Employee Performance is critical to the success of an organization. Therefore, elevating performance is a top priority for management professionals. The path to optimizing worker performance begins with clearly defined reference points of what is needed for success in each role. However, it can be tricky deciding how or even what to measure in terms of the: traits, attitudes, skills, and behaviors a worker must demonstrate in order to reach the point of maximum productivity. A competency model effectively alleviates this problem by serving as a road map to identifying these characteristics.
A competency model offers a way to support recruitment efforts, the growth of workers, and engagement with work. It can also serve to identify skill differences between employees and the needs of a company. There are many benefits to implementing a competency model, below three are explained.
Targeted training and development
Developing a competency model will help clarify who needs to be trained and in what areas. Doing so will ensure that training is strategic and focused on bridging skill gaps to help employees excel. Training programs can then be tailored to suit the needs of each employee, at their respective level, to facilitate their success. Creating a development strategy ensures productive training for all employees. This will benefit the organization and save valuable energy, time, and money.
Increased engagement and retention
Employees are more engaged when they understand the organization’s strategy and the part they play within it. With this, employees are motivated to work diligently towards managing their current career phase and envision opportunities for development and growth into future roles. A recent study by Flexjobs found that the ability to own and develop one’s career is a primary reason people stay at an organization– contributing to job satisfaction and retention. That being said, the more that your company can retain and develop its own talent, the more progress it makes towards long-term goals for productivity and growth.
Alignment of organizational values & priorities
Communicate organizational culture through the development of a competency model that clearly defines and reinforces what is important to that organization. These values and desired competencies can be incorporated into recruitment efforts so that the best candidates are selected and are more likely to stay. Additionally, quality candidates will be attracted to companies with well-articulated and demonstrated values as a result of such competency modeling. Developing values-based training initiatives based on this input translates into employee behavior modelling these qualities. A mission driven organization propels towards success in a way that is meaningful and long lasting.
Closing thoughts
The development of competency models, helps you establish a direct relationship between employee learning, performance, career progression, and overall business results. This may be applied throughout the different levels of the employee life cycle—to better serve their current role and to aspire towards future opportunities. Training and Development can help close skill gaps, which will increase employee engagement and retention. This will ultimately play out in the success and longevity of your company.
If you’re interested in seeing how a competency model approach may heighten your own company in these ways, Apex offers a variety of services that can help. We can work with you to create your own company-specific competency model, which can be seamlessly integrated into your hiring, training, and performance management efforts. Contact us here https://www.apex-ps.com/contact-us and we’ll be in touch!