Think about a large organisation, with different departments and people holding various job titles. In order for all of them to fully understand their role, they need to know their competencies. This is where a competency model comes in. This model allows for the definition and expected behaviours of each person within the organisation. For the human resource department, it will define what specific skills each officer will need to have. Furthermore, the behavioural and knowledge requirements will also be clearly outlined. Having these in place ensures that the employee has an excellent tool to enable them to do their work successfully.

Snapshot of an HR Competency Model

To fully understand how a competency model works, it is worth reviewing an HR model. Other models follow the same principles in their planning. To begin with, one needs to review technical as well as behavioural competencies. Here are some of the HR competencies one may find within the model.

1. Role Model – Setting the bar for ethical behaviour, leadership and good business practices.
2. Collaborator – Building ability to collaborate with individuals from across the organisation, and different personal backgrounds.
3. Communication – Understanding the way to communicate offline awe well as online. It also helps with new trends, such as shorthand text on mobile devices.
4. HR Subject Matter Expert – Have knowledge of employment law, compliance, and human resource management. This requires objectivity when advising employees within the workplace.
5. Human Sponge – Ability to absorb knowledge and learnings on business practices covering different areas. Understand the role of technology and analytics to elevate workplace operations.
6. Business Acumen – HR professionals need to be familiar with how the business runs, as well as understanding financial statements. It looks at HR staff immersing themselves into routine leadership meetings.
7. Vision – This calls for the HR manager to look to the future, and how the company can grow and benefit. IT requires being ready for changes and being the force behind the change.

 What are the benefits of an HR Competency Model?

Success of the organisation is the main benefit of having any competency model. For the human resource department. These models ensure the following: –

1. That the entire team is working towards one goal, and meeting the strategies outlined by upper management.
2. That the Human Resource team are executing adequate training, and developing the employee needs as required.
3. Employees are able to take ownership of their own skill development, as well as understand what is required from them to fulfil their roles.
4. Competency models ensure that performance evaluation is measured fairly and consistently.

 When setting up competency models for other positions, under consideration should be the core competencies, leadership competencies and functional competencies. These will fully embody the skills and behaviors that need to be developed in the work place. Furthermore, they make it much easier to identify who are the top performers so that they can be promoted or remunerated as required.