Tooling to Assist When Implementing a Competency Framework

Competency frameworks allow organisations to assess their entire workforce fairly and objectively by removing the subjectively of conventional free text-based Position Descriptions, CVs, and Performance Reviews. For a more detailed overview of competency frameworks and their benefits please view my previous article by clicking here.

Historic Issues Relating to Implementing Competency Frameworks

Competency frameworks are developed by industry foundations and the frameworks themselves are typically delivered to end users in a document format. Whilst competency frameworks can provide many advantages to organisations, they can present some challenges when implementing across the entire employee life cycle in their native state. Managing position descriptions, self-assessments, performance management and gap analysis in multiple documents and emails can quickly become a tedious decentralised process.

Organisations also must map current position descriptions to the relevant competencies within the framework of choice. In many instances’ organisation have the capability to perform this internally, in other instances organisation elect to have external consultants complete the mapping process. Whilst this mapping process can seem tedious, the business efficiencies to be realised greatly outweigh the work that must be done in the onset, luckily there have been tools developed to assist.

Tools Developed to Assist

Although some industry standard competency frameworks have been around for decades, only recently have modern tools been developed to assist organisations embed competency frameworks into their talent management processes.

• Position Description Templates

Competency framework foundations such as SFIA have created hundreds of standardised position description templates targeting the key roles, and their competency levels, across most major professions and industries, thus mitigating the need for businesses to start the competency mapping process from scratch. 

Organisations are encouraged to use these templates to fast track the implementation of competency-based position descriptions within their enterprise.   

• Cloud Based Platforms

Recently modern cloud-based platforms have been developed to further assist organisations adopt competency-based position descriptions. Workforce Alignment Platforms, such as Seera, have been designed to ingest competency frameworks and templated position descriptions, thus allow organisation to extend their benefits across the entire employee lifecycle, while mitigating the issues and time-consuming processes that are found when implementing a competency framework in either a document or spreadsheet format.

Beyond managing and maintaining an organisation’s selected competency framework, Seera amplifies their benefits and agility by converting their static spreadsheet or document composition into powerful and dynamic, enterprise scale UIs, databases, workflows, and real time analysis reporting.

Creating a fairer and objective way to assess and manage skills is more important than ever with our changing work situation due to COVID-19. Many people are displaced in their careers and if we all used a skills-based method for recruitment and ongoing career management, it would be much easier to see the opportunity in candidates and were upskilling and reskilling may be applicable for existing employees.

For further information regarding competency frameworks or the Seera platform please visit this link or contact me directly.