Relevant

clearly related to the role/job/Functional Community and within scope of authority and authority of employees.

Transparent

clear and understood by anyone who must use them.

Competency Profile / Model: A competency profile or model is identifies the set of competencies required for a particular job or role as well as the levels of proficiency for each. Usually there are several competencies (5-10) for any given position. The starting point for any competency application is a competency model / profile that is valid and constructed in a way that it can be easily used to support all intended HR goals. With valid, fair and unbiased competency profiles, management can recruit, select, train, develop and reward employees in a manner that is consistent with the strategic vision and objectives of the organization. Therefore, any investment an organization makes in competency profile development has benefits far beyond the usefulness of the results for employee development purposes.

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Competencies Defined

Competency Architecture: A competency architecture describes the common rules for defining competencies within an organization. It includes the guiding principles that describe how the profiles will be designed for the entire organization - e.g., the format for displaying the competency profile, content for the profile (behavioural / technical / professional competencies), core vs. unique competencies, etc. The model shown below illustrates a basic competency architecture, starting from the vision, values and strategic business priorities of the organization. The various elements of this model are defined below.

Core Competencies: The Core Competencies include very general/generic competencies that all employees must possess to enable the organization to achieve its mandate and vision (e.g., Teamwork or Client Focus or Achieving Excellence). These competencies describe, in behavioral terms, the key values of the organization and represent competencies that are organizational strengths or help the organization differentiate itself from its competitors.

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Competencies Defined

Job Family Competencies: Job Family competencies are those competencies that are common to a group of jobs. They often include General Job competencies that tend to be required in a number of Job Families (e.g., Partnering), as well as Job Specific competencies that apply to certain job families more than others (e.g., Project Management). These tend to be related more to knowledge or skill required for certain types of jobs (e.g., Accounting for jobs involving financial administration). Technical / Professional Competencies: The technical/professional competencies tend to be specific to roles or jobs within the Job Family, and include the specific skills and knowledge (know-how) to perform effectively (e.g. ability to use particular software; knowledge in particular professional areas such as finance, biochemistry; etc.). These competencies could be generic to a Job Family as a whole, or be specific to roles, levels or jobs within the family. Leadership Competencies: These are the key competencies for roles in an organization that involve managing, supervising or influencing the work of others in some way. Some organizations view "leadership" to be a part of every job of the organization in that employees are expected to contribute and offer new or better ways of working regardless of their level or role in the organization. Leadership is required in teams, project management, as well as at the managerial, executive and board levels.

© Competencies Defined, 2012 Published by Human Resource Systems Group, Ltd. (HRSG) All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

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Competencies Defined

About CompetencyCore™ and HRSG CompetencyCoreTM, a division of HRSG, is a complete Competency-based Talent Management solution designed to leverage talent to propel your organization to higher levels of success. Using the CompetencyCoreTM Approach you can effectively connect competencies to the entire Talent Management lifecycle through a combination of tools, services, support and training. Launched in October 1989, HRSG earned its leadership position by developing innovative, customercentered solutions to strategic HR issues across a wide range of government and industry. Their goal is to help organizations maximize their full potential by aligning their human resources with strategic vision and goals. HRSG focuses on improving the quality of working life for employees, while making a positive difference to the bottom-line success of organizations. For more information, please contact info@hrsg.ca.

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