Why Competencies are Crucial to Your Business’s Growth
The current generation of employees are unlike those that have gone before, as they’re motivated by more than salary and their overall earning potential.
In fact, employees now rank the opportunity to learn new skills amongst the top five drivers of attraction and retention in the contemporary workplace, and this has created a unique opportunity for companies to thrive and create the next generation of leaders.
The reason for this is simple; as it allows businesses to teach competencies rather than skills to enhance the long-term value offered by individual employees. But what exactly are competencies, and why are they crucial to your business’s growth?
What are Competencies?
It can be hard to distinguish between competencies and skills, with many people considering these to represent one and the same thing.
In simple terms, competencies represent broader combinations of knowledge, skills and abilities, which can be developed over a period of years and actively aid career development.
In contrast, skills demonstrate more niche and learned activities that relate to a specific role or job, making them less transferable between jobs and unlikely to contribute directly to long-term career success.
To put this into context, the term medical negligence is actually defined as ‘a mistake that a competent person would not make’.
This hints at the broad range of expertise, knowledge and experience required to undertake many medical procedures, in addition to the core practical skills that are applied to patients.
Other examples of competencies include communication or time management, which are inherently transferable and provide a broad knowledge base that can be applied in various different circumstances.
Contrasting skills include forklift operation and Java programming, which are far more targeted in their nature and equip employees with the ability to perform specific and non-strategic business tasks.
Why are Competencies Important to Your Business Venture?
Historically, savvy companies have always used competencies as a framework to help focus employees’ behaviour on the underlying factors that drive commercial success.
The reason for this is simple; as this represents a more holistic approach that makes it far easier for entrepreneurs and managers to identify and develop talent over an extended period of time.
In this respect, competencies also help to create more rounded employees, by developing the core standards of excellence for both current and future roles.
These standards create a long-term guideline that future leaders must adhere to, creating the type of succession planning that can lay the foundations for success and reduce recruitment costs going forward.
On the other hand, organisations that focus solely on skills rather than competencies when growing will struggle to develop talent for senior positions, whilst also creating a scenario where your employees fail to realise their full potential.