Each month here at HRSG, we’ve been taking the opportunity to showcase the knowledge of some of our in-house professionals. 

Ranging from talent management specialists to industrial-organizational psychologists, our experts have been answering your questions on anything and everything to do with competencies. If you haven’t watched the video yet, you can find it on our resource hub. In the meantime, here are the conversation highlights focusing on using competencies to manage performance.  

Assessments and performance

If your organization already has performance management tools in place to measure key performance indicators (KPIs), you can incorporate competency-based assessments. Competency-based assessments are a clear way to determine whether your employees have the skills, behaviors and attributes needed to succeed. By assessing employees based on competencies, you have an objective foundation for determining whether they are effective in their roles. If KPIs are not being achieved then it points to the fact that employees are lacking in the required competencies, and development action needs to be taken. We recommend not basing compensation solely off competencies, but instead using them as a basis for learning and development. If your employees have the competencies that make them successful performers, rewards will come naturally.

What are the first steps to implementing competencies?

The first step is to develop your competency architecture and figure out which types of competencies you would like and how many of each. We recommend that organizations start out by deciding on a few core competencies that apply to every employee. From there, you can start exploring behavioral, technical, and leadership competencies. Once you’ve decided on your competencies, you need to decide on how many proficiency levels you would like for each. Most of HRSG’s competencies are five levels, with a few four level competencies as well.

Next steps after creating a competency framework

Once you’ve created a competency framework, it is important to take stock of how your organization is currently performing and how you are going to measure changes. Make sure to evaluate throughout the first year of your initiative, and then you can do a competency audit to ensure your program is performing as it should. Our competency experts can help you conduct an audit to help you achieve your goals and fine tune your competency framework.

To ensure that your competency initiative is a success you must determine that there is a felt need for the competencies and the competency-based talent management system at the most senior levels of your organization. They must be committed, so what you must do is think about communication and change strategies that look at what’s in it for them as managers. Finally, you must show employees what’s in it for them and how it’s going to help them in their individual careers.

How to use competencies and job responsibilities

Competencies should be used in conjunction with job responsibilities. When promoting, look for the best fit between credentials, competencies, and the job they want. Competencies are an objective measurement that make it easier to assess employees for promotion. They are also defensible, which means you are likely to have more support and cohesiveness throughout your entire organization.