Understanding Competency Matrix for Technical and Commercial Roles: Any Insights?

Hi to all fellow CITE HR members,

I am a new member of CITE HR and would like to know about competency matrix for technical employees, i.e., engineers, senior engineers, executives, etc., and also for commercial employees, i.e., junior officers, officers, senior officers, assistants, etc.

Hope to hear from all of you soon.

Regards,
Nelly_Bave

Hi

COmpetency is the cumulative effect of atttiutde skills and knowlegde predominanatly. A trait is exhibited through behaviour dimension which is observable

I am unsure of the industry you belong to. It is expected to be in the manufacturing vertical, according to me.

To do a competency matrix - you need to have clear roles and responsibilities and Job descriptions from where the competencies to perform that role effectively, can be arrived at.

Competencies can be functional(technical), behavioural and managerial. there are many classifications, though. The competeny level exhibited by each role/funcion will have variations and that also need to be demarcated. For eg:

Competency Definition and classification

Competency Definition

Inter Personal Skills

Ability to interact and engage with peers, superiors and subordinates with assertiveness and empathy. Clearly communicates the views and keep the group's point of view in mind while discussing issues. Manages internal and external clients in harmony

Levels

1. Beginner (individual contributor)

The extent of rapport and confidence enjoyed by this person with the team members is very minimal. The person is either not too engaged with others else new to the group

2. Learner

Enjoys moderate amount of confidence and rapport among people Able to manage very close associates only with whom most of the interactions take place.

3. Skilled

Enjoys good amount of rapport and confidence among team. Able to manage the people relations, but people might not be willing to open up personally all the times. Individually can handle people well, but in a group may not be effective always

4. Expert

Enjoys high amount of rapport and confidence among people. Engages very well with everyone and plays a vital role in the balancing act during the times of disagreement among the team member. People confide personally and professionally on this person

Hope this helps you to get an understanding.

Hi Nelly and Rajesh!

Developing a competency matrix would involve processes such as:

Job Descriptions: As rightly pointed out by Rajesh, you begin with a job description of the different technical and commercial positions existing in your organization. The job descriptions should specifically focus on the primary and secondary roles and responsibilities that the position demands and the KSA (knowledge, skills & attitude) required for the position.

Developing a competency dictionary: By conducting BEI/semi-structured interviews, you can develop a comprehensive dictionary of generic, functional, technical, and leadership competencies. In the dictionary, you would be defining the competencies.

Competency Profiling: Once the competencies are defined, 3-4 competencies can be clustered into one specific competency cluster, and then you can define the proficiency levels for each competency existing in the competency cluster.

Role Fingerprinting: Once the competency profiling is done, you then define the proficiency levels of the competencies for each level.

Competency Mapping: Once the role fingerprinting for each position is done, then all the employees at that level are mapped for those competencies as against fingerprinted ones. Some of the tools used during the process include psychometric tools, technical tests, and other role-based interventions.

And then you identify the competency gaps, and accordingly, interventions are designed.

Thus, the process of competency mapping is completed, but it is a more permanent intervention, generally lasting over more than five years.

I hope I have been able to explain the process briefly. In case you require additional information, kindly revert back.

Regards,

Shweta

Hi,

Mapping the competency is actually to arrive at the understanding of the employee's existing competency level and to compare the same with the desired level for that role. As Shweta pointed out, once the competencies are defined and behavior dimensions are earmarked, we should conduct an assessment to understand the competency level. Some of the tools include:

- Assessment centre - using LGD, BEI, etc.
- 360-degree feedback analysis or any other methodology.

Once we obtain the data, this is mapped against the desired level of competency - this is the person-position profiling or matrix. Each competency will have a particular standard (numerical scale) for a particular role, and the identified data of the existing level will enable us to figure out the gap. This is usually represented as a chart.

Identification of gaps will enable us to suggest the required intervention for improvement. I hope this gives you a broader picture of competency mapping.

Hi Ishita,

I have this interesting article on competency mapping that might be of interest to you. It could be helpful to you. If you still have any further doubts, feel free to revert back.

Thank you.