1
Competency
Learning Objectives 2
When you have completed this module, you will be able to
define the key concepts associated with Competency and
you will be able to:
Understand Competency as a business driver
Identify the key components of competencies
Understand the nature of the various learning styles and
competency development
Learning Objectives 3
Identify and remove obstacles to developing
competencies
Develop a competency based approach that will benefit
the organization
Use the knowledge gained to further improve your own
developmental activities
Why Competency? 4
Organizations need to look at competency because it
affects:
Resource Utilization
Training & Development
Knowledge Management
Competitiveness
Where Competency Fits In 5
The identification of the competencies for a particular
role facilitates the following Human Resource
activities:
Selection of Staff
Training & Development
Performance Management
Succession Planning
Competency and Business Needs 6
Competency can impact on business needs in the
following ways:
Clarifying job and work expectations
Hiring the best possible people
Maximizing productivity
Adapting to change
Aligning behavior with strategy
Competency and The Organization 7
Taking a competency-based approach allows the
organization to:
Focus on the core capabilities required
Maximize the use of the capabilities present
Design & implement training & development activities
that deliver real results
8
Introduction To
Competencies
Introducing Competency 9
Definition & Components
Competency Development Leadership
Succession Planning Competency & Performance
Definition of Competency 10
A competency is a cluster of related knowledge, skills and
attitudes that affects a major part of one’s job (a role or
responsibility) that correlates with performance on the job, that
can be measured against well accepted standards and that can
be improved via training & development
(Parry, 1996)
Components of a Competency 11
The basic components of a competency can be listed as:
Behaviors
Skills
Knowledge
Aptitude
Personal Characteristics
Components of a Competency 12
Behaviors
Skills
Knowledge
Aptitude
Personal Characteristics
Behaviors 13
The ability to behave in a manner that allows the
person to function and utilize the competency is very
important Such behavior would include:
Co-operative
Proactive
Safe
Skills 14
The ability to perform the task is important - the skill
required may be:
Political
People
Systems
Analytical
Business
Knowledge 15
Having knowledge to be able to apply the skills will be
important to facilitate the use of a competency Such
knowledge may be classified as:
Systems
Process
Product
People
Aptitude 16
Having the actual ability to ‘do’ what it required for
competent activity is important:
Aptitude allows for
‘Delivery’ of the competent action
Further development of the competency
Ability in some cases to pass on the competency through
teaching
Personal Characteristics 17
These would include
Physical Appearance
Belief System
Personality
Competency and Leadership 18
3 Stage Process
Step 1: Define competencies for leadership role
Step 2: Assess current situation
Step 3: Develop the competencies that are
required but absent
Competency Interdependencies 19
A competency is dependent upon the interaction of
the following components
Skills
Knowledge
Attitudes
Motives
Benefits of Competency 20
Development
For the Individual the benefits include:
Utilization of Talents
Job Enrichment
Increase in Responsibility
Increase in Value to the Company
Personal Satisfaction
Benefits of Competency 21
Development
For the Teams in the organization the benefits
are:
Increased Productivity
Clarity of Roles
Expectations are Equivalent To Skills
Team Work is Improved
Recognition of Value
Succession Planning
Benefits of Competency 22
Development
Benefits to the Organization itself include:
Increased Profitability
Increased Earnings Per Share
Improved Security & Survival
Increased Confidence
Retention of Key Staff
Capture of Resident Knowledge
Impacts of Competency 23
Development
Retention of desired employees
Increased talent through focused training &
development
Decrease in costs due to increase in focus and skill
in the jobs
Increase in accountability
Alignment of action with strategy
Succession Planning 24
Proactive Approach
Basic Premise - having the right person with the
right skills available at the right time
Dependent upon having -
Competency Specifications
Competency Assessment
Competency Development Plan
Competency Categories 25
Continuous Learning Creativity
Awareness Entrepreneurship
Flexibility Influencing Others
Resilience Partnering
Initiative Commitment
Competencies in the 26
Organization
Competencies in the organization are dependent
upon a number of factors
Culture within the organization
Position within the organization
Performance Management 27
Goals and objectives set and measured in the
performance management system can be used to
Maximize the use of current competencies within the
organization
Develop and use new competencies within the
organization
Performance Potential 28
Using criteria to gauge performance and potential within the
organization leads to 4 categories of personnel in terms of
competency:
Core Personnel - High Performance / Low Potential
Rising Stars - High Performance / High Potential
Question Marks - Low Performance / High Potential
Dead Wood - Low Performance / Low Potential
29
Competency
Development
Competency Development 30
Mapping Competencies
The Learning Organization
Competencies & Learning
Obstacles to Developing
Competencies
Competency Mapping 31
At the start of competency based activity it is
important to:
Define The Role
Define The Responsibility
Define The Required Outputs
Competency Mapping 32
Once roles, responsibilities and outputs have been
defined then the competencies can be mapped
Core competencies required for the task
Establish any interdependencies between the
competencies
Define the competency in terms of the required
components
Lack of Performance 33
Lack of performance may be due to the following
factors either in isolation or combination:
Competency
Attitude
Environment
Competency Development 34
Where lack of performance is due to a lack of
competency then the following action must be
taken:
Definition of core competencies required for the role
Definition of core competencies that are missing or weak
Plan for the development of the core competencies that
are missing or weak
Requirements 35
The main requirements are:
Focused training and development activities
A supportive environment of a learning organization
People with the attitude and ability to
Learn New Competencies
Pass On Knowledge
Learning Organizations 36
The reasons for having a learning organization
are:
To achieve superior performance
To improve quality
To retain customers
To enhance competitive advantage
To energize the workforce
To manage change
To recognize and support interdependencies
Because it is needed to ensure survival!
Stages of Learning 37
There are several stages of learning which can be
identified along a grid measuring competency and
awareness
Unconsciously Incompetent
Consciously Incompetent
Consciously Competent
Unconsciously Competent
Stages of Learning 38
Unconsciously Incompetent
Consciously Incompetent
Consciously Competent
Unconsciously Competent
Unconsciously Incompetent 39
When a person is unconsciously incompetent then:
They are not aware of the need for a particular
competency
They do not feel disadvantaged from not having the
competency
They are unaware of the various components of the
competency
Consciously Incompetent 40
When a person is consciously incompetent then:
They are aware of the need for a particular competency
They may feel disadvantaged from not having the
competency
They are aware of the various components of the
competency and their lack of some or all of these
components
Consciously Competent 41
When a person is consciously competent then:
They are aware of the need for a particular competency
They are aware that they possess the various components
of the competency
They have to consciously think about applying the
competency in a particular task
Unconsciously Competent 42
When a person is unconsciously competent then:
They are aware of the need for a particular competency
They are aware that they possess the various components
of the competency
They do not have to consciously think about applying
the competency in a particular task, it comes ‘naturally’
Learning New Competencies 43
The learning cycle has the following
components:
Do something
Reflect on it
Conclude from the reflection
Do something different
Learning New Competencies 44
Learning Style : Do Something
Learner Category : Activist
Characteristics
Learn by doing
Benefit from on the job training
Mentoring
Coaching
Job Rotation
Projects
Learning New Competencies 45
Learning Style : Reflect on it
Learner Category : Reflector
Characteristics
Review Activity
Think about the process
Directed curiosity
Learning from mistakes
Learning New Competencies 46
Learning Style : Conclude
Learner Category : Theorist
Characteristics
Make sense of the experience
Extracts useful material from theory
Makes adjustments in relation to reality
Looks for understanding
Learning New Competencies 47
Learning Style : Do something different
Learner Category : Pragmatist
Characteristics
Believes that a change of action gives a change of
outcome
Heavily dependent upon feedback
Learning Models - VAK 48
The VAK model is based on the senses and shows a
dependency and / or preference for sensory input in a
learning experience
Visual - what they can see
Auditory - what they can hear
Kinesthetic - what they can touch / feel
Learning Models & Competency 49
When designing a programme to facilitate the
development of a competency it is important to note that:
Different people have different preferences for
learning
Mismatch of training method with learning style will
significantly reduce the effectiveness of the training
The VAK Learning Model 50
Visual Verbal Visual Non-Verbal
Learning
Styles
Tactile Auditory Verbal
Kinesthetic
Visual Verbal Learning Style 51
Learns best when information is presented in
written form
Use of key points / outlines assist learning
Self study is preferred
Use of visualization in the minds eye is important
Visual Non-Verbal Learning Style 52
Learns best when information is presented in a
visual form - graphs, diagrams, maps
Use of illustrated materials assist learning
Self study is preferred
Use of visualization in the minds eye is important
Tactile Kinesthetic Learning Style 53
Learns best from ‘hands on’ experience
Use of demonstration and projects assist learning
Role play and simulations are preferred to static
methods
Use of touch and movement are important
Auditory Verbal Learning Style 54
Learns best from listening
Use of discussion and audio materials assist learning
When remembering something the learner will hear it
in their head
Group work is preferred where interaction takes place
Types of Learning 55
Unlearning
New Learning
Incremental Learning
Transformational Learning
Unlearning 56
The need to unlearn old methods to allow new
methods to be used
Habit makes unlearning difficult
Unlearning may challenge existing knowledge
Unlearning may require environmental as well as
personal changes
New Learning 57
Moves from unconscious incompetence to conscious
competence
The learning process is slow at the start, then rapid and
finally reaches a plateau
Repetition and practice are required to consolidate the
learning
Overlearning may be a problem when the learner goes
beyond what they need to learn for a particular competency
Incremental Learning 58
Works from a prior knowledge base
Can move the learner beyond the plateau
experienced at the end of the new learning
experience
Requires some motivation to move to the next level
Knowledge transfer from similar competencies will
assist in incremental learning
Transformational Learning 59
May be sudden and unexpected
Due to establishing a linkage or gaining a new
insight into an issue
The post learning situation is vastly different from
the pre-learning situation in a short time frame
Could be classified as a ‘flash of brilliance’
Barriers To Competency Development 60
The following are the main barriers to learning
Resources Time
Environment Attitude
Style Axperience
Barriers To Competency Development 61
Resources Style Time
Attitude Experience Environment
Resources 62
To have an effective system for developing competencies
the learning must be properly resourced in terms of:
Information Money
Personnel Facilities
Time Attention
Environment 63
The learning process must take place within an
environment which facilitates learning through:
Support for the learning of competencies
Safe trial zones
Recognition of the value
Competency driven activity
Style 64
For effective competencies to be developed the
appropriate style of learning must be deployed
within the learner group taking into consideration:
Learning Stage
Preferred Learning Style
Capabilities of the Learner and Teacher Groups
Time 65
An appropriate allocation of time must be made
available to facilitate:
The delivery of learning materials
The learning process
Expected completion date when the competency will be
‘complete’ and ready for activation
Attitude 66
In this case there are three situations to be borne in
mind
The attitude of the person learning the competency
The attitude of the person who is transferring the skills
and knowledge
The attitude of the organization towards the learning
process
Experience 67
Within the learning process, the activities are
primarily experiential, therefore:
Past bad experiences may damage the current activity
Past good experience may enhance the current activity
Experiences will have an impact on current and future
expectations and so need to ne managed so as to be
positive ad healthy
68
Laws of
Learning
Laws of Learning 69
Disuse Association
Effect Intensity
Exercise Readiness
Primacy
The Laws of Learning 70
When developing a competency, it is important to bear in
mind that there are Laws of Learning
If the Laws are not followed then the result can be:
Poor development of competency leading to poor performance
Extension of learning time required
Waste of resources
Demoralization of learners and teachers
Laws 1 and 2 71
Disuse
If a competency is not used it will be forgotten, therefore
it is important to review and reinforce the learning as it
develops
Effect
The learning process has an effect on the likelihood of
learning The process needs to be focused, friendly and
fair for to maximize its effect
Laws 3 and 4 72
Exercise
The more often a competency is practiced the more
proficient the use of it becomes - the learner moves
faster towards unconscious competence
Primacy
New things and things which are at the end of the
learning process are more likely to be remembered
There is a need to reinforce what happens in the middle
Laws 5, 6 and 7 73
Readiness
If the learner is not motivated or ready to learn, little of no learning
will occur!
Association
Linkages and interdependencies between knowledge chunks allow
association to reinforce the learning process
Intensity
By making the competency development activity memorable by
raising the interest level - learning is better
Nine C’s of Learning New 74
Competencies
Clarity Conviction
Curiosity Celebration
Confidence Cooperation
Creativity Concentration
Commitment
Competency and You Organization 75
Competency based systems allow an organization to
focus on
What needs to be done
How it can be done best
What is required to provide the competency
How that competency might be used to deliver added
value to the organization
Competency and You Organization 76
Is your organization ready for competency?
Where would competency-based systems fit?
What benefits would you reap?
What obstacles are in your way?
Summary 77
The identification of core competencies is a key business
requirement
The assessment of current competency levels must be
undertaken
The development of competencies yield many benefits to
the individual and also to the organization
The development of competencies requires an
understanding of the learning process
