Competency Best Practices Part 2: Job-Specific Competencies

In my last post on the topic of Competency Management best practices, I shared some “basics” that I had identified based on input I’d gotten from other HR and talent management leaders, as well as from materials on the subject of competencies.  In Part 2 of my post, I’ll explore how specific organizations should go with job competencies, as well as measuring everyday job performance.

Job Competencies: How Specific Should You Be?

• The answer depends on what type of training and development you have in place to support the competencies, because the two must co-exist.  If you are using competencies to determine the level of competence in an individual, you have a specific skill to measure.  If the employee doesn’t have that skill, then you need to help them develop it.  Competencies need to reflect the type of learning you want accomplished. 

• Another breakdown in the cycle is the ability to measure the change in behavior after the learning and development process.  Is this something you’ve been doing?  And do you have the right resources in place to do this?  If you don’t have a team of learning and development professionals developing specific training programs to address skill gaps or following up to ensure behavior has changed, then creating job-specific competencies isn’t the way to go.

• Development comes in many variations.  If you’re using online learning as the organization’s only source of employee development, sure it may be a quick fix for supporting core competencies, but may not address the job-based competencies at all.  Be sure to use a blended learning approach to best support specific role competencies.

• Also consider whether the culture of your organization is ready to evaluate employees on all aspects of the job.  Evaluating specific competencies can be a daunting, time-consuming task, and most organizations do not have time or resources to evaluate employees based on their specific role/level.  If the process is too difficult and complex, management and employees won’t embrace it. 

• When interviewing potential candidates based on role-specific competencies, managers will have a harder time finding a “candidate match” because the competencies and behaviors are so unique to your business.  It is easier to identify candidate matches using broader competency models that can be measured at different levels of observable behavior.  This way, a manager can better consider the candidate’s achievements and levels of experience, as well as judge potential for growth, for a particular role. 

• Make sure you consider “derailer competencies” for the senior level.  These are competencies structured around senior leaders who are failing due to trouble with people and/or results.  If caught early, you may be able to get an executive back on the right path.

• Watch out for “compound competencies” – competency definitions that group multiple competencies together.  This is confusing to employees, and it makes your assessment process challenging to administer.

Measuring the Everyday Job Performance of Your Employees

Job competencies should be about what it takes to do the job every day.  Many people will want to be specific or detailed on this, but consider general competencies because they can work quite well, especially if you don’t have a dedicated learning and development team develop training.

You’ll also need a rating scale or point system to represent a specific competency range, from strength to opportunity.  This rating scale should be the same as your performance rating scale, so there are no misunderstandings among managers or employees.  Using 4-point or 5-point ratings are best, depending how your organization views performance.

For example:

• 5-Point Scale: Highly effective, Occasionally Exceeds Expectations, Meets Expectations, Usually Meets Expectations, Needs Improvement

The Benefit: the scale follows a bell curve and from a manager’s point of view, it’s safer.

• 4-Point Scale: Highly Effective, Effective, Usually Meets Expectations, Needs Improvement

The Benefit: it makes managers choose a performance-specific rating, versus choosing the middle option.

Also ensure you have an effective Performance Feedback process and have developed a solid plan for coaching managers to provide feedback for employees on the everyday job.

Before I wrap up my post, here is one last recommendation for your organization’s competency initiatives:  Keep it simple!  Your employees will thank you for simplifying the process and assessments easy for those involved. 

Many of our clients (and potential clients) get excited by all of the competency features within the Cornerstone OnDemand solution, but they’re not necessarily ready to implement all the pieces.  An organizational readiness assessment should help you determine the best approach for success.  I also recommend implementing competencies in phases, getting employees engaged, and then moving on to the next phase over time.  You can always add more competency components or dive deeper at a later date.

Laura Durando is Manager, Strategic Projects and Organizational Development for Cornerstone OnDemand.  She has over 25 years of business experience and has held executive positions in Talent Management and Organizational Development with multiple organizations.