Assessing & Developing Competencies

As the time is passing by, the old-school thought of discussing the training programs only once during the annual appraisal should be done away with. In today's business scenario, the requirement of more qualified workers, willing to move up with the organization, is increasing. Along with this, the focus of organizations on developing the competency level of individuals, should also grow.

Different organizations are now developing or making use of competency models, developed specific to their organization or some are even developing role-specific models. The right employee competency identification and development, helps in contributing to enhanced performance of the organization as well. It is these set of core competencies of an organization, which help to differentiate it from it's competitors.

Many a times, the managers are expected to read a manual or to base this assessment of competencies on their own experiences. However, understanding the organization's competency assessment through the behavioural indicators is a key management skill. Hence, it becomes important to provide a clear perspective about these indicators to all the role-holders of the organization. This would also act as a catalyst for the employees to hone their skill-sets and develop their competencies through the organization's Learning & Development interventions as well as look for learning opportunities available in the outside world.

Aligning an organization's Learning & Development interventions with the organizational strategy on the basis of competency assessment will prove to be a more cost-effective approach, than to hire new employees with the desired skill-set.