Competency management has been gaining more and more traction in the business landscape. This is mainly because its absence can lead to several issues, affecting everything from organizational performance to employee satisfaction.
After all, without the right competencies, employees tend to struggle much more in executing their daily tasks. This increases the likelihood of errors, leading to extensive rework and, consequently, lowering the quality of products or services.
Moreover, without proper management, promotions may be carried out without well-defined criteria, resulting in poor choices and significant internal dissatisfaction. Likewise, without competency mapping, it becomes much harder to provide training tailored to employees’ specific challenges, leaving them without the necessary development.
All of this, combined with the lack of a structured plan for developing competencies and career growth, leads to low motivation among employees and stagnation within the organization—ultimately causing it to lose competitiveness. That is why, in today’s content, we will discuss competency management and how to implement it. By the end, you will understand what this essential business practice is and how it can improve your company. So, let’s dive in!
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What is Competency Management?
In simple terms, competency management is a strategic approach that aims to identify and develop the skills or competencies necessary for an organization to achieve its objectives.
To do so, it focuses on identifying and providing all essential competencies required for the proper execution of processes. Competency management does not solely concentrate on technical skills but also on behavioral competencies—commonly known as soft skills. Additionally, this management approach emphasizes ensuring that employees can apply the acquired knowledge in the workplace context.
Key Steps to Implement Competency Management
Effective competency management considers the organization’s context and specific needs. However, there are some fundamental steps that are nearly universal for any company. Let’s take a look:
- Competency Mapping: The first step is always identifying the key competencies required for each role within the organization. This involves conducting a prior process mapping while focusing on both technical and behavioral skills. This step serves as the foundation for all subsequent processes.
- Assessment of Current Competencies: Once the required competencies are defined, the next step is to evaluate the current competency levels of employees. Simply put, this involves assessing whether the necessary skills are already present and identifying which employees possess them. This evaluation can be conducted through performance assessments, leadership feedback, process analysis, and other assessment tools.
- Development of Missing Competencies: It is natural that not all competencies are present in the company, especially in an initial assessment. Therefore, it is essential to create development plans—either individual or collective—for employees. The goal is to bridge competency gaps, which can be achieved through training programs, mentoring and coaching initiatives, formal education, or other development strategies.
- Continuous Monitoring and Feedback: Once training and development plans are in place, it is necessary to establish an ongoing system for monitoring and feedback. Initially, this monitoring will serve to track competency development and assess the effectiveness of the implemented actions. Later, as business contexts and processes evolve, new competencies may need to be developed, or employees may require refresher training—both of which can be identified through continuous monitoring.
The Scope of Competency Management
It is important to emphasize that these four key steps must be systematically integrated into the organization’s management framework. This means that all departments should collaborate to ensure the right competencies are acquired or developed.
For example, even though Human Resources (HR) may be responsible for training and development, other departments must continuously provide input, identifying competency needs and helping guide the execution of development initiatives.
Thus, competency management can be integrated with other business processes such as recruitment and selection, succession planning, training planning, and performance management. This ensures that desired competencies are always in focus and aligned with organizational objectives.
Competency Management, Culture, and Continuous Improvement
Proper competency management is, in fact, a regulatory requirement, as it is addressed in Clause 7.3 – Competence of ISO 9001:2015 and other standards aligned with Annex SL. However, it is important to understand that competency management goes beyond mere compliance—it extends far beyond procedural formalities.
Effective competency management is a strategic investment! It helps organizations adapt to change and maintain high performance in the short, medium, and long term. Additionally, it fosters cultural transformation by enabling more assertive decision-making, enhancing compliance efforts, and increasing engagement among employees and other stakeholders.
Finally, continuous development generates valuable insights and improvement opportunities, stemming from newly acquired knowledge. This opens up countless possibilities, including corrective actions, making competency management more proactive and focused on process and performance evolution. Ultimately, competency management drives profound transformations in both the company and its people, making it a fundamental focus for those seeking long-term sustainability!
