2011, 64, 225.262
DOING COMPETENCIES WELL: BEST PRACTICES
IN COMPETENCY MODELING
MICHAEL A. CAMPION
Purdue University
ALEXIS A. FINK
Microsoft Corporation
BRIAN J. RUGGEBERG
Aon Consulting
LINDA CARR
Sun Microsystems
GENEVA M. PHILLIPS
RONALD B. ODMAN
Boeing Company
The purpose of this article is to present a set of best practices for competency modeling based on the experiences and lessons learned from the major perspectives on this topic (including applied, academic, and professional). Competency models are defined, and their key advantages are explained. Then, the many uses of competency models are described. The bulk of the article is a set of 20 best practices divided into 3 areas: analyzing competency information, organizing and presenting competency information, and using competency information. The best practices are described and explained, practice advice is provided, and then the best practices are illustrated with numerous practical examples.
Finally, how competency modeling differs from and complements job analysis is explained throughout.
The purpose of this article is to present a set of best practices for competency modeling based on the experiences and lessons learned from all the major perspectives on this topic including two major companies, a major consulting firm, a major university, and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) taskforce on competency modeling.
From all the different perspectives, we will delineate a set of 20 best practices and then illustrate them with practical examples from actual organizations. For the interested reader, we also link the practices to the existing literature which consists mostly of writings based on practical experience (e.g., case studies, commentaries) because little empirical
Correspondence and requests for reprints should be addressed to Michael A. Campion,
Krannert Graduate School of Management, Purdue University,
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