How can you organize employee competencies in a transparent way?
Managing employee competencies requires proper organization of information regarding staff qualifications. Organizations typically have many positions that require specific skills. Standardizing competencies, creating a clear matrix, and using tools that enable ongoing monitoring of employee qualifications allow managers to make faster and more accurate decisions regarding training and promotions. How can a company organize its team’s competencies?
Why is it a good idea to organize employees’ competencies?
A clear competency matrix presented as an easy-to-read table is not merely a matter of aesthetics. The more data a company has, the more time it takes to process it. The scale of the problem is greater than it might seem. According to analyses published by Gartner, IDC, and the McKinsey Global Institute, knowledge workers may spend anywhere from about 20% to as much as 50% of their work time searching for information and locating the data they need. This translates to nearly one full workday per week spent solely on searching for and compiling the necessary information. Time that could be used to perform tasks that bring real value to the company is wasted on finding and verifying data.
Manufacturing facilities employ a large workforce divided into positions that require a variety of skills. The lack of a structured employee competency system often leads to problems such as:
- difficulties in planning training,
- incomplete knowledge of employee qualifications,
- the risk of miscasting positions,
- problems with team replaceability,
- difficulties during quality audits,
- problems identifying talent within the company.
A competency matrix allows you to quickly assess the status of required qualifications, completed training, and competency gaps for both individual employees and the entire team. Organizing competencies within the company helps speed up decision-making and improve the quality of decisions made by the HR department, supervisors, and managers.
Where should you start when organizing competencies within a company?
It is a good idea to begin organizing competencies within a company by developing the basic structure of a competency management system. Most often, this involves:
- dividing the organization into positions,
- creating a list of required competencies,
- developing an objective assessment scale,
- defining responsibilities for updating data,
- selecting a tool for storing and analyzing information.
How should responsibilities be allocated by position and process?
The basic approach to organizing responsibilities should include a breakdown by positions and processes. To this end, the company’s structure should be outlined, taking into account:
- departments,
- teams,
- processes,
- job positions,
- production lines,
- machines.
Job competency matrices outline the requirements for specific roles. Why is this so important? Because it allows you to align employees’ competencies with the company’s actual needs, rather than with general assumptions. A machine operator in the same department will need completely different competencies than a foreman or a quality specialist.
How can you determine which skills are truly necessary?
One of the most common mistakes is creating overly extensive lists of competencies, which makes it difficult to maintain clarity and, consequently, the usefulness of the matrix.
Relevant competencies should stem directly from:
- job responsibilities,
- procedures and standards,
- quality requirements,
- operation of machinery and equipment,
- knowledge of IT systems,
- health and safety rules,
- the responsibilities assigned to the position.
The list may include both technical competencies (e.g., operating a specific machine, knowledge of technical instructions) and soft skills (e.g., problem-solving, work organization).
How can you distinguish between competencies, tasks, and responsibilities?
Distinguishing between tasks and an employee’s responsibilities is really simple. A task defines the action an employee performs. A competency, on the other hand, defines the knowledge, skills, or authority necessary to perform the task.
Example 1
Task: Conducting a product quality inspection.
Competencies: Knowledge of applicable quality procedures and the quality control process.
Example 2
Task: Operating a hydraulic press.
Competencies: Possession of the necessary certifications and training to operate a hydraulic press independently.
How can you create a clear scale for evaluating employee competencies?
A list of competencies alone is not enough. It is also necessary to define proficiency levels and objective criteria that will confirm the achievement of a specific level. How can we standardize skills within the company and unify the competency assessment system?
One of the most commonly used solutions is a 5-point scale, which distinguishes the following levels:
- Beginner. The employee requires training.
- Basic. The employee can perform simple tasks under supervision.
- Intermediate. The employee can perform tasks under partial supervision.
- Advanced. The employee can perform tasks independently.
- Expert. The employee is an expert and can train others.
Objective criteria play a key role in developing a rating scale. Instead of subjective statements such as “the employee is familiar with the process,” specific actions that confirm the achievement of a given level should be identified, such as a passing score on a post-training assessment.
It is also very important to update the data regularly. Any changes should be made immediately after completing training, changing positions, or obtaining new certifications. In addition, it is a good idea to conduct periodic reviews of competencies.
How can you organize competency data so that it is easy to understand for HR, managers, and employees?
The clarity of information depends largely on how the data is presented. Competency matrices should make it possible to quickly find answers to the following questions:
- Who has the required qualifications?
- Which competencies need to be developed?
- What training should be planned?
- How replaceable is the team?
- Where are the biggest competency gaps?
That is precisely why more and more organizations are choosing to implement interactive competency matrices. A clear competency matrix allows you to consolidate in one place all information regarding job requirements, employees’ competency levels, completed training, and the status of certifications and licenses.
How does a dedicated system help keep employee responsibilities organized?
The dedicated noSilo system enables the centralized collection and analysis of competency data within the organization. noSilo helps maintain order by, among other things:
- creating and automatically updating competency matrices,
- monitoring current competency levels of employees and entire teams,
- filtering data based on users or competencies,
- identifying competency gaps,
- notifying users of the need to renew expiring permissions.
Organizing employee competencies into matrices provides the organization with complete transparency regarding qualifications, and up-to-date data is easily accessible and ready to be used in making HR decisions.
Additional support is provided by the Manager’s Assistant, which further simplifies competency management. A single query is all it takes for the assistant to describe the current state of competencies, identify potential skill gaps, or plan development activities.
How can you implement competency mapping step by step?
Creating a transparent competency system requires proper planning and data standardization. How can you organize employee competencies within a company, step by step?
Clearly defined job requirements and tools that facilitate data updates and analysis make competency management within the company more transparent and data-driven. Organizing employee competencies allows companies to better leverage the team’s potential, plan training more effectively, and respond more quickly to changing staffing needs.
FAQ
Excel works well in small organizations, but as the number of employees and competencies grows, its limitations become increasingly apparent. The problems include manual updates, a lack of version control, difficulties with reporting, and limited data analysis capabilities.
The most effective approach is to compare the competencies required for a position with the employee’s actual competency level. This comparison allows you to quickly identify competency gaps and plan appropriate training and development activities.
The most common mistakes include: creating overly long lists of competencies, lacking clear definitions of proficiency levels, confusing competencies with duties, and failing to update data regularly. Another problem is the lack of standardization in competency assessment, which makes it difficult to compare results and implement a consistent development policy.
In most cases, it’s a good idea to review competencies at least once a quarter or every six months. Additionally, the data should be updated after employees complete training, obtain new certifications, or change positions.
Bibliography:
https://www.synergissoftware.com/blog/workforce-efficiency-its-time-to-calculate-the-cost-of-opportunity-loss;
https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2023-05-10-gartner-survey-reveals-47-percent-of-digital-workers-struggle-to-find-the-information-needed-to-effectively-perform-their-jobs;
https://cottrillresearch.com/various-survey-statistics-workers-spend-too-much-time-searching-for-information/.
She has many years of experience in the manufacturing environment, gained in both team management and the coordination of in-plant processes. Her experience in both operational and managerial roles has given her a deep understanding of the challenges faced by managers and production staff - from work standardization and communication to skills development.
This experience forms the foundation of her current expert work. In her articles, she demonstrates how digital solutions and modern management methods can tangibly support the day-to-day operations of manufacturing facilities, making processes more transparent, organized, and efficient.
