4 Benefits of Competency-Based Assessment for Organizations

Competency-based assessment is a hot topic in today’s corporate world. A rising number of companies are beginning to invest resources to ensure that their employees’ competency profiles align with their strategic plans. By putting assessment processes in place, organizations can measure critical competencies and take steps to address areas that need development. As a follow-up to our previous post 5 Benefits of Competency Based Education for Students, we now look at several ways competency-based assessment can benefit an organization.

1. Assist in the recruitment process:

   Competency-based assessment can offer tremendous value during recruitment. It can help define important job-specific and company-related competencies that HR can leverage to strengthen selection processes. Using an employee assessment tool such as a 360 degree feedback you can identify the knowledge, skills, and behaviors required to successful perform within the organization. HR can then use this data to make hiring decisions based on the closeness of fit between an applicant and your organization.

2. Identify job-related development needs:

   Employee development is a prerequisite to stay competitive in the global marketplace. Competency-based assessment can help evaluate your employees’ competency profile against those required for their jobs and identify gaps for improvement. This data can be used to create personalized development plans that map your employees’ paths within the organization. From there you will have a clearer understanding of where to focus development resources such as incentives, coaching, and training courses.

3. Support continuous improvement:

   An integral part of the continuous feedback process, competency-based assessment allows you to measure and document performance as it relates to organizational and job-specific competencies. Using a list of competencies and definitions, you can set performance standards for employees, update competency profiles as development results are received, and use this information to support evaluations and professional growth. To learn more, read How to Develop Effective 360 Degree Feedback Competencies.

4. Increase job satisfaction:

   Assessing competencies can help motivate and engage your employees. It’s a great way to recognize the skills and knowledge they possess, and empower them to take control of their career development. The more competencies they acquire, the more valuable they will be to your organization. This will lead to increased job satisfaction and a higher retention rate for your organization.