Competency-Based Training | How to Implement in The Workplace

Finding an employee who already ticks every box on a job description is not an easy task. But you can build the talent you need from within by adopting a competency-based learning approach․

In this article, we will cover

• what competency-based training really means
• how it compares to traditional training
• how you can start identifying skill gaps to track results 

Together, we will discuss examples and steps to help you build your own competency-based training program that is aligned with your organization’s goals. 

What is competency-based training?

Have you been thinking about how roles and responsibilities change fast? And the skillset you hired the employees for needs updates quicker than ever? 

In fact, nearly half (44%) of workers believe their skills will be disrupted within the next 5 years, and 60% say they need retraining. Not to mention, 10% of employees already feel their competencies are obsolete. 

The job market puts both employees and employers in a tight spot. So, instead of trying to find a unicorn who already fits the mold, organizations start building that mold. That is, train their people for the exact competencies the company needs.

Competency-based training is a way of training people based on the specific skills, knowledge, and behaviors they need to perform a job successfully. What determines if the competency-based training is successful or not is when your employees prove by their job that they have mastered that particular skill. 

The competency-based approach is based on a few core principles:

• Mastering the skill over time, no matter how long it takes to achieve it
• Assessing based on the performance
• Adapting for each employee’s skill gaps
• Staying focused on the learning outcomes

Let’s discuss how competency-based training is different from traditional training methods based on those principles. 

Competency-based vs. traditional training

Competency-based training fundamentally differs from traditional training methods in its focus, pace, outcomes, and the role of instructors.

• Learning approach

Traditional training usually means everyone goes through the same content in the same order, and the goal is just to finish the course. Competency-based training starts by asking, “What exactly does this person need to be able to do on the job?”. Then it focuses only on those skills.

• Personalization and pace

In traditional training, the pace is set by the calendar. Let’s say they have 2 weeks to complete the course. On the other hand, competency-based training allows employees to go at their own pace. Because everyone has a different learning curve, this approach respects that. 

• Learning outcomes

In traditional training, often finishing the course is the outcome. Competency-based training measures success by whether someone can actually do the job well, like leading a meeting or using a tool properly.

• Role of the instructor 

With the traditional approach, the course instructor is the only one who plans and delivers. Yet, competency-based learning is more flexible. So the instructor is more of a facilitator. 

How to implement competency-based learning in your organization 

To implement competency-based programs in your workplace, you would first need to find the skill gaps for each role, create a personalized training plan for each role, and deliver and track the training with the right platform. 

Find the skills gaps 

Finding the skills gaps means getting real about the difference between what your employees can do right now versus what they need to be able to do to succeed in their roles.

And to achieve that, I suggest you use this two-step process. 

• Understanding the scope and diagnostics 

First, reflect back on your organization’s goals. Think about your organization’s mission and what skills your employees need so that you can achieve that mission. Ask these questions to understand the scope of the skills your employees need overall:

• What kind of skills are currently on the rise in the industry for each of the roles?
• What kind of jobs and roles will your company need more of? 

Now that you have the skills listed, how do we know what competencies to choose and address? AIHR, which is an academy of innovative HR, offers a simple way to understand whether a competency is critical or not. 

“If an employee lacks a certain skill but still completes the tasks satisfactorily, the skill is non-critical. If it is the other way around, you need to consider it a critical skill”. 

 

Neelie Verlinden from AIHR

• Inquire directly and analyze 

At this point, we have an understanding of what key competencies you need the employees to have. Yet we need to find out where they stand on their skill levels, as for now. To understand that, you can

• Analyze the tasks the employees are performing
• Refer to the performance reviews, where they have already rated the skill levels
• Discuss with the managers if the competencies you outlined in our first step need improvement. 

This skill gap analysis will also help you with strategic talent management. 

Create personalized training plans 

Remember the whole point of competency-based training? It is based on the outcomes, and for each employee, those outcomes are different. That is why we can start by setting out what the outcomes look like for each employee. 

• Set the learning outcomes

To develop the personalized plan, you can use the reverse engineering strategy. In an interview with me, a curriculum designer and business consultant, Jessica Terzakis shared her approach to setting the outcomes. 

“I think about what I want my learners to be able to do by the end of the course. And then I work backward. And that becomes my goalpost. It is my northern star. I work from that. And that's  the piece that you really have to be careful about because you've got to think about, am I trying to have them do way too much in this?”

 

Jessica Terzakis,

Co-Founder at Terzakis and Associates 

Let’s break this down with an example. Suppose one of the core competencies for a customer service rep is “Conflict resolution.” It does not mean you can put “improve conflict resolution” in the employee’s learning plan. Instead, think about the sub-skills they might need for that competency. 

As a result, you can have something like “de-escalate a frustrated customer call within 5 minutes while maintaining an empathetic tone and offering a solution that aligns with company policy”. 

• Outline key tasks to bridge the skill gap

Those tasks are the activities that guide them toward achieving the outcomes. And even if you expect similar outcomes from all the sales reps, their paths are different. One simple reason is that they have different starting points for the same competency. 

As part of their training path, one person might need role-play coaching. Another might need observation time. Someone else might just need to shadow a strong peer and debrief afterward.

You can use the following competency-based training template to plan the learning for each employee. 

Set the assessment system 

At the end of the program, we would assess whether the employee had mastered the competency. For the evaluation to be effective, we need to determine the assessment criteria and methods. 

Notice: When it comes to competency-based training, assessment is primarily formative. So, as mentioned earlier, we will not be focusing on how well the employee passed any quizzes or tests. 

I have been using ChatGPT for a while to develop the assessment criteria for my learners at school. And here is the exact prompt we can adapt and insert for employee training assessment metrics. 

"I’m planning a competency-based training program for the company that aims to [insert your mission and business goals]. The competency I need to track is [insert competency]. The desired outcome is: [insert specific outcome]. Give me a list of assessment criteria I can use to evaluate whether the employee has demonstrated this outcome. I want the criteria to be observable, measurable, and specific. Create a two-column table. In the first column, list all the aspects that need evaluation that the competency I mentioned reflects. In the second column, list methods that would help me assess it”.

In this case, I selected leading effective meetings as the competency. And here is what the criteria suggested for assessment. 

Integrate CBL into performance management 

Competency-based learning should not be separate from how you evaluate performance. In fact, it should be the foundation of it. 

Because when you tie performance reviews directly to competencies, you are no longer rating people on their potential. You are looking at whether they can use the exact skills you trained them on.

For the next performance review after the employee’s training, you can

• Replace the general skills we assess, like communication and teamwork, with their work competencies
• See how they describe overcoming a challenge in terms of that competence
• Ask managers to share their feedback based on that competence

At the same time, you do not want to give the impression that you are looking for flaws. So, it is truly important how you communicate that you want to support them with upskilling. 

Track results based on pre-defined KPIs 

Once your competency goals are defined, measuring progress is essential.

And if they did not master it, you should continue training. On top of the formative assessment we already have, we can consider their performance. 

If you are using an LMS platform like Uteach, tracking becomes even easier. 

• As your employees move through the training modules, you can check who is enrolled in what course, how they scored, and how fast they are moving.
• Plus, Uteach lets you customize quizzes to test practical knowledge. 
• You can go back and review performance on each quiz, pinpoint patterns, and spot where someone may need extra help. 

If they have specific tasks, the instructor can share assignments and provide feedback automatically. And once the progress is completed, you can export reports, share data with team leads, and even visualize overall training impact. 

FAQ on competency-learning 

Let’s answer some frequently asked questions on implementing competency-based training in your workplace to summarize the key points we covered.  

• What are the benefits of competency-based training for business? 

Competency-based training helps your company develop the exact skills your team needs to perform better in their roles. This way, you are investing in targeted development that is directly tied to your business goals. As a result, you have efficient onboarding, faster performance improvements, and clearer alignment between employee capability and role expectations. 

With clearly defined competencies and outcomes, you can track who is meeting expectations and who needs support. This approach also helps you make better decisions about promotions, project assignments, or future training investments.

• How to develop a competency-based learning program? 

To build a competency-based learning program, you first need to understand the exact skills your team needs, then design training around helping them master those. The focus is not on how much time someone spends learning. It is about what they can do by the end.

To create a competency-based training program:

• Define key competencies for each role 
• Identify current skill gaps 
• Set specific learning outcomes 
• Build personalized learning plans 
• Develop formative assessments 
• Track progress in your LMS Link training to performance reviews

• How to measure competency? 

To measure competency effectively, you need to look for evidence of real-world performance, not just completion of a course. That means defining clear criteria up front. Then, you assess whether the employee can consistently demonstrate that behavior or skill in the context of their role. Here is how you do it: 

• Set specific, observable outcomes 
• Use multiple methods, such as on-the-job observation, scenario-based assessments, manager feedback, and even peer reviews. 
• Track progress over time. You can use tools like your LMS to monitor their performance.

• What is the best LMS to run a competency learning program? 

If you are serious about building a competency-based learning program that actually delivers results, Uteach is one of the best LMS platforms to do it with.

Make the learning experience diverse and incorporate different training formats. Those include community-based learning, mobile learning, and interactive methods to deliver the training. The platform offers detailed reporting for you to track the employee progress individually or see the overall results of the training for all the employees. 

Book your free demo to discuss how the platform can support your competency-based training efforts from day one.