What is Competency Modelling?

A set of descriptions that identify the skills, knowledge, and behaviors needed to effectively perform in an organization. Competency models assist in clarifying job and work expectations, maximizing productivity, and aligning behavior with organizational strategy.

Competency models define what performance success should look like within the organization for each individual job. Resultantly, greater performance success has been attributed to organizations with thoroughly defined competency models. As opposed to a job description, talent management can produce a set of competencies that they wish to see.

Whilst similar to specifying the skills required for a certain role, the recruitment and hiring process is geared towards determining high performers partly through their experience but predominantly through an assessment of their core competencies. Through developed competency models, companies are far more likely to find the best fit for the job, contributing to higher rates of employee retention.