1.    What are competencies?  How are they different than KSA’s?

Competencies are those measurable or observable knowledge, skills, abilities and other behaviors critical to success in a key job role or function. 

Competencies encompass the more familiar “KSAs” (knowledge, skills and abilities), but are more powerful in that they emphasize a person’s ability to produce an expected outcome. A competency is often a set of related KSAs that work together to produce key outcomes. In other words, excellent performance often cannot be understood only in terms of isolated knowledge, skills, or abilities. Rather, it results from a combination of these attributes working together.

2.   What significance do competencies have in Civil Service Reform?

The ultimate goal of Civil Service Reform is to improve services to the public through modification of the state’s HR rules, systems and processes. Research has shown that organizations can achieve significant productivity increases through effective implementation of integrated competency-based HR systems. 

3.   How do organizations and employees benefit from using a competency-based system?

By providing a more holistic view of all the important attributes for success in a job, a competency approach will improve the understanding of what it really takes to perform well. Using competencies can create a foundation for high-performance HR management programs to attract, develop and retain the talent needed to succeed. 

4.   How do you determine what competencies are important to a job?

Look first at what functions and duties are most critical to a position, then determine what competencies are necessary for effective performance in those areas. This can be achieved through a job analysis process, typically facilitated by an organization’s HR department.

5.   What tools and resources are available to assist agencies and institutions?

The Department of Personnel is providing:

• A comprehensive master list of competencies for agencies and institutions to use

• Web-based information and resources

• Training on competencies, determining them through job analysis, and their use in the Performance and Development Plan (PDP)

6.   Will agencies and institutions be able to customize the competencies from the master list prepared by DOP?  Will they be able to use their own?

Our goal is to have a comprehensive list of competencies available for agencies and institutions to use, but that can be customized as desired. We envision that agencies and institutions will be able to supplement with their own competencies and definitions as well. The details regarding what this will look like in SAP (the new computer system) are being developed.

7.   Will training opportunities be “linked” to the competencies list?

We do plan to provide a crosswalk between competencies on the master list and DOP training opportunities that relate to those competencies. Full functionality will likely be possible in connection with SAP Release 2 in August 2005.

8.   How might competencies be linked to human resources decisions impacting individual employees?

Candidates’ competencies would be evaluated in making hiring and promotion decisions. In addition, competencies may factor in determining an employee’s compensation. Development and use on the job of some competencies might result in assignment pay if an assignment pay reference exists in the compensation plan and is applied by the employer. Development and effective use on the job of key competencies could result in successful performance that could translate into performance recognition pay or an accelerated progression increase (if the employer has the ability to use these tools through having attained performance management confirmation).

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