Welcome Back to Competencies (Part 2 of 2)

In my last post, I discussed where competency-based talent management has come from, and the barriers that discouraged organizations from using them as a foundation for managing talent. 

What’s different this time around is that the world of competency-based talent management has rapidly changed from the mid-nineties and the issues of the past have been addressed by today’s vendors:

• Creating competency dictionaries from scratch is expensive and time consuming: Many detailed and validated competency dictionaries are available for purchase and/or adaptation by organizations.
• Competency profiling, especially in a large organization, is highly time-consuming as it requires significant support from HR employees and time for validation among many stakeholder: Competency profiling has become much more automated with computer-based profiling software and validation through video or teleconference. Pre-developed competency profiles can also be purchased off-the-shelf and adapted and validated for use in an organization.
• Defining core competencies and general competencies (soft skills) is fairly simple, however technical competencies are much harder to write and add little value, as they apply to few employees: During the past couple of decades, vendors have been developing competencies for clients in a variety of industries and many have developed specific technical competencies for jobs. Also, many industry associations have developed specific technical competency profiles that can be adapted by organizations.
• Implementing competency-based talent management as a manual process is time consuming, and it is hard to track and implement changes on a consistent basis as the paperwork/documents in all HR functions must be revised: Competency-based talent management software has completely changed how HR implements competencies. Changes to competency profiles are automatically applied to recruitment, performance management, career development and succession planning processes as they are all connected in one accessible computer system.

With all of these changes, there has been a transformation in the types of organizations seeking services in the area of competency-based talent management. Many of them already have some tools, such as competency dictionaries, and are simply looking for training and coaching to complete their implementation. Others are looking for software supports to revise their talent management processes to streamline implementation and bring their systems in to the 21st century.

Welcome back competency-based talent management!

To learn more about Competency-based Talent Management, download HRSG's free best practice guide on competency-based talent management to find out how to maximize the benefits of Competency-based Talent Management.

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HRSG is a leader in competency-based talent management. Contact us today to find out how we can help you.