We wrap up what a competency model is but also how you can better track it across employees.
Wanting to optimise performance, develop your teams and stay ahead of the competition?
You’re not alone.
One of the most effective ways to do this is by using competency models.
It’s a really power tool that can help you align skills, behaviours and knowledge to organisational goals.
But what exactly is a competency model, and why is it so essential for success?
Keep reading to learn:
- What a competency models is and how they work
- The benefits of a competency model
- And how to track competencies
Let’s get started.
What is a competency model?
A competency model is a framework that identifies the specific skills, behaviours, and knowledge needed for individuals to perform effectively in a particular job or organisational role.
Related: Learn more about compliance
At its core, it outlines the attributes required for success, serving as a guide for recruitment, training, and performance evaluation.
It is typically structured around key areas of expertise, such as leadership, communication, or technical proficiency.
These models are often tailored to reflect an organisation’s strategic objectives.
In simpler terms, it’s a blueprint for what makes someone excel in a role.
What are the benefits of a competency model?
The benefits of a competency model are numerous, particularly for organisations looking to enhance performance, align employee capabilities with strategic goals, and foster development.
Here’s a breakdown of its key advantages:
1. Alignment with organisational goals
A competency model ensures that employees’ skills and behaviours are directly aligned with the organisation’s strategic objectives.
By creating a standardised framework, it keeps everyone focused on shared priorities, making it easier to drive consistent performance across teams and departments.
2. Improved recruitment and selection
Hiring becomes more precise with a competency model.
Instead of relying solely on technical qualifications, recruiters can assess candidates against the skills and behaviours needed to excel in the role.
This leads to better hiring decisions and reduces the risk of mismatches.
3. Enhanced performance management
Competency models provide clear, measurable standards for evaluating performance.
This transparency makes feedback and appraisals more meaningful and helps employees understand exactly where they stand and how they can improve.
Related: How to link performance to learning
4. Employee development and training
Identifying skill gaps becomes easier with a competency model, enabling targeted training programs.
Employees gain a clear pathway for development, while organisations ensure they’re investing in training that directly enhances workplace capabilities.
5. Increased employee engagement
When employees know what success looks like, they feel more confident and motivated.
Competency models provide a sense of direction, fostering personal growth and creating an environment where people feel valued and supported in their development.
6. Succession planning
A competency model simplifies the process of identifying future leaders by highlighting the skills and behaviours needed for critical roles.
It ensures that organisations are prepared for transitions, keeping operations smooth and leadership pipelines strong.
8. Adaptability to changing needs
Because competency models are flexible, they can be updated to reflect changes in the organisation or industry.
This adaptability ensures that employees stay competitive and relevant, enabling the organisation to respond effectively to evolving demands.
What competencies to use in the competency model
The simple truth is that competencies will range company to company and employee to employee. For example, a nurse will have different competencies than an accountant, but equally a nurse would also have different competencies from a head nurse.
Understanding which competencies to track is a conversation that needs to be had between the employee and their line manager.
Some competencies can be broken down into categories that you you can use in the competency model. These include:
Core competencies
Core competencies include baseline skills that are required by the organisation for all employees. These are common skills like communication or teamwork; things that are required in all jobs.
But core competencies can vary company to company depending on their priorities.
It’s also important to remember that some companies will have to keep compliance into consideration too.
Staying compliant, for example, being first-aid trained, would be a core competency for someone in the healthcare industry.
Some more generic core competencies could include:
- Problem-solving: The skill to identify issues, analyse them, and find effective solutions.
- Adaptability: The ability to adjust to new situations and challenges quickly.
- Decision-making: The capacity to make informed, balanced decisions even under pressure.
Functional competencies
Leadership competencies
Leadership competencies are exactly what they sound like, key skills needed to lead and manage people, and ensure teams and organisations work towards common goals.
These competencies don’t have to apply to just employees already in leadership roles. They could also apply to those hoping to become leaders in the future in order to provide them with a skills pathway.
Examples of leadership competencies include:
- Visionary thinking: The ability to see the bigger picture and align the team with long-term goals.
- Coaching and mentoring: The skill to support and develop others, fostering their growth and performance.
- Conflict resolution: The ability to manage disputes and differences within teams constructively.
When are competency models used?
Competency models are used in various situations within organisations to ensure alignment between employee skills and organisational goals.
Here are some key scenarios where competency models are particularly valuable:
1. Recruitment and selection
Competency models are used during the hiring process to define the skills, behaviours, and knowledge required for a role.
They help recruiters and hiring managers assess candidates more effectively by matching applicants to the competencies necessary for success.
This ensures a better fit between the individual and the organisation.
2. Employee performance management
Competency models serve as a foundation for setting clear performance expectations.
By outlining the competencies needed for a role, they provide a framework for evaluating employee performance.
Managers can give more targeted feedback, identify strengths, and address areas for improvement, all in line with organisational objectives.
3. Training and development
When an organisation wants to improve employee skills or address gaps, competency models highlight the areas where development is needed.
They guide the creation of training programs, ensuring they target the competencies that will enhance individual and team performance.
Additionally, competency models support career development by clarifying the skills needed for progression.
How to track your competencies in an LMS
A Learning Management System (LMS), especially a platform as versatile as Totara LMS, provides a powerful solution for managing, tracking, and improving employee competencies at scale.
Totara stands out as an enterprise-level tool that integrates competency frameworks, learning plans, and reporting into a seamless platform.
But less sales talk.
Let’s see what it can actually do. With a Totara LMS tracking competencies, you can:
- Identify skill gaps: Quickly pinpoint where employees fall short of the required competencies and proactively address these gaps with tailored learning interventions.
- Boost workforce agility: Keep your team up-to-date with the evolving demands of your industry.
- Support compliance: Ensure employees meet the required certifications or standards critical to your business or industry.
- Drive engagement and retention: Provide employees with a clear development pathway and growth opportunities, fostering loyalty and motivation.
Here’s what it looks like in practice:
1. Setup competency frameworks
Competency frameworks in Totara LMS are structured systems that define the skills, knowledge, and behaviours employees need to perform effectively in their roles.
They allow you to map out the essential competencies required for specific jobs, departments, or career pathways, creating a clear blueprint for both individual and organisational success.
These frameworks are invaluable tools for aligning employee development with business objectives.
Setting them up is easy.
- Enable competencies:
- Log in as an Admin.
- Go to Site Administration > Competencies > Manage Competency Frameworks.
- Enable competencies if not already active.
- Create a competency framework:
- Navigate to Manage Competency Frameworks.
- Click Add Framework and give it a name (e.g., “Customer Service Skills”).
- Define its hierarchy (e.g., broad competencies can have sub-competencies).
- Add competencies:
- Inside a framework, add individual competencies.
- Define details like description, levels (e.g., beginner, intermediate, advanced), and proficiency scales.
From there, you’re ready to go!
2. Assign competencies to roles or users
Assigning competencies to roles streamlines the process by automatically aligning employees with the requirements for their job.
For example, a “Team Leader” role can have competencies like “Conflict Resolution” or “Project Management” pre-assigned, ensuring all users in that role have clear development goals.
You can assign competencies individually to users, to allow for personalised development plans tailored to specific needs or career ambitions.
Once the framework is in place, you can associate competencies with specific roles, positions, or individual users.
- Navigate to Competency Assignments.
- Assign the relevant competencies to:
- Job roles (e.g., Sales Associate).
- Organisations (specific departments or teams).
- Individual users (specific employees).
3. Use Learning Plans to monitor competencies
Learning plans in Totara are personalised roadmaps that help employees focus on achieving their development goals.
💡 Pro Tip
You can also set up reminders and notifications for users to update their competencies or complete linked courses.
They provide a structured way to organise training activities, competencies, and objectives tailored to an individual’s role, career aspirations, or organisational needs.
With learning plans, employees and managers can collaboratively set goals, track progress, and align learning efforts with both personal growth and business priorities.
These plans can include a combination of courses, activities, or evidence submissions that demonstrate progress towards achieving assigned competencies.
- Create a Learning Plan Template:
- Go to Learning Plans > Templates.
- Add a new template and configure it to include competencies, courses, and objectives.
- Define the workflow (e.g., who approves the plan, deadlines, etc.).
- Assign Learning Plans to users:
- Assign learning plans to users or groups via their roles, positions, or direct user profiles.
- Link competencies to learning activities:
- Attach relevant courses, activities, or resources to specific competencies.
- Example: A “Conflict Resolution” competency can link to a course on conflict management.
4. Track and assess competency progress
Tracking competencies in Totara is a key feature that enables organisations to monitor, assess, and develop the skills, knowledge, and behaviours employees need to excel in their roles.
- Tracking competencies:
- Use the Competency Status Report to track user progress.
- Access this through Reports > Competency Reports.
- Self-assessment and manager reviews:
- Enable self-assessments where users rate their own progress against assigned competencies.
- Allow managers to review, assess, and approve progress.
- Evidence-based tracking:
- Users can upload evidence of their skills (e.g., certificates, work samples).
- Managers can verify and validate this evidence.
💡 Pro Tip
You can create dashboards for users, managers, and administrators to display real-time updates on competencies.
Wrapping up
Competency tracking is a game-changer for organisations looking to build a skilled, adaptable, and high-performing workforce.
With the right LMS, you can create customised competency frameworks, assign and track them across users and roles, and provide personalised learning plans to close skill gaps and boost employee engagement.
And that’s not all Totara can do. Check out Totara Learn [& Engage] to see what the core platform can offer you.
Ready to see how the BuildEmpire Edition can transform competency tracking and learning in your organisation?
Book a demo to get better learning, improved performance, and so much more.