The extent to which people can deliver business results is determined by their capability across the skills and behaviours needed to be successful in their respective job roles.
For most organisations, the cost of human capital is a very significant proportion of annual expenditure. When leaders view human resources as a strategic and enabling function for the business, they are able to maximise the return on this investment.
Developing a talent management strategy is the first step toward integrating the systems and processes that will align employees with the organisation’s strategic direction and performance goals.
A strong capability framework is key for good talent management. It defines the skills and behaviors needed at every level to attract, develop, keep, and place the right people in the right roles for success.
Competencies
Organisations typically use a competency library as the basis for job specifications, leadership development plans or performance reviews. Competencies, distilled into observable skills and behaviours, are the ingredients of success at work. They provide a clear set of expectations in “how” people should do their jobs.
We are sometimes asked about the difference between capabilities and competencies. Check a thesaurus and see they are mostly listed as synonyms for each other. It’s a matter of personal preference and what will resonate best in your organisation.
Assessing competencies should be rigorous and systematic, not just a ‘wish list’ of senior leaders. Does this sound provocative? Not if you have followed the findings of the world’s leading competency experts.
We use a competency library that isolates and captures exactly what matters for overall performance in a role. Depending on the leadership level these competencies account for between 43 and 62 percent of an organisation’s total job performance.
Your CEO’s current focus may be on achieving collaboration, but what does this really mean? Is it about enabling people to better communicate or is to break down silos between divisions?
Does the desire for collaboration exceed the need for managers to share the organisation’s vision and purpose and facilitate better conversations around job performance?
With our research, we can give you answers to questions like these.
Buy or build?
A key decision is whether to “buy” or “build.” Should you adopt an existing research-based set of leadership competencies and tailor them to your needs, or develop your own in-house model? Cost, effort, and required expertise will be significant deciding factors.
Ultimately, purchasing an existing competency framework is often more cost-effective, especially if it includes tools and resources that integrate with key processes such as:
- Recruitment and hiring
- Job success profiles
- Leadership assessment
- Succession management
- Development planning.
Think of it like building a house. While crafting everything from the ground up gives you complete control, using pre-tested blueprints and materials often saves time and money. The same principle applies here.
Being able to tailor a framework to your unique needs combines the best of both worlds: proven reliability with the flexibility to adapt to your unique needs. Plus, you’ll skip a lengthy validation process and get straight to making better people management decisions.