Competency-Based Organization

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What is a Competency? 

A competency is defined as an area or areas of measurable capabilities that facilitate and enable individuals, functions, and organizations to be successful. 

Job Family-Specific Competency. Is that which causes superior performance in the workplace (in your job) that is meaningful and valued? The convergence of skill, knowledge, education, experience, attributes, behaviors, achievement orientation, and relationships.

What Types of Competencies Are There? 

Core Competencies

Global Competencies (Horizontal Dimension)

Strategic Competencies (Vertical Dimension)

Leadership Competencies

Manager Competencies

Business Competencies

Results-Based Competencies

Job Family Competencies

Personal Competencies

Emerging Competencies by Function

Skills-Based Competency Job-Specific

What are the leverageable advantages of creating a competency-based organization?

Improved talent management

Strategic alignment

Competitive differentiation

Enhanced performance

Clearer expectations and accountability

Improved leadership development

Increased employee engagement

Adaptability to change

Better resource allocation

Enhanced customer value

Leverageable Advantages 

Improved talent management: A competency-based approach enables organizations to align their talent management processes across the entire employee lifecycle, from hiring and onboarding to development and succession planning. This allows more effective selection, training, and retention of employees.

Strategic alignment: Competencies can be directly linked to an organization's business strategy, ensuring that employee skills and behaviors are aligned with the company's goals and objectives. This helps in executing the strategy more effectively.

Competitive differentiation: Well-defined competencies can become a unique competitive advantage that is difficult for competitors to imitate. For example, the customer-focused competencies at Ritz-Carlton hotels create a distinctive customer experience.

Enhanced performance: By identifying and developing critical competencies, organizations can boost employee performance and productivity. Competency-based training programs can target specific areas for improvement, leading to faster and more effective skill development.

Clearer expectations and accountability:Competencies provide a common language and framework for defining excellence across all roles, creating clarity around job requirements and performance expectations.

Enhanced leadership development: Competency models facilitate the identification and development of future leaders by clearly defining the skills and behaviors necessary for leadership roles. This supports more effective succession planning and career development.

Increased employee engagement: When employees understand the competencies required for success and have clear development paths, they are more likely to be engaged and committed to the organization.

Adaptability to change: A competency-based approach enables organizations to adjust their talent requirements as business needs evolve, ensuring the workforce remains agile and capable of meeting new challenges.

Better resource allocation: By focusing on core competencies, organizations can make more informed decisions about where to invest resources for maximum impact on business performance.

Enhanced customer value: Leveraging core competencies enables companies to create more value for their customers, potentially leading to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.

What are Some Examples of a Competency? 

Building Value-Based Relationships. Generating alliances internally and externally by continuously identifying and acting on those things that will create success for the organization and its customers, suppliers, and market communities. (Global Competency)

Creating a Collaborative Environment

Creates an environment that emphasizes cooperation over competition

Breaks down organizational barriers to encourage the sharing of diverse resources across the company

Actively seeks out and values the ideas and opinions of others

Creates an environment where innovation and creativity are encouraged

(Strategic Competency)

Having a Strong Personal Conviction. Leaders strongly believe in their core values and live their lives in accordance with them. They passionately communicate what they stand for, and this firm conviction is a source of personal integrity. (Leadership Competency)

Setting Challenging Goals

Is energized by challenging organizational goals and will persevere to overcome obstacles to reach these goals

Helps their subordinates to set challenging and stretch goals

Demonstrates personal stability

Takes advantage of the diversity of personalities when managing projects and people (Manager Competency)

Intellectual Honesty and Integrity

Being honest and forthright with people

Being fair and equitable

Acting in ways that are consistent with accepted standards of professional conduct

Making honest and objective presentations of business information

Voicing one’s concerns even when they may be unpopular

Listening and giving serious consideration to ideas that are different from one's own

(Job Family Competency)

Transforming (Creating Change and Decision-Making)

Critical Thinking: Analyzing information objectively to identify what's important, see the bigger picture, and make sound decisions.

Learning Agility: The ability to learn quickly, apply that learning in new situations, and drive innovation.

Creativity and Innovation: Generating novel ideas, solutions, and approaches to problems.

Leadership and Change Management: Guiding and inspiring others through change and transformation.

(Emerging Competency)