Organizations in nearly every industry can benefit from competency and assessment tools, which are paper or electronic systems designed to help you measure and evaluate staff competency in a myriad of skills specific to their role within the organization.
There is little argument that employees do their best work when they have adequate training and skills to perform the job. The result is higher engagement, improved quality, and ultimately, increased customer satisfaction. However, too many employers never implement successful competency evaluation simply because it looks complicated and overwhelming without tools (and we often think tools will be too costly to sell to the c-suite, right?). The truth is that the right competency tools are worth their weight in gold and are relatively easy to sell when you can demonstrate the positive impact on the bottom line. By implementing electronic competency assessment tools, human resources and other key stakeholders can transform individual performance and organizational results.
Competency assessment tools can bridge the gap between an employee’s existing skill set and the skills required for success in their position by assisting both the employee and the employer in identifying areas of growth and opportunity. Once these needs are identified, customized training programs can be developed, allowing the organization to invest in the most relevant and impactful education and support for each unique employee.
Tools like this are used in a myriad of processes. Examples of competency assessment tools include those used pre-employment to evaluate candidate competency in relevant skills; during employment as a part of a periodic performance evaluation; or when considering an employee for a transfer to a new role or department within the organization. In many cases, organizations use a competency measurement tool to satisfy the requirements of regulatory bodies because of the clear results and thorough documentation that these systems provide. Some organizations also use competency assessments to sell their staff or services to clients.