Driving Service Excellence through Competencies

Competency-based learning is an approach to teaching and learning that is often used in learning tangible skills. It differs from other non-related approaches in that the function of learning is extremely defined to the particular skill. In comparison to the traditional course or module an individual skill and learning outcome, is bundled in as a competency and assessed holistically as one single skill.

In a Competency-based learning, learners work on one competency at a time, which is likely a small component of a larger learning goal. The student is evaluated on the individual competency, and only once they have mastered it do they move on to others. After that, higher or more complex competencies are learned to a degree of mastery and isolated from other topics. Another common component of Competency-based learning is the ability to skip learning modules entirely if the learner can demonstrate they already have mastery. That can be done either through prior learning assessment, formative testing, or mentor/manager assessment.

However as clear as it seems that competencies and learning should be connected, that is clearly not the case for many organizations. According to Brandon Hall Group’s Learning & Development Benchmarking study, 72% of companies have a system in place to manage competencies, and only 24% of them say there is a high level of integration with learning. In fact, 30% say there is actually no integration. If an organization cannot use L&D to address competencies and any gaps that may exist, exactly what are they managing? The Sciex Global Service Training Organization has recognized the importance of competency management and has tied competencies to each program and incorporated as part of the Career Daily Management Dashboard for managers to develop their associates.