According to the United Kingdom’s Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, a “competency management framework” is a structure that sets out and defines each individual competency (such as problem-solving or people management) required by individuals working in an organization. Even if you don’t yet have advanced software in place to enhance and automatize your competency management framework, your company likely has, at the minimum, a sort of informal structure for identifying and organizing competencies. After all, spotlighting and developing competencies within your business’ human capital is one of the most important core purposes of a human resources department.

What makes up a competency management framework will differ from company to company, but certain themes will usually remain present. Discrepancies often come down to differences between organizations’ sizes, industries, and long-term goals.

All competency management frameworks function as a basic three-layer pyramid. At the top, you’ll find the company and its long-term goals—its vision for the future. The middle layer of the pyramid is comprised of the company’s employees, who support the company. And at the base of the pyramid (the layer supporting the entirety of the structure), you’ll find the competencies on which the employees, the company, and in turn, the company’s long-term goals, run.

Take, for example, the competency of “ingenuity.” The competency of ingenuity, which can be developed, nourished, and supported, will strengthen the employee that develops it. That employee can then use the competency to support the company and its vision for future growth.

A well-thought out and sophisticated competency management framework will bring its organization a host of benefits. A framework for managing, organizing, and supporting key competencies will reverberate throughout the higher layers of the pyramid.

As previously mentioned, there are several different types of competency models. A small organization that’s just getting started might utilize an informal, manual model to help identify what’s working, what isn’t, what needs to be incentivized, and what can be placed on the backburner. Competency framework models can also be automated, helping both start-up and mature companies to pinpoint and expand upon their greatest strengths and hone in on their opportunities for development.

The best competency models are those that:

1. Save time. Great competency management framework models add value to the businesses they serve; they aren’t just another task for whoever is in charge of human resources to tackle and complete. We believe that good models have levels of automation that add value by requiring little time from those who manage them.
2. Provide New Insights. Human minds are the greatest computers of all, but as humans, we are sometimes limited by our own perceptions—especially when we’re evaluating other people. Competency management framework models that take the form of advanced software can provide new insights by connecting data points together in ways most of us wouldn’t think to do naturally. What’s more, they can provide hard proof of thoughts and insights we, as humans, have already considered ourselves. Smart software should be a partner to the individuals you already have supporting your HR initiatives.
3. Show us the Bigger Picture. Small tasks can seem just like just that—small tasks, but if we have a way to connect them to a larger goal, we begin to see just how important small skills, habits, and competencies are to the broader goals of an organization. Great competency management framework models don’t just measure how much X employee has of Y skill, they also provide a basis for designing the employee’s role, its day-to-day tasks, and how those tasks help the entirety of the employee’s department or organization work toward its larger purpose.

There are many different types of competency frameworks, and many of these may (and perhaps should) exist within a larger, complete framework model. Consider the following examples of competency frameworks: which are you already using on an informal scale?

Core competencies – These are the most crucial competencies that employees at most levels of your company need to support the company’s broadest purpose. They may vary by industry. For example, at an engineering firm, a core competency framework might reflect that employees need to be detail-oriented and diligent. In the manufacturing space, employees must be efficient and alert.

Common competencies – These competencies are specific to the level at which an employee operates. For example, managers must have a set of competencies that translate to their strategic abilities, personal skills, intelligence, and intuitiveness. Employees at the associate level may need competencies that are more customer service focused or industry specific. A comprehensive model will involve multiple levels of competency frameworks, including leadership competency frameworks and a competency framework for employees at junior levels.

Technical or job specific competencies – Many jobs require competencies that are largely role-specific, such as industry expertise or experience that requires both depth and breadth for total mastery. An information technology associate, for example, might need advanced skills in systems design, troubleshooting, and infrastructure development.

Leadership competencies – Leadership competency frameworks are, in a way, a subset of common competencies; they involve the skills and behaviors that contribute to advanced leadership performance. Organizations that lean into their leadership competency structure have a tangible method to both identify and develop their next generation of leaders.

Meta competencies – This competency framework relates to the development of very high-potential individuals who can advance the company’s vision for the future. A step above a leadership competency framework, the meta competency framework can take on a more abstract form to allow the company’s long-term goals to solidify and adapt over time.

Human resource professionals know that every bit of thought and effort that is expended on managing the competencies of an organization will directly translate to success at all levels of the company. For this reason, the best companies deserve the best competency management framework software. We believe software that identifies and supports talent within your organization should be dynamic—updated often to reflect your high-potential individuals’ unique skill evolution, and, of course, adjustable based on everchanging market data.

Our competency management framework software provides your human resources operation with a solid ground to build from. Our software, while completely customizable, is preprogrammed with several types of frameworks and various types of competencies (with examples) to help you get started. Our software allows you to integrate competencies that you’ve identified as crucial with the respective job descriptions and roles that those competencies support. It also provides your organization with tools to help your employees understand what they need to have to do their job well.