Competency Management: What it is and How it Helps an Organization

We have always talked about the growing importance of modernization in the corporate world and the significant changes that have revolutionized the way we work.

In between those topics of discussion, we often forget how organizations and their employees adapt to changes daily. The employees are evolving with new competencies and keeping up with the pace to stay in the game. And to make them even more proficient with unparalleled skills, it has become crucial to practice competency management.

But why competency management? The following blog will discuss the definition and the importance of the practice in an organization.

What is Competency Management?

To follow the practice of competency management, you first need to understand the meaning of competency. An employee’s competency defines their overall skills, abilities, expertise, and knowledge one has in their niche. Competency management is the process of identifying, managing and developing employee competencies.

The main aim of competency management is to align the skills and competencies with the organizational goals and objectives. With the program’s proper implementation, an organization will hire the best candidate giving them a competitive advantage and increasing the annual revenue.

How does it help the organization?

1. Employee Upskilling

Upskilling your employees is always a crucial part of moving forward in the fast-paced corporate world. As a manager, however, you have to understand how you will help the employees enhance their skills and abilities.

The practice of competency management is your ultimate answer to enhancing the skills of your employees. Not only does it measure the employees’ skill set, but it also identifies their true potential that will help the organization in the future.

2. Behavioral and Performance Enhancement

Employee behavior is directly related to their performance levels in the organization. An employee with a dejected attitude will not perform, and the main reason behind it can be a lack of confidence due to not meeting their full potential. That can be a rising concern for the managers.

However, with competency management, managers can be well aware of the employees that are struggling to perform and having behavioral crises. The system streamlines the employees’ overall performance, where managers can keep track of their progress. Furthermore, a robust system will help employees work on their weaknesses and improve in the long run.

3. Better Succession Planning

Succession planning, as we know, is a process that identifies future candidates for specific roles that are important and has been left vacant due to retirement. It is a strategy that identifies talents within the organization and reduces hiring costs.

The succession planning processes get even better with the help of competency management systems. It helps an organization channel and filter out candidates with leadership qualities and the proper attitude to fill vacant positions. Furthermore, the system also assists in developing plans that will guide the management in future succession planning.

Related Article: Succession Planning: What Managers Need to Know

4. Increased Employee Satisfaction

Employee satisfaction is an essential factor in higher retention rates for an organization. An increase in satisfaction will result in employee productivity and a rise in engagement levels. And with the competency system in place, employees will be able to improve themselves and increase their capabilities with various online sessions and modules that will raise their satisfaction levels.

It will provide them with the perfect opportunity to grow themselves and help them move forward in their niche area.

Read more: 9 Best Practices to Keep Employee Satisfaction High

5. Clear Understanding of Expectations and Roles

Placing the right candidate for the correct position is very crucial for them to perform at their best. And the competency system helps an organization do just that without any hassle.

The system first identifies the capabilities and skills, after which it matches them with the job that suits the candidate. Doing so ensures that the candidate has proper knowledge of the assigned role and a clear understanding of the expectations with the help of SMART goals.

Competency Management Practices

An organization must have a clear vision of what they want to accomplish with the program and how they want to run it. Below are some pointers to help you kickstart the program without any hassle.

1. Proper Framework

A proper framework is a stepping stone for any program to run successfully in an organization. It is one of the crucial steps before kickstarting a plan because it will become a definitive guide that managers can follow. The framework should consist of core competencies that will become the base and structure of the business strategy.

Furthermore, do keep in mind to be more flexible with your planning as it will provide ample opportunities to moderate and improve the program in the future.

2. Use of Competency Model

You can implement competency management successfully with the help of competency models as they help enable the employees to perform their job proficiently. These models define each individual’s success rate according to their competencies and help in talent acquisition, training, and performance assessment.

Some of the benefits of using competency models-

• A concrete alignment of workforce development with organizational goals.

• HR can now have a complete understanding of an employee’s skills and capabilities.

• Empowers organizations to keep track of improving employee performance and what skills they have acquired to apply in the future.

• It provides a fair and transparent system of performance evaluation.

3. Orientation of the Program

Proper orientation of the competency management system is essential so that employees can better understand the program. A clear and prompt approach to explaining the program will help the organization run it smoothly and efficiently.

To successfully put forward the program, tell the workforce why it is vital for them and its benefits. Furthermore, hand out online guides, presentations, and hold sessions to clarify any doubts about the program. A better knowledge of competency management will help them grasp the long term advantages and future use of it in the organization.

4. Assessing the efficiency of the Program

After completing the program’s implementation process, assessing it for a certain period is crucial. It will give you a clearer picture of how well the program is holding up and if it turns out to be useful for the organization.

Furthermore, assessing the program will also help you with an in-depth understanding of the organization’s skills gap. It will also churn out any loopholes present during the implementation of the program.

5. Feedbacks and Improvements

Feedbacks are always essential to a program for its improvement in the long run. The more feedback you can generate, the better opportunities will come your way to make significant changes to enhance the system.

Conduct periodic surveys asking the right questions about the new system. Ensure that the study is an employee-centric one that will explain if the competency management system will benefit the organization and its employees. Work on the feedback and develop the program to meet the business goals in the future.

Summing it Up

The measurement of your employees’ competencies is crucial as they play a pivotal role in determining the organizations’ success in the long run. With the correct tools and a definite process, it is possible to enhance the abilities that will make them a valuable asset. Furthermore, with the right coaching and learning programs upskilling becomes easy, effective, and hassle-free.

Mrinmoy Rabha is a content writer and digital marketer at Vantage Circle. He is an avid follower of football and passionate about singing. For any related queries, contact editor@vantagecircle.com