What Is Competency Development? (With Core Competencies)

When applying for a role or looking to advance as a professional, learning about the competencies an employer uses to determine your suitability can improve your chances of success. You can develop these skills to demonstrate that you’re the best candidate for a particular position. Understanding the core competency requirements to succeed in a specific role can help your professional development and support a company in meeting its strategic goals. In this article, we define competency development and provide a list of core competencies that can help you succeed as a professional.

What is competency development?

Competency development refers to a combination of knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop a particular workplace behaviour or improve performance. It entails expanding and honing a person’s skills and expertise. It’s a continuous process where professionals build their experience and knowledge to add value to individual and collective activities.

Although competencies may vary between roles, companies, and seniority levels, some are transferrable and applicable in multiple industries. You can find the relevant competencies for a particular role in a job description or personnel specifications. Then, when applying for a position, showing the employer how you meet each of the competencies can improve your chances of employment.

List of core competencies

Here’s a list of core competencies and their sub-competencies that can help you succeed as a professional:

People management

Most organizations typically reserve people management competency for employees in managerial and supervisory roles. Some companies may expect junior staff members to demonstrate this proficiency. The ability to manage other employees may be a requirement of your position. Some sub-competencies within people management include:

Training and development

This skill may range from helping other employees learn about new technologies to identifying training opportunities for them. In some cases, employers may expect you to commit to personal development by readily participating in training and improvement programs. This competency also includes skills development strategies that allow employees to increase their responsibilities or apply for promotions.

Managing performance

Employers may include this competency in the requirements for a particular role. Managing performance is a continuous process to ensure that employees contribute to the department’s objectives and overall company goals. You can demonstrate this competency by showing how you can help the company achieve its objectives, maintain high standards, and resolve performance issues. Examples of this competency include:

• finding solutions to challenges that hinder performance
• setting defined and measurable performance objectives

Team building

Showing that you can work as a team member to meet a particular objective is a requirement for most roles. You can exhibit this competency by actively encouraging others to participate in decision making, engaging in work partnerships, and sharing information. In addition, identify the importance of assisting colleagues within and outside your team, and develop strategies to ensure all employees work cohesively. Other applications of this competency include:

• responding constructively to others’ suggestions and ideas
• encouraging cooperation and active participation within the team

Personal development

Personal development is a continuous process that entails regularly assessing your capabilities and skills, considering your goals, and ensuring you maximize your potential. There are various ways to ensure you progress in the workplace, including conducting appraisals, re-evaluating your time, acquiring new abilities, and reviewing your transferrable skills. Personal development sub-competencies include:

Mind mapping and structured thinking

In some careers, employers may require you to generate mind maps and apply your orderly thinking skills. These may be either technical or project-based roles. Knowing how to set out your thoughts and ideas in a logical pattern helps you to achieve your goals. Some examples of this competency include:

• explaining technical information clearly and concisely
• using mind maps to present complex information

Career progression

Employers typically prefer candidates who commit to career development and progression. It demonstrates their drive and dedication to delivering the best results for the company. Career progression includes promotion or accepting more senior duties. Other examples include:

• developing skills for working at a higher level
• seeking opportunities for development

Communication

Communication skills involve the ability to share information verbally and in writing. It also extends to receiving and processing written and oral reports. This skill is an integral part of any role in a company as it allows you to collaborate with colleagues, communicate with clients, and perform any duties that involve interaction with others. Communication sub-competencies include:

Customer relationship management

A customer is anyone who interacts with a company or purchases its products and services. Understanding how to manage client relationships effectively can help you increase customer retention. Promoting loyalty and delivering excellent service are integral to customer relationship management. Examples of this competency include:

• ensuring interactions with customers are always positive and polite
• communicating with customers to provide excellent service

Social and emotional learning

Employers require individuals to display social and emotional learning in various industries, such as welfare and education. It entails implementing strategies to help you understand and manage emotions to achieve a particular result. Examples of this type of learning include:

• recognizing and controlling your emotions and attitude in the workplace
• identifying, understanding, and considering others’ perspectives and emotions when handling challenging situations

Writing skills

Organizations typically require their employees to know how to convey information succinctly and effectively via writing. Communicating concisely and clearly can help you prepare correspondence and draft reports. These skills are also relevant when contacting other employees via e-mail. Examples of this competency include:

• structuring your ideas accurately
• using clear, concise, and appropriate language

Logical reasoning

Good reasoning skills help you consider all relevant facts, analyze them thoroughly, and reach reliable conclusions. This ability can help you make informed decisions when working toward achieving individual or company goals. Sub-competencies of logical reasoning include:

Decision making

Employers expect sound decision-making regardless of your role and responsibilities. For example, it may be necessary to make decisions about the delegation of duties, working patterns, team members, and other operational processes. Usually, applying logical reasoning skills to assess the available information can help you make the most appropriate decision. Other examples include:

• prioritizing tasks based on the needs of the business
• making informed decisions by analyzing current data and information

Methodical approach

When performing specific tasks, you may achieve better results by approaching them methodically, especially when working on complex projects. For example, dividing the project into smaller, more organized parts or delegating tasks to other team members may lead to a more successful outcome. Examples of a methodical approach include:

• performing and analyzing risks to identify potential complications and problems
• separating complex projects into more manageable sections

Identifying patterns and connections

Most organizations require you to know how to identify patterns, evaluate data, and reach conclusions. For example, if you work as a marketer, business analyst, or general manager, employers often expect you to develop this capability. This competency also relates to customer retention, employee performance, finance, and sales. Some examples include:

• finding inconsistencies in data and information
• understanding how specific trends and data patterns impact the business

Technical competencies

The competencies in this category extend beyond computer skills. They also include thinking creatively, devising innovative processes and systems, and developing policies to facilitate operations. Some of its sub-competencies include:

Creative thinking

Thinking creatively and generating innovative solutions are characteristics most employers expect of their employees. It involves considering alternative perspectives to resolve issues or using mind-mapping techniques to develop new ideas. Usually, this means collaborating with others to develop original and appropriate solutions and using your knowledge to create innovative ways to address existing issues.

Technical capabilities

This refers to identifying how to use technology and other systems to improve operations. For example, it may include adopting a method to collect performance data or developing new strategies for gathering customer data. It also includes creating new solutions with existing technology and applying your expertise in a particular area.

Computer literacy

Most roles require using different computer systems and learning about various software packages. This may range from using basic word processing and spreadsheet applications to more complex programs for financial management, web design, and performance management. Examples of computer literacy include the ability to learn how to use new systems quickly and experience using various relevant software packages.

source:
https://ca.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/competency-development