Competency-based management

Competency-based human resources planning serves as a link between human resources management and the overall strategic plan of an organization. Competencies are defined as observable abilities, skills, knowledge, motivations or traits defined in terms of the behaviours needed for successful job performance.

Competency-based management supports the integration of human resources planning with business planning by allowing organizations to assess the current human resource capacity based on their competencies against the capacity needed to achieve the vision, mission and business goals of the organization. Targeted human resource strategies, plans and programs to address gaps (e.g., hiring and staffing; learning; career development; succession management; etc.) are then designed, developed and implemented to close the gaps.

While competencies are not new to most organizations, what is new is their increased application across varied human resource functions (i.e., recruitment/selection; learning and development, performance management, career development and succession planning, human resource planning). Organizations are looking for new ways to acquire, manage and retain the precious talent needed to achieve their business goals.

Properly designed, competencies translate the strategic vision and goals for the organization into behaviours or actions employees must display for the organization to be successful. Competency-based Management (CBM) standardizes and integrates all HR activities based on competencies that support organizational goals.

CBM solutions typically provide input into and drive all aspects of employee career development. This allows organizations to improve productivity in most areas of human capital management human resources. CBM is typically referred to as "strategic" in that it attempts to link organizational planning to job execution.

The role of CBM is to shape and guide employee behaviour from "hire to retire". CBM helps talent acquisition, performance management and learning management systems to be more effective by assessing employees' skills and competencies. CBM also facilitates gap discovery and suggests learning methods (on the job, literature or formal courses) to help improve employee effectiveness.

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