Competencies 101

Table of contents:

The ABC’s of competencies 3

Enhancing job descriptions with competencies 6
Competencies are a multi-purpose talent management solution 7
Using software to your advantage 10
The Research 11

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The ABC’s of competencies

Competency-based management is a strategic talent management approach that defines the competencies required for successfully
delivering an organization’s business strategy. It is at the heart of a variety of facets of talent management, including recruitment
and selection, learning and assessment, performance management, career development and succession planning, and workforce
planning. By using competencies as building blocks, you will be able to create an integrated talent management network within your
organization, to ensure you are hiring, developing, and promoting the right people into the right positions.

According to a 2016 study by Brandon Hall Group, 72% of organizations cite competencies as critical to their talent strategy, and
there’s a reason for that. Competencies allow you to acquire and retain top talent, develop your employees and optimize strengths,
create better alignment between employee skills and business goals, and more.

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So what exactly are competencies?

Competencies can come in different forms, but typically, they define the observable abilities, skills, knowledge,
motivations, and traits, articulated in terms of the behaviors needed for successful job performance. Legend
Referring to the sample HRSG competency in Figure 1, you can see that each competency has a name 1 — Competency name
and short description. Research has shown that competencies are most effective when defined in and description
multiple levels. In this example, the Client Focus competency is divided into five levels to indicate the 2 — Competency levels
incremental degrees of proficiency. Each level has a summary, and examples of the behaviors critical 3 — Competency level
for Client Focus at each proficiency level. The higher the proficiency level, the more sophisticated the summary
behaviors and responsibilities become. This is important in ensuring that employees not only have the 4 — Behavioral indicators
competencies they need for success, but at the right level to perform optimally in their job.

Figure 1

2
3

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So what exactly are competencies?

There are a variety of types of competencies.

Behavioral competencies articulate Technical competencies describe Leadership competencies capture

natural or inherent behaviors that the application of knowledge the essence of effective leaders
are difficult to measure, such as and skills needed for success in and translate it into measurable
analytical thinking, interpersonal specialized fields. behaviors.
ability, and initiative.

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Enhancing job descriptions with competencies

The quality of your job descriptions can have an impact on nearly every part of your talent management process, from recruitment
to development. But too often, they’re lacking. More and more, organizations are incorporating competencies as part of their job
descriptions, as they provide an objective summary of the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to succeed in a job.

We define the set of business-critical competencies identified at the required proficiency levels needed for successful job performance
as a Competency Profile. By incorporating the Competency Profile as part of the job description, you can transform them into a powerful
talent management tool that fuels every part of your talent management programs.

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Competencies are a multi-purpose talent
management solution

There are many reasons why an organization of any size should use competencies in some capacity. We’ll go into some of the most
prominent reasons here, but you can always find more information in our resource hub or by contacting one of our representatives.

1. Define Employee Competencies

By defining the skills, behaviors, knowledge, and abilities required for success in each job you are setting
employees and your organization up for success. Whether you’re using behavioral, technical, leadership, or a
combination thereof, competencies set a standard that you can use to improve and bring together every aspect
of the talent lifecycle. By defining employee competencies, you can:

• Communicate job expectations in behavioral terms that are easily understood by employees.
• Ensure employees are a good fit both for their position, and with your organization’s core values.
• Set a benchmark for progress and assessment.

2. Select Top Talent

Competency-based interviewing allows you to base hiring decisions on objective and validated criteria. By
defining your selection criteria for performance success based on required competencies, you can ensure a
consistent and transparent interview process. Competencies help you select top talent because they:

• Ensure you are hiring employees with the highest likelihood to succeed in a particular job.
• Create efficiency by providing re-usable competency-based interview guides and questions that lead
interviewers through the process.
• Provide standards for evaluating the success of the selection process.

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Competencies are a multi-purpose talent
management solution

3. Engage and Retain

Research has shown that employees who understand what is required of them and have the tools to
succeed in their job will be more engaged and have a higher likelihood of staying with your organization.
Competencies are your first step on the path to improved engagement because they provide standards for
measuring employee strength and skill gaps, and improve employees’ understanding of expected behaviors.
When used with Career Pathing, competencies allow employees to plot a course of career transitions based on the
competencies they need for success. Competencies also help you engage and retain employees because they:

• Enable employees to see where they fit and how they can grow within the organization.
• Focus learning and assessment on the critical competencies needed for success.
• Implement standards to determine how well learning has occurred.

4. Improve Employee Effectiveness Using Competency-based Assessments

Organizations who use assessments through their talent management processes have better visibility into the
capabilities of their workforce. Competencies focus assessments on helping employees develop the skills
and knowledge most needed in their jobs. Once you’ve established an employee’s understanding of expected
behaviors, you can provide direction and a clear set of progressions to help them grow their careers. Competency-
based assessments help improve employee effectiveness because they:

• Can be tailored to support the employee throughout the entire talent lifecycle.
• Are a structured and objective basis for constructive feedback.
• Facilitate a developmental approach to performance management.

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Competencies are a multi-purpose talent
management solution

5. Build a Talent Pipeline

For continued organizational success, it is essential to have the proper workforce and succession planning
in place. With ongoing changes in the makeup of the workforce, it is important for organizations to focus
on developing effective leaders. By using competencies, you can take stock of your organization’s vision
and values, identify high potential employees, and keep potential successors engaged. Flexible, multi-level
competencies also create an enhanced talent pipeline by:

• Creating an atmosphere in which employees understand the organizational vision and feel prepared for
upcoming opportunities.
• Giving you confidence in knowing you have prepared employees to step into key roles and carry on the
organizational vision.
• Be better prepared by using competencies to assess each job’s bench strength score. The lower the score, the
more difficult it will be to fill an empty position from within your organization. Competencies allow you to look
at the commonalities between jobs in different departments, letting you see which positions are vulnerable
in terms of available talent.

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Using software to your advantage

Competencies are not a tool to be used in isolation. When integrated with software solutions organizations get decisively better
results from their competency projects. This is because it can be difficult to manage all the aspects of competencies, from job
descriptions, to competency profiles, assessments, training, and more. Organizations that use software have the infrastructure to
facilitate full and effective implementation.

HRSG’s CompetencyCore software allows you to put competencies at the core of your talent management lifecycle, and build
the foundation to engage, develop, and retain top quality employees. By bringing together job descriptions and competencies,
CompetencyCore gives you the hub you need to define your jobs in behavioral terms and set measurable benchmarks for success. In
addition to the competency management capabilities, modules such as a competency-based interview guide builder, assessment and
development, testing, career pathing, and more can be added to suit your organizational needs.

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The Research

The following research, curated by experts, demonstrates that competencies are crucial for success in all aspects of talent management.
By using competencies organizations are better prepared to tackle evolving job markets, develop effective leadership, hire the best
people, and improve employee performance. Regardless of your industry or organizational size, competencies are a customizable
solution that will have you seeing benefits for your organization and each of your employees.

When making effective workforce When increasing retention and hiring When maximizing productivity and
decisions and organizational changes, the right people, organizations that use employee engagement, organizations
organizations that use competencies competencies have a: that use competencies have a:
have a:

• 92% greater ability to respond to • 40% lower turnover among high • 26% higher revenue per employee.
changing economic conditions. performers. • 19% improvement in employee
• 144% greater ability to plan for • 17% lower overall voluntary turnover. performance.
future workforce needs. • 87% greater ability to hire the best • 89% of best-in-class organizations
• 156% greater ability to develop people. had core competencies defined for
great leaders. all roles (versus 48% for all other
companies).

Source: Sherman Garr, S., (2012) Integrated Talent Management: A Roadmap for Success. Bersin and Associates

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Want to learn more?

Talk to our team today, or check out more

learning resources in our resource hub!

1-866-574-7041 | [email protected]

About HRSG
HRSG provides cutting-edge software and professional services. Since 1989, we have worked with a range of industries to define
talent needs, address skill deficiencies, and improve individual and organizational performance. We are a recognized leader in the field
of competency-based talent management, and our flagship software, CompetencyCore™, is used by organizations around the world, to
integrate competencies across the talent management lifecycle. For more information, please visit www.hrsg.ca.

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