Designing a Competency-based Talent Management Framework: Developing Job Competency Profiles

Part 5 of 7 of the CompetencyCore^TM Guide to Designing a Competency-based Talent Management Framework

By Ian Wayne, M.Sc and Suzanne Simpson, PhD, C. Psych.

This is the fifth in a seven part series that looks at key decisions in designing and implementing a competency-based talent management (CbTM) framework:

1. Some Basic Definitions
2. Defining the Goals and Evaluating the Impact of your Initiative
3. Competency Structure and Types
4. Importance of Defining your Competency Architecture
5. Developing Job Competency Profiles
6. Project and Change Management
7. Key Decisions in Selecting a Software System

In the previous blogs we provided some basic definitions for competencies and competency-based talent management.  We also discussed the importance of defining an architecture or blueprint for defining your competency framework that will ensure the success of your competency framework in both the short and long term.

In this blog we will examine the whole process of defining Job Competency Profiles according to the Competency Architecture that you have defined, and the key decisions that you will need to make.

Job Competency Profiles

A competency profile specifies the competencies and levels of proficiency that are required for successful job performance for each job in your organization.  The different layers and types of competencies incorporated within the Job Competency Profile will be dictated by your competency architecture.  Using the competency architecture shown in the previous blog, the competency layers could include: Core Competencies; Job Family Competencies; as well as Job Specific Competencies.  Depending on the job, Leadership competencies could also be incorporated.

To help ensure that competency profiles are easy to use, best practice organizations limit the number of competencies included in each profile to around 12 competencies. For example, an organization might choose to have 12 competencies per profile: 3 core competencies, 5 to 6 job family competencies, and 3 to 4 technical competencies. Here's a sample profile to illustrate this concept.

The more uniform the work of a particular job group, the greater the chances that a limited number of competency profiles can be applied within that group. The less uniform the work, the greater the potential need for a variety of job competency profiles.

KEY DECISIONS

• What are the distinct job families and job groups?
• Are there any job families that are not associated with one specific functional organizational area (e.g., Administrative Support) as opposed to ones that are (e.g., Finance)?
• What types of competencies will be included in a profile?
• How many competencies will each profile contain?
• How many competencies of each type will be included in the profile?
• Can general or technical competencies differ across roles in the same job group?
• Do individuals in leadership positions require leadership competencies in addition to, or instead of Job Family competencies?"

Competency Profiling

The main steps involved in competency profiling are:

1. Conducting background research and preparation
2. Identifying critical competencies
3. Validating critical competencies
4. Documenting and reporting the process and results

There are various ways you can identify critical competencies required for successful job performance. These methods can be used individually or in combination within the 4 step process:

• Holding expert panels—using a card sort exercise or critical incident brainstorm: Expert panels are groups of individuals who know and understand the job or jobs within a job family, and represent the interests of the whole job group.  They are trusted by the organization, representative of the whole job family (e.g., geography; organizational area; etc.) and good job performers.  The group is led through a structured competency profiling / job analysis process by an expert in job competency profiling with the focus on the identification of the key competencies at the proficiency levels required.  There various structured techniques that can be used (e.g., voting; card sorts; critical incident; etc.), but the focus is always to get the group to come to a consensus on the key competencies required for success in the job or job group.

• Conducting surveys—asking job incumbents and supervisors to identify key competencies: Surveys are often employed in situations where there are  a large number of employees within a job group or job family, and the organization wishes to ensure that a cross-representative sample of employees or supervisors is polled.  The results are compiled and often reviewed by Expert Panels to establish the Job Competency Profiles.  This approach is also used in situations where the employees may be widely dispersed geographically, such as in a global company.

• Conducting behavioral event interviews—using responses to interview questions to elicit competencies: This is an in-depth approach to exploring the competency requirements of jobs by conducting interviews with job holders and / or their supervisors, asking them to provide specific examples of events that either resulted in either highly successful or unsuccessful performance.  The questions are typically structured to gather information about the anticipated competencies needed in the job.  The results of the interviews are coded according to the competencies and proficiency levels needed for effective performance.  This approach is more labour intensive and typically used when there are not many employees performing in the job – e.g., executive level positions.

• Reviewing worker materials and outputs—usually in combination with another method: This approach provides information about the complexity of the tasks involved in the job and the types of skills / abilities that may be needed (e.g., Attention to Detail; particular Technical / Professional Competencies).  As noted, this technique is most often used in combination with other methods.

KEY DECISIONS

• Will you need to customize the profiles provided in the CompetencyCore framework to address the range of jobs and culture of your organization?
• Will core competencies need to be identified; if so, how, with whose input and at what point in the process?
• What methodology will be used for developing and validating profiles?
• Is broader consultation required beyond an expert panel?  If so, how much consultation, with whom, and through what vehicle?
• How will senior management be involved in providing input or approving results? Interviews, focus groups, e-mail questionnaire?
• Is union involvement required?

One of the key requirements for a successful competency initiative is ensuring that effective project management, communications and change management strategies and techniques are used throughout the development and implementation process.  The next blog addresses this topic.

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Sign up to our blog’s mailing list through the form on the right-hand side to receive the rest of the series in your inbox.

HRSG is a leader in Competency-based Talent Management solutions. Contact us today to find out how we can help you.

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Want to learn more? Competency-based Talent Management, or CbTM, is the best practice for defining job requirements and building effective HR programs to develop skilled, engaged and productive workforces. Download this Best Practice Guide to learn how competencies can increase workforce effectiveness and improve business practices.

Designing a Competency-based Talent Management Framework: Defining your Competency Architecture

Part 4 of 7 of the CompetencyCore^TM Guide to Designing a Competency-based Talent Management Framework

By Ian Wayne, M.Sc and Suzanne Simpson, PhD, C. Psych.

This is the fourth in a seven part series that looks at key decisions in designing and implementing a competency-based talent management (CbTM) framework:

1. Some Basic Definitions
2. Defining the Goals and Evaluating the Impact of your Initiative
3. Competency Structure and Types
4. Importance of Defining your Competency Architecture
5. Developing Job Competency Profiles
6. Project and Change Management
7. Key Decisions in Selecting a Software System

Competency-based talent management is an approach for managing talent that defines the competencies required for organizational success, and provides a framework for ensuring employees are hired, developed, promoted and generally managed according to these competencies.

Prior to launching your competency initiative, it is important to establish a competency architecture that will work for your organization. 

Competency Architecture
A competency architecture provides the structure for designing and using competency profiles to support competency-based talent management. It is possible to define different structures and each organization needs to identify the architecture that best meets its needs. There are three basic criteria for defining a competency architecture:

1. It should include all the competencies that employees need, now and in the near future, to ensure your organization can achieve its vision and support its values.
2. It should support all of the intended uses of the competencies (e.g., recruitment and selection; learning and development; performance management; and career development).
3. It should be easy to use.

A typical competency architecture is made up of:

• Core Competencies: These are general competencies that all employees must possess to enable your organization to achieve its mandate and vision. They describe in behavioral terms the key values of your organization and represent organizational strengths that help your organization differentiate itself from its competitors.

• Job Family Competencies: These are competencies shared by a “family” of functionally related jobs. A Job Family is a group of jobs that have common functions / duties and form a logical group for acquiring resources and managing careers. They can include jobs within a specific functional area of the organization (e.g., Finance Department) or they can incorporate groups of jobs across functional areas (e.g., Administrative jobs distributed throughout the organization).

Job Family Competencies describe those competencies that are common for jobs within a particular job family, and can include both General as well as Technical Competencies.  For example, specific Technical Competencies for Accounting could be incorporated for all jobs in a Financial Administration job family, as well as some of the General Competencies (e.g., Analytical Thinking; Attention to Detail).

• Job Specific Competencies: These are competencies needed to perform effectively in a specific role or subset of roles beyond those included in the set Job Family Competencies.  Once again, these can include both Technical and General Competencies, but most often include specific Technical Competencies needed for effective performance in a job or role.  For example, Auditing may be needed only in a subset of jobs in a Financial Administration Job Family.

• Leadership Competencies: These are competencies required of the leadership levels of the organization.  They define the leadership requirements to achieve the vision, values and strategic direction of the organization. They can be defined as a job family or form a separate layer in the architecture.

The image below illustrates how a competency architecture can be built on the vision, values and strategic priorities of your organization.

KEY DECISIONS

• What is the basic structure of your competency architecture?
• What end uses will your competency architecture support – e.g., learning and development; recruitment & selection; etc.?
• Will there be a set of core competencies? If so, how will they be identified?
• What are the distinct job families and job groups?
• How will you treat leadership competencies – will they be embedded in each Job Competency Profile, or will they be treated as a separate set of competencies needed by leaders within the organization?

Competency Applications
Competencies have many potential applications, including: recruitment and selection; learning and assessment; performance management; career development and succession management; and human resource planning.

As noted in the previous section, the way in which the competencies will be used will influence your competency architecture – for example, career development and succession management are more easily supported by competencies that incorporate proficiency levels or scales, such as those in the CompetencyCore libraries of General and Technical Competencies.  In this way, jobs can be mapped in terms of the levels of proficiency needed for each competency.

As an example, a Help Desk Agent may need to display the behaviors shown at Level 3 proficiency on the Client Focus competency scale whereas an executive responsible for setting service standards and ensuring quality service delivery would need Level 5 behaviors on the same competency.

Proficiency scales help you compare requirements across jobs, which is especially useful when determining potential career paths within the organization.

KEY DECISIONS

• How will competencies be used in the short and long term - e.g., recruitment and selection; learning and assessment; performance management, etc.?
• Which will be the first application?
• Will there be a staged approach to implementation? If so, which job group or job level will go first?
• Will you need to develop specific tools and processes to support intended applications (e.g., competency assessment; interview question banks)
• To what extent will managers and employees need training?

Building from the Competency Architecture, the next blog in this series describes the steps and process for developing job competency profiles / models.

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The next blog in this series will describe steps and process for developing job competency profiles / models. Sign up to our blog’s mailing list through the form on the right-hand side to receive the rest of the series in your inbox.

HRSG is a leader in Competency-based Talent Management solutions. Contact us today to find out how we can help you.

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Want to learn more? Competency-based Talent Management, or CbTM, is the best practice for defining job requirements and building effective HR programs to develop skilled, engaged and productive workforces. Download this Best Practice Guide to learn how competencies can increase workforce effectiveness and improve business practices.

Designing a Competency-based Talent Management Framework: Competency Structure & Types

Part 3 of 7 of the CompetencyCore^TM Guide to Designing a Competency-based Talent Management Framework

By Ian Wayne, M.Sc and Suzanne Simpson, PhD, C. Psych.

This is the third in a seven part series that looks at key decisions in designing and implementing a competency-based talent management (CbTM) framework:

1. Some Basic Definitions
2. Defining the Goals and Evaluating the Impact of your Initiative
3. Competency Structure and Types
4. Importance of Defining your Competency Architecture
5. Developing Job Competency Profiles
6. Project and Change Management
7. Key Decisions in Selecting a Software System

In the first post of this blog series, the concepts of a Competency and Competency-based Talent Management were reviewed.  As a refresher, “competency” is a term that describes a pattern or cluster of actions taken to achieve a result.  Competencies demonstrate the following key features:

• They describe the abilities, skills, knowledge, motivations or other traits required in the job
• They are required for effective or successful performance of the job or task
• They are defined in terms of observable behaviors, and therefore can be assessed or measured.

Competency-based talent management is an approach for managing talent that defines the competencies required for organizational success, and provides a framework for ensuring employees are hired, developed, promoted and generally managed according to these competencies.

This blog examines the structure of a competency more closely using the CompetencyCore framework as the basis for discussion.

Competency Structures

Competencies in their Simplest Form
There are a variety of approaches for describing and displaying competencies. In their simplest form, a competency description includes the competency name (e.g. Client Focus) and definition (e.g., Providing service excellence to internal and/or external clients).  But the real value of the competency is displayed in a set of Behavioral Indicators associated with the name and definition that demonstrates how the competency is to be displayed.  Because these indicators are written as observable behaviors (e.g., Strives to consistently meet service standards), they can be used as the standards for measuring and assessing whether they are being displayed effectively by the employee.

Competencies Incorporating Proficiency Levels
The competencies in the CompetencyCore framework are made up of several elements. The sample competency at the bottom of the page illustrates how these different elements fit together.

The competency name and definition describe the competency and the essence of the behaviors it contains.

The proficiency scale defines incremental degrees of proficiency for each competency. Problem Solving may be required for entry- and executive-level jobs within an organization, but the degree of proficiency needed at these two levels is likely to be quite different. As you move up the proficiency scale from level 1 to level 5, therefore, the required behaviors become more complex and strategic.  The value of having a proficiency scale is that it allows the organization to map the different levels of proficiency required for different jobs and make comparisons across jobs.  While proficiency levels often map to increasing pay grades or managerial / supervisory responsibility, this is not always the case.  For example, jobs with high technical or professional demands may require higher levels of proficiency for those aspects of the jobs that the supervisory levels to which they report.  So, when using this type of competency scale one should be cautious about automatically assigning a higher proficiency level with increased pay grade or managerial responsibility.

The notion summarizes the overall theme of the behaviors identified within a given level of proficiency.

A Behavioral Indicator demonstrates the use of a competency at a specific level of proficiency.

Sample Competency: Client Focus

Competencies Mapped to Levels of Expertise
Similar to the proficiency scale noted above, another way of displaying competencies is by level of expertise required.  In the CompetencyCore library, our technical competencies (see next section on types of competencies) are shown this way with levels of expertise varying from “Basic” to “Expert” typically on a five-level proficiency scale.  In all other respects the competency structure is the same, including displaying the behavioral indicators by proficiency level from Basic to Expert.

Competencies Mapped to Organizational Levels
Sometimes organizations decide to display their competencies according to organizational level.  The same elements apply, that is the competency is defined in terms of the name and definition, but the behavioral indicators are assigned to organizational level (e.g., supervisor, manager, director, etc.).  This most often occurs when the competencies are being used to support development for increasing levels of hierarchical responsibility, such as for leadership development.

Different Types of Competencies

The CompetencyCore framework contains two main types of competencies.

• General Competencies describe the general behaviors, sometimes called soft skills, which are required to perform effectively.   In terms of the definition of a competency, this type of competency is more closely aligned with the abilities, motivations or traits needed for successful performance.  They are more general in nature and can be incorporated in a range of jobs within the organization.

The General Competencies cover three main types of Communication and Interpersonal Competencies in the CompetencyCore framework:

• Interpersonal Skills (e.g., Teamwork);
• Business Skills (e.g., Resource Management); Personal Skills (e.g., Adaptability); and,
• Thinking Skills (e.g., Critical Judgement).

Leadership Competencies represent a subset of the General Competencies and include key competencies for roles that involve managing, supervising or influencing the work of others (e.g., Developing Others and Strategic Thinking).

• Technical Competencies describe the application of knowledge and skills needed to perform effectively in a specific role or group of jobs within the organization.   These types of competencies are more closely aligned with the knowledge and skills or “know-how” needed for successful performance.

So now that you understand the possible flavors that a competency can come in, both in structure and in type, we can now look at how these elements are used within a general architecture (or blueprint) to develop Competency Models, also known as Competency Profiles, for jobs within your organization.

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The next blog in this series will discuss how competencies are used within a general architecture or blueprint for developing Competency Models or Profiles for jobs within the organization. Sign up to our blog’s mailing list through the form on the right-hand side to receive the rest of the series in your inbox.

HRSG is a leader in Competency-based Talent Management solutions. Contact us today to find out how we can help you.

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Want to learn more? Competency-based Talent Management, or CbTM, is the best practice for defining job requirements and building effective HR programs to develop skilled, engaged and productive workforces. Download this Best Practice Guide to learn how competencies can increase workforce effectiveness and improve business practices.

Defining the Goals and Measuring the Impact of Competency-based Talent Management

Part 2 of 7 of the CompetencyCore^TM Guide to Designing a Competency-based Talent Management Framework

By Ian Wayne, M.Sc and Suzanne Simpson, PhD, C. Psych.

This is the second in a seven part series that looks at key decisions in designing and implementing a competency-based talent management (CbTM) framework:

1. Some Basic Definitions
2. Defining the Goals and Evaluating the Impact of your Initiative
3. Competency Structure and Types
4. Importance of Defining your Competency Architecture
5. Developing Job Competency Profiles
6. Project and Change Management
7. Key Decisions in Selecting a Software System

Leaders chose to embark on implementing a fully integrated Competency-based Talent Management initiative for a variety of reasons.   Examples of drivers include:

• Aligning talent and culture management with the vision and strategic goals of the organization
• Improving productivity and profitability through talent
• Attracting and retaining quality employees
• Being an employer of choice
• Ensuring a continuing pipeline of qualified candidates for key roles

These drivers are often translated into human resource goals such as:

• Addressing skill shortages
• Retaining talented employees
• Developing high potential employees
• Implementing succession plans for key roles
• Achieving higher levels of employee satisfaction and engagement

It is important to engage leaders early in defining the key goals and success criteria for your initiative. This will ensure that it is designed to meet these goals, and will help determine whether the initiative is meeting the defined success criteria and having the desired impact for your organization.

Key Decisions

• Do you have clearly defined goals?
• Have you engaged relevant stakeholders to clarify your goals?
• Have you defined the key success criteria to be used in determining whether your initiative is having the desired impact – e.g., increased employee retention; higher customer satisfaction scores;  higher revenue / profits per employees; increased sales; etc.

Having determined the goals and success criteria, it then becomes possible to put in place tools and processes for measuring the impact of your program.

Goals	Success Criteria	Measurement Tools / Process
Retain talented employees	Improve employee retention from 70% to 90% within 2 years of implementation	Gather employee turnover data from HRIS prior to implementing CbTM framework and every 6 months thereafter  Provide reports to senior management
	Achieve a 60% increase in employee satisfaction with job and career opportunities within 2 years after implementation of CbTM framework	Determine relevant questions on employee survey for assessing employee satisfaction with job and career opportunities, and create composite score Measure satisfaction using composite score prior to implementing CbTM framework and every year thereafter Provide reports to senior management

Using the example shown in the table above, if a desired outcome is to improve retention rates for talented employees, it is important to have solid baseline data on employee retention prior to designing and implementing the initiative, and then to continue to periodically assess retention rates during and after the various stages and implementation.  If positive change is observed, then it would be reasonable to assume that the competency initiative is having the desired impact.  However, it is often necessary to use more than one type of data to confirm your hypothesis.  Thus, if employee retention is the desired outcome and increased employee satisfaction with job and career opportunities is assumed to be a contributing factor, then one also needs to measure employee satisfaction prior to, during and after implementation of the competency initiative.

The key is to determine the goal and key success criteria, and then design and implement measurement processes that will either directly or indirectly assess the impact of your initiative.

Key Decisions

• What are the criteria for measuring success?
• How will the impact of the initiative be measured and reported?
• Who will be responsible for measuring and reporting the impact of the initiative?
• Who will be responsible for implementing improvements?

Benefits of Competency-based Talent Management

To help define the goals for your initiative, here are some of the key benefits of using competencies as the foundation for managing talent.  Competencies:

• Improve hiring and selection decisions because the competencies, which are used as the standards for assessment and selection, reflect the behaviors employees must have to be effective in their jobs and roles
• Support the identification of areas for employee development that are directly linked to desired organization objectives
• Help translate the organization’s vision and goals into the competencies employees need to have to perform effectively
• Increase employee productivity and operational effectiveness because they focus employees on the required behaviors
• Increase employee satisfaction and engagement leading to reduced turnover rate because employees have a better sense of what it takes to be successful in current and future roles
• Shorten the learning curve for employees, by allowing both the organization and employees to focus on those competencies that need development
• Allow the organization to identify and then close gaps between the skills and competencies that employees currently have, and the skills and competencies they need to achieve the organizational vision.

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The next blog in this series explores more fully the different types and structure of competencies. Sign up to our blog’s mailing list through the form on the right-hand side to receive the rest of the series in your inbox.

HRSG is a leader in Competency-based Talent Management solutions. Contact us today to find out how we can help you.

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Want to learn more? Competency-based Talent Management, or CbTM, is the best practice for defining job requirements and building effective HR programs to develop skilled, engaged and productive workforces. Download this Best Practice Guide to learn how competencies can increase workforce effectiveness and improve business practices.