Competency Frameworks

"I have always enjoyed working with [OPS Ltd], and have admired their knowledge and professionalism. They helped us to achieve some very satisfactory outcomes which enabled us to take the organisation forward with the certainty that we had the right people, with the right skills to achieve our objectives"
Chief Executive, St. Dunstan's

As experienced business psychologists, OPS consultants have extensive experience of designing and evaluating competency frameworks and we can ensure that your competency framework
- is relevant, simple and easy to use
- reflects the culture, needs and aspirations of the organisation
- helps staff and managers see what is expected and how performance is assessed
- motivates employees, rather than intimidating them
- helps to attract and keep talent
 

What does good look like? This is the question we always ask when clients invite us in to discuss any form of assessment or development. We need to understand what is regarded as effective behaviour in the organisation and what behaviour is valued and rewarded.

Values
Most organisations have values which capture their individuality and aspirations. We start there, but values are difficult to describe in terms of observable performance.

Competencies are the important behavioural dimensions which clients want to assess in order to identify and develop their people. Common competency lists include Listening & Communicating, Motivating & Influencing, Teamworking, Planning & Organising, Strategic Thinking, Decision-making, Customer Focus and so on.

Good competency frameworks will have behavioural anchors – observable examples of the sort of behaviour which clients wish to see under their competency headings. We develop these through working closely with representative groups of all staff covered by the framework. Using techniques such as “critical incident” we draw out examples of strong and weak behaviour to help us create, in partnership with the client, a relevant and user friendly framework for use in:

Selection
Onboarding
Development
Promotion
Performance management
Teambuilding
Succession planning
Outplacement

A strong competency framework transforms organisational values into the clear and essential performance standards that employees can aspire to. Managed well, it will not only encourage employees to exhibit and develop the essential behaviours for individual and corporate success, it will also exponentially increase the likelihood of attracting and retaining the talent that would benefit your organisation.

A competency framework is therefore essential for selection and assessment, development and performance management since it provides measurable criteria. Having such a framework will give your organisation the competitive edge.

Please take a look at a Competency Framework case study for more information or download our Competency Frameworks brochure.

To speak to one of our consultants about competency frameworks contact us today on 0845 5050 181. Alternatively you can email us ops@opsltd.com.