What's included
Competency mapping template overview
Our competency mapping template helps you identify the right competencies, align them with your organizational goals, and accurately assess your employees’ competency levels.
This downloadable template includes:
- Introduction and instructions sheet: Users get detailed step-by-step instructions on how to use the template and additional guidance on how to customize the template for additional competencies and departments
- Mapping tasks to competencies sheet: This sheet is the core of the template, including lists of role or department-related tasks and competencies, a matrix for rating the relevance of each competency to the tasks on a scale of 1 to 3, and automatically calculated average scores per competency
- Table highlighting top competencies: Once users define the number of competencies to highlight, conditional formatting rules will immediately highlight the most relevant competencies, and the “Top competencies” table will be automatically filled
- Mapping competencies to workers sheet: Users get detailed instructions to assess team members’ proficiency in the identified top competencies
- Example sheets: The provided example for an HR department demonstrates how to list tasks, brainstorm competencies, rate their relevance, and highlight top competencies
How to use this competency mapping template
Developing a detailed and actionable competency framework can be challenging. Our competency mapping template simplifies this process, ensuring your framework is comprehensive and specific to your organization’s needs.
Here’s how you can effectively use our template:
- Identify the department or function: Start by selecting the department or business function for your competency mapping exercise to ensure relevance
- List relevant tasks: Consider the primary responsibilities, duties, and the level of decision-making authority for the role or department and list all relevant tasks
- Identify relevant competencies: Brainstorm and list all relevant competencies for the role or department, including any technical or domain-specific skills required
- Rate competency relevance: Rate the fit between each task and each competency on a scale of 1 (not relevant) to 3 (very relevant) to prioritize the most critical competencies
- Assess automatically calculate scores: The template will calculate an average score for each competency, determining the most relevant competencies for the role or department
- Highlight top competencies: Input the number of competencies you want to highlight in the designated cell; as soon as you input the number, the top competencies will be highlighted in dark blue and populate a “Top competencies” table
- Experiment with the number of competencies: Adjust the number of top competencies to see how the results change, but note that the “Top Competencies” table can accommodate up to 12 competencies per role, a best practice for managing competency models effectively
- Map competencies to workers: Move to the next sheet of the template to where the top competencies will be pre-populated; assess your team members’ proficiency in these competencies using the provided instructions
- Repeat for other departments: Repeat this process for all relevant departments or business functions to ensure comprehensive competency mapping across the organization
FAQs
What is the difference between competency and competency mapping?
A competency is a specific skill, behavior, or attribute that is required for effective performance in a job role. Competencies are the building blocks of job performance and can include technical skills, soft skills, knowledge, and behaviors.
Competency mapping is the process of identifying and defining the competencies required for various roles within an organization. It involves creating a framework that aligns these competencies with specific job functions and assessing employees’ competency levels to identify gaps and development needs.
What are the fundamentals of competency mapping?
The fundamentals of competency mapping include:
- Defining key competencies: Identifying and describing the skills, behaviors, and attributes required for different roles
- Engaging stakeholders: Involving key stakeholders (such as team leaders) to ensure the competencies are relevant and aligned with organizational goals
- Mapping competencies to roles: Assigning the defined competencies to specific organizational job roles
- Assessing proficiency levels: Evaluating the current competency levels of employees to identify gaps and development needs
- Integrating with HR processes: Using the competency framework to inform recruitment, upskilling and training programs, performance reviews and skills assessments, and succession planning.
How many types of competency mapping are there?
There are several types of competency mapping, often categorized based on the focus and methodology used. The main types include:
- Role-based competency mapping focuses on identifying competencies specific to job roles within the organization, such as project management or human resources
- Functional competency mapping concentrates on competencies required for specific functions or departments, such as marketing or finance
- Behavioral competency mapping emphasizes soft skills and behaviors necessary for effective performance, such as communication and teamwork
- Technical competency mapping focuses on technical skills and knowledge required for specialized roles, such as IT or engineering
- Leadership competency mapping identifies competencies needed for leadership and management positions, such as strategic thinking and decision-making
Each type of competency mapping serves a different purpose and can be used independently or in combination to create a comprehensive competency framework.
What is the first step in competency mapping?
The first step in competency mapping is to define the purpose and scope of the mapping exercise (e.g., mapping only core competencies for the entire organization vs. mapping functional and technical competencies for specific roles or departments). This involves understanding the organizational goals, identifying the specific roles or departments to be mapped, and engaging key stakeholders to gather input and ensure alignment with strategic objectives.
What is the main purpose of competency mapping?
Competency mapping’s primary purpose is to ensure that an organization has the right skill sets and behaviors in place to achieve its strategic goals. It helps:
- Create transparency around role expectations, potential career paths, and next-levels
- Enable competency-based performance evaluations
- Understand team skill levels
- Identify employees’ skill gaps
- Empower employees with targeted training initiatives and development plans to help them meet the required skills for their roles
- Enhance recruitment and selection processes (e.g., by making sure job descriptions include the necessary competencies for the roles)
- Streamline performance management
Competency mapping aligns individual capabilities with organizational needs, driving talent management efficiency and effectiveness.
Is skill mapping and competency mapping the same?
No, skill mapping and competency mapping are not the same, though they are related.
- Skill mapping focuses specifically on identifying and categorizing the technical or functional skills that employees possess or need to acquire; as a result, it is often narrower in scope and concentrates on task-specific abilities.
- Competency mapping encompasses a broader range of attributes, including skills, behaviors, knowledge, and attitudes required for effective job performance; as a result, it provides a more holistic view of what success looks like in a role.
