Competency Based HR Management

Competency-based human resources planning should serve 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 behaviors 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 / staffing; learning; career development; succession management; etc.) are then designed, developed and implemented to close the gaps.

For example technical competencies for the job of systems engineer might include the following:
1) Design complex software applications, establish protocols, and create prototypes
2) Establish the necessary platform requirements to efficiently and completely coordinate data transfer.
3) Prepare comprehensive and complete documentation including specifications, flow diagrams, process patrols and budgets.

Competency layers
The model builds from the vision, values and strategic business priorities of the organization and includes the following competency layers:
Core Competencies - The Core competencies includes very general/generic competencies that all employees must possess to enable the organization to achieve its mandate and vision (e.g., Teamwork).

Job Family Competencies - Job Family competencies are those competencies that are common to a group of jobs. They often include General Job competencies that tend to be required in a number of Job Families (e.g., Partnering), as well as Job Specific competencies that apply to certain job families more than others (e.g., Project Management). These tend to be related more to knowledge or skill required for certain types of jobs (e.g., Accounting for jobs involving financial administration)

Technical / Professional Competencies - The technical/professional competencies tend to be specific to roles or jobs within the Job Family, and include the specific skills and knowledge (know-how) to perform effectively (e.g. ability to use particular software; knowledge in particular professional areas such as finance, biochemistry; etc.). These competencies could be generic to a Job Family as a whole, or be specific to roles, levels or jobs within the family.

Leadership Competencies - These are the key competencies for roles in an organization that involve managing, supervising or influencing the work of others in some way. Some organizations view "leadership" to be a part of every job of the organization in that employees are expected to contribute and offer new or better ways of working regardless of their level or role in the organization. Leadership is required in teams, project management, as well as at the managerial, executive and board levels.