What is the competency-based training model?
Competency-based training model is a learning approach that assesses whether an employee has the skills and knowledge required to perform their job effectively. It emphasizes on developing practical skills and abilities and not just on providing theoretical knowledge. A key part of the competency-based training model is assessing an employee’s ability to complete specific job-related tasks or achieve goals/objectives. The focus is on identifying skill-knowledge gaps and providing training that addresses these specific gaps.
Competency-Based Training Model
A competency-based training model is different from comprehensive training and development courses that cover a topic or process from start to finish. While comprehensive training is essential, especially when onboarding new employees or training them in new skills from scratch, it is understood that employees are not going to remember all the details of a training and development course or learning session the first time they attend it. Hence, focusing on this type of training leads to building a holistic competency-based model within your business.
Example of a competency-based training model
Competency-Based Training Examples
Let’s discuss in detail.
1 – Correctly explain the steps of the task
Competency-based training models are especially useful when you need to check whether employees are performing step-by-step tasks properly. By comparing the employee’s performance with the pre-set steps of the task, you can quickly identify areas that need improvement. For example,
In manufacturing and construction, it’s essential that employees know how to operate specific machines and tools safely and efficiently, and a competency-based training model ensures that employees have the skills and knowledge they need to perform these tasks safely.
Similarly, competency-based training is the norm in the food industry, as employees must prepare food correctly to maintain quality and customer satisfaction. Ensuring that established procedures are carried out uninterrupted not only establishes quality standards, but also minimizes the risk of physical harm to employees and cross-contamination for customers.
Additionally, in healthcare, proper disinfection and sterilization of patients is crucial to prevent the spread of infection and disease and maintain a clean and safe environment. Competency-based training can ensure employees understand and can perform medical procedures correctly.
2 – Demonstration of practical communication skills
Practical communication skills are a great help to employees no matter what industry or job they’re in. But they’re especially important in people-facing jobs. For employees in sales and marketing, it’s all about a strong pitch. Having guidelines for them to start from and an established communications roadmap is the first step in a competency-based training approach. When assessing employees, test their ability to read the mood, answer key questions, and handle communication miscommunications smoothly.
If you have employees involved in customer care, answering questions and handling objections tactfully and efficiently is critical to the success of your business. Again, a competency-based training approach can help, as many customers are likely to have similar questions about your service/product. Creating guidelines with the right answers and roadmaps for resolving frequently occurring issues helps show employees how to perform each task and establishes organizational standards by which they are evaluated.
3 – Manage projects/tasks from start to finish
Training isn’t just for new hires. Managers and team leaders can also benefit from a competency-based training model. One way to assess their management skills is to see how they manage a project from start to finish within a team. Start by working on a project or task together with them, following an established procedure: identifying goals and objectives, setting deadlines, creating and delegating tasks, monitoring how they are executed, and evaluating after the task. If you document this process, you can compare their performance when they complete the project or task on their own.
4 – Reports on specific tasks
Reporting on the task at hand is a difficult task to complete for some employees, even those who are perfect at their jobs. By clarifying what should be covered in each type of report and providing past examples or case studies on the format of the report, you can improve their reporting ability on specific tasks. This will provide a basis for providing constructive feedback and evaluating the quality of future reports.
What are the steps to create a competency-based training model?
step 1 – First of all, you need to identify in detail the competencies required for each employee. This can be done by performing the tasks yourself, asking a specialist, or using the desired results as a guideline.
Step 2 – Next, you need to create standards and assessment criteria for your competency-based training model. Then, determine how to set the standards and how to communicate them to employees. If employees don’t meet your expectations, you need to help them.
Step 3 – Then, evaluate the employee’s performance against the established competency model. Observe and have the employee perform specific tasks on their own, taking note of areas that need improvement (such as training) or where they still need to excel.
Step 4 – Then provide your employees with training and development programs to fill the gaps in their capabilities. Be sure to motivate your employees and provide clear solutions and approaches. It is very important that your employees understand their shortcomings in a positive way.
Step 5 – Finally, employee performance should be continually monitored and evaluated to ensure continued development. Reinforcement training and development courses can be incorporated periodically to keep employees on track.
Don’t be afraid to have employees collaborate on certain tasks. If you find that one employee consistently performs poorly at one task but excels at another that others may not understand, distribute the load between employees so they can learn from each other and improve each other’s performance.
What is the importance of competency-based training?
Competency-based training is essential for organizations, especially in the diskless industry, to ensure that employees have the knowledge and skills they need to perform their jobs effectively. Competency gaps can lead to inefficiencies, mistakes, safety hazards, and serious incidents that impact an organization’s performance and reputation.
When employees continually fail at tasks or don’t deliver as expected, motivation and productivity decline. Identifying these competency gaps early and providing support in the form of a competency-based training model can help employees and your company stay ahead of the learning curve.
By proactively identifying competency gaps, you can proactively address these knowledge/skill gaps and provide your employees with the training and development opportunities they need to improve their skills and knowledge gaps. This results in increased employee productivity, improved quality of work, better employee engagement, fewer errors, and increased customer satisfaction.
To learn more about competency-based training and how you can implement this type of training in your organization, check out our blog on “How to Master a Competency-Based Training Program.”
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Benefits of a Competency-Based Training Model
Knowledge check!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: What is the competency-based training model?
answer: A competency-based training model is a learning approach that assesses whether employees have the skills and knowledge necessary to perform their jobs effectively.
Q: What are some examples of competency-based training?
answer: In manufacturing and construction industries, it’s essential that employees know how to operate specific machines and tools safely and efficiently, and competency-based training ensures that employees have the skills and knowledge they need to perform these tasks safely.
Q: What are the three elements of competency-based training?
answer: The main components of competency-based training are identifying the competencies required for each job, developing competency standards and assessment criteria, and evaluating employee performance.
