What is competency

mapping?
Competency mapping is a strategy focused on evaluating the
competencies of employees in a structured and repeatable way. One of the
main goals is to gain awareness of the current skills inventory in the
organization, as well as identify existing skill gaps.

That said, following American organizational theorist and

professor Richard Boyatzis, competencies are not synonymous to
hard skills:

“A job competency is an underlying characteristic of a person in that it may

be a motive, trait, skill, aspect of one’s self-image or social role, or a body
of knowledge which he/she uses. The existence and possession of these
characteristics may or not be known to the person.”

For this reason, competency mapping can be used across types of roles.
The data gathered in the process of mapping competencies is typically
used by managers, HR professionals, team leads, and of course,
employees. 

Competency mapping data can be stored and presented in a number of

ways, from simple spreadsheets to competency mapping software.

Skill maps and career paths

The concept of competency mapping is inseparable from skill maps and
career paths, which draw heavily from the world of gaming. Let’s now take
a closer look at these terms.

Skill maps are the product of competency mapping. They provide a visual
representation of the skill inventory, skill progressions, and sometimes
growth opportunities. Example? In Civilization, prerequisite skills are
necessary to obtain before more advanced skills. If you want to build and
navigate ships, you have to be able to use a hammer and have a decent
understanding of mathematics and astronomy.

Similarly, if you want to become a senior iOS developer, you need to have
the skills typically associated with junior and senior iOS developer roles.

Here’s an example of a developer skill map:

Let’s now look at career paths.

Career paths are visual representations of the steps needed to take to get
to the desired position. They typically define the progressions associated
with making career advancements such as the skills, certifications, or
subsequent positions.

Here’s a great example of a Human Resources career path:

How can you get started?

If you and your company are new to the concept of competency mapping,
getting started can be quite overwhelming. The good news is that you can
take some simple steps to reap the benefits of competency mapping.
From an organizational perspective, you don’t need to start scheduling
additional meetings your employers will be stressed or skeptical about (or
likely both). You can start by simply adding some questions to the
periodical assessments you’re likely already have planned. Then record
your findings in a simple spreadsheet or dedicated competency mapping
software.

Competencies can be assessed at the number of stages: 

Recruitment

Assessment during further development

Succession planning and promotion

Organizational development analysis

Benefits for the employee 

Benefits for the employee include awareness of the long term plan of the
company and the long term plan for your own development and managing
expectations. 

Company and personal long-term plan

The companies that map skills typically have advanced planning
capabilities. They often have a well-defined growth plan and they use
competency mapping to get where they want to be. On the micro scale, this
is beneficial to the employees who are able to see the next steps their
careers will take. On the macro scale, knowing the long term plan, the
mission, and vision of the company makes people more engaged in their
jobs. 

Managing expectations 
Defining the natural progression of employees' skills provides clear rules of
what’s expected from them. It also shows how the steps they take will
affect their careers. For example, in the context of employee assessment,
the evaluation of progress is based on universal, objective rules that are
known upfront. This takes the stress out of the evaluation process.

Meaningful educational opportunities 

Employers can close skill gaps with employee training programs which
nurture the growth of new capabilities to be used on the job. This is
beneficial to the employees who are given the chance to advance their
skills at work, be it through training, certification, or training budgets.

Education and certification opportunities are a strong contender when it

comes to attracting talent, especially in competitive industries like tech. For
example, findings from the 2019 Dice Salary Report suggest that training
and education are the biggest gap in important vs. received benefits in the
tech industry (31%).