An important takeaway from this table is that Level 1 is not bad; it provides employees with an opportunity to focus on particular skills and knowledge for growth and development. On the other side of the proficiency scale, if an employee demonstrates they are an “expert” in a particular competency (Level 5), one would expect the individual to be giving back to the organization through mentoring and on-the-job teaching.

How to Use Competencies Within a Framework

Senior organizational leaders drive the development of the competency framework by using their mission and priorities to determine the top technical and leadership competencies that will create successful outcomes. These competencies should align with the values and vision of the organization. Leaders need to be realistic, yet aspirational, with their expectations on the level of proficiency each employee will have as it relates to the chosen competencies. You can think of operationalizing a competency framework using a 5-step process:

1. Identify organizational technical and leadership competencies and related proficiencies based on mission requirements.
2. Determine expected proficiency (e.g., level 2 for Junior Analyst in problem solving) by job series and position.
3. Assess employee competencies using a standardized process on a regular basis (e.g., annual competency assessment or 360 evaluation).
4. Facilitate career conversations with employees to match organizational needs, career aspirations, and current employee proficiency to learning and development opportunities.
5. Track progress using accountability measures (e.g., monthly supervisor/employee conversations, demonstrated improvements in proficiency).

Here’s an example of how the framework could be applied. Let’s say Amir owns “Party for You”, a catering company that has doubled in size in the past year. She wants to develop her kitchen staff to sustain her company growth and retain her employees. Using the framework, she would:

1) Identify organizational technical and leadership competencies and related proficiencies.

For “Party for You”, some of the technical competencies could include culinary expertise, inventory management, and sanitation, while some of the leadership competencies could be conflict management, building diverse teams and interpersonal skills. Once the competencies are identified, Amir and her human resource manager would then determine the 5 levels of behaviors they’d expect to see for each competency. For example, they may decide that Level 1 for conflict management includes identifying a customer conflict and Level 5 includes expertise in navigating both customer and employee conflict.

2) Determine expected proficiency by job series and position.

Since Amir’s company is growing so fast, she needs a way to identify the different levels of her employees’ growth. Amir and her human resource manager would then decide that an executive chef needs a Level 4 in conflict and a sous chef needs a Level 3, while a pastry chef only needs a Level 2 in conflict management. This information would be documented in job descriptions within the job series, to be used in recruiting.

3) Assess employee competencies using a standardized process on a regular basis.

Amir’s company informally assesses its employees every 6 months, and formally conducts a performance review every 12 months. Often performance reviews are based on informal conversations that can include biased decisions. Using the competency framework allows a fact-based conversation, with specific examples for each employee on how they’ve progressed in levels within each competency. The employee then knows what behaviors are needed to move to the next level for the next evaluation.

4) Facilitate career conversations with employees to match organizational needs, career aspirations, and current employee proficiency to learning and development opportunities.

Performance reviews are just one part of an employee’s development. Regular career conversations are vital for an employee’s growth and an organization’s employee retention rate. Once the pastry chef knows what behaviors are needed to move to the next level, the sous chef could coach her to take action toward to next level in each competency.

5) Track progress using accountability measures.

Having conversations without tracking progress is ineffective, so the executive chef ensures there is a tracking tool to measure progress. This could be a simple spreadsheet, Word doc or even a dashboard. Whatever tool is used, the chef keeps the conversations going so the kitchen staff know that she is invested in their growth.

If organizations are intentional with their use of a competency framework, they will better align individual needs with organizational outcomes like productivity, performance, and mission impact. The investment in employee development will drive higher levels of engagement and lead to the retention of strategic capabilities and institutional knowledge for the organization. Overall, the use of a competency framework as a strategic tool provides an opportunity to deliberately invest in employees while maximizing value to all stakeholders – employees and customers.

Does your organization need guidance in developing competencies or designing a competency assessment? Or recognize the value of defining the behaviors for each competency and aligning the competencies to mission requirements? Learn more by contacting us.