What is a competency model?

Competency model vs competency framework

The two terms overlap and are often used as synonyms. When people tell them apart, the competency model is the description of what good performance needs, often for a whole occupation or industry. A competency framework is an organization’s own working version of it: its areas, its rating scale and the level each role should reach.

Read: What is a competency framework?

Types of competencies

Core competencies apply to everyone in the organization, whatever their job, such as communication or problem solving.

Functional or technical competencies belong to one job family, such as SQL for data analysts or running the month-end close for accountants.

Leadership competencies cover leading people and setting direction. They matter more the more senior the role.

How the layers fit together

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Competency Model Clearinghouse arranges competencies as a pyramid of building blocks: personal, academic and workplace competencies at the base, industry-wide technical competencies above them, and occupation-specific ones at the top.

Our library works the same way on a smaller scale. A shared set of core skills sits under every department, and each department adds its own skills on top.

How to build a competency model in 5 steps

1. Define what it covers

   Decide whether the model is for one role, one job family or the whole organization.

2. Collect the evidence

   Talk to strong performers and their managers, read the job descriptions, and check public sources such as O*NET or an industry model.

3. Sort the competencies into layers

   Separate the core competencies everyone needs from the job-specific and leadership ones.

4. Describe each competency by level

   Say what the competency looks like at each level, from new starter to expert, on one rating scale.

5. Check it and use it

   Test the model with the people who do the job, then use it in hiring, reviews and training so it stays current.

Example

These are the core skills of our library, the layer every department is built on. Continuous learning is expected at Proficient from the first level, while leadership, mentoring and strategic thinking start at Novice and rise one step at each level.

Source: Skills expected in every department

Competency model vs job description

A job description lists one role’s duties, requirements and reporting line, and is written for hiring. A competency model describes the competencies behind good performance across a job family, and stays the same when individual job descriptions change.

Common mistakes

• Copying a generic list

  A model of “teamwork, communication, integrity” fits every job and helps with none. Add the competencies that make this work different.

• Skipping the levels

  Without a description of each level, the model says what matters but not how good is good enough.

• Mixing the layers

  When core, job-specific and leadership competencies sit in one long list, managers cannot tell which apply to whom.

• Building it once

  Jobs change. Review the model whenever the work does.

Frequently asked questions

Further reading

• The Building Blocks Model (CareerOneStop Competency Model Clearinghouse (U.S. Department of Labor))
• Competencies (U.S. Office of Personnel Management)
• The O*NET Content Model (O*NET Resource Center (U.S. Department of Labor))

Related

• More real examples: Software engineering career path · Human resources career path · Finance & accounting career path
• Other definitions: Skills matrix · Competency matrix · Competency framework · Career ladder · Career framework · Skills gap analysis