What is a competency or skills assessment?
A major benefit of competency mapping is that it creates a comprehensive list of specific skills required to be performed on a job. The list of job skills forms the basis of a competency assessment. Typically a competency assessment focuses on how well the employee is performing the required job skills in relation to specified performance standards.
What are the benefits of competency assessments?
Competency assessments are often developed as skills checklists which employees and employers can keep over time to note employees’ performance. Competency assessments present an effective means to:
- Provide a performance assessment tool
- Provide ongoing employee performance coaching
- Acknowledge satisfactory and exemplary performance
- Target performance deficits
- Highlight skills that require additional training or practice
- Benchmark employee performance across organization norms
- Define competence within your organization
The Competency Group can work with your organization to develop these common types of competency assessments:
- Skills checklists. Skills checklists may be used for apprenticeship, mentorship, and on-the-job training programs where employees note their progress in achieving the desired job performance.
- Competency assessment tests. Competency assessments tests can be used as the basis for certification in an occupation, for performance management, and for the validation of knowledge and skills.
- Online competency assessments. Lists of job skills combined with performance standards are well suited to be delivered as online competency assessments.
- Competency-based interviews. These are effective means of screening candidates who qualify for the job by targeting the specific competencies required for the position.
- Skills gap analysis. Skills gap analyses can identify gaps in training programs and employees’ skills.
- 180° or 360° assessment.
- Competency assessment for recruitment. Self-assessment test (sometimes validated by a second party) to determine if a candidate has the skills necessary to perform on the job.
The Competency Group experience
Check out our competency assessment case studies.