Competency dictionary

Competency dictionaries is a term of art that describes a tool or data structure that includes all or most of the general competencies needed to cover all job families and competencies that are core or common to all jobs within an organization (e.g., teamwork; adaptability; communication). They may also include competencies that are more closely related to the knowledge and skills needed for specific jobs or functions (e.g., IT skills, financial administration skills).

A typical comprehensive competency dictionary should include a broad range of competencies developed through extensive literature search, review of best practices as well as ongoing refinement based on field research with various client groups. The competencies in the dictionary are required by a broad range of employees functioning within a wide variety of private and public sector organizations. The demonstration of these competencies by employees and managers is related to increased performance at the individual, team, and organizational levels.

Each competency has a general definition, which provides the user with a general understanding of the type of behavior addressed by a particular competency. Each competency includes up to five proficiency levels and each level has an associated brief statement describing how that particular level is distinct from the other levels within that competency. The behavioral indicators at each proficiency level are illustrative of the proficiency level as opposed to representing a definitive list of all possible behaviors at each level.

Finally, the defined levels of proficiency for each competency are incremental and additive so that employees demonstrating proficiency at a particular level can be assumed to perform effectively at all competency levels below (see example on previous page).

Many Comprehensive Competency Dictionaries are divided into two sets of competencies:

Organizations typically include incremental competency proficiency scales as part of the overall competency structure. These scales reflect the amount of proficiency typically required by the organization within a competency area. For example, communication skills may be a requirement for most entry-level jobs as well as at the Executive levels; however, the amount of communication proficiency needed at these two levels may be quite different.

The proficiency scales serve two purposes:

Thus, having competency proficiency scales supports career development, succession management and human resource planning activities within the organization.

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