Organizational Competencies: Leveling Up Your Workforce for the Next Decade

Alisha O'Neill
May 26
8 min read

Updated: Sep 21

On this post:

Why Competency Development Matters?

What Are Competencies?

Why Should Competencies Matter Now?

What are the Key Competencies to Focus on?

Building the Tools: How to Shape Competencies into Your Organization

Practical Competency Implementation Steps for Organizations

The Importance of Change Management in Competency Development

Conclusion: The Competitive Edge

Recently, I had the pleasure of supporting a company in the public administration industry with the development of competency-based tools and a change management plan to support the implementation of their new leadership competencies. Additionally, I am finding requests for competency development on the rise. Because of that, it felt prudent to share thoughts on the concept of competencies and how they can level up your workforce for the next decade, particularly as workplaces face rapid technological disruption and shifting market dynamics.

Organizations that actively develop employees by using a competency framework and supporting tools can better position themselves to thrive in the future. Plus, the reality is that many employees expect employers to help them keep up; if not, they are likely to seek opportunities elsewhere. With workforce dynamics changing, this becomes a challenge for employers hoping to retain their employees.

Read on to explore the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of competency development, some compelling statistics for your consideration, and what essential skills are needed for the future.

Why Competency Development Matters?

Imagine your organization as a high-performance sports team. Each player (employee) must master their position, but the team's success depends on everyone understanding the playbook (competency framework), as well as practicing the plays together, and continuously improving. However, without a focus on developing the right competencies, even the most talented individuals can underperform, and the team risks falling behind relative to their competitors.

Psico-smart (2024) highlights compelling statistics that underscore this point:

Organizations using structured competency assessments are 25% more likely to outperform competitors in profitability.
Companies prioritizing competency assessments are 1.5 times more likely to achieve strategic goals.
Firms that implement competency-based frameworks see a 30% increase in employee retention and a 40% improvement in productivity within a year.

While these results would certainly be impressive for a high-performance sports team, let’s now consider how the structure of a competency framework and its supporting tools could have an impact on your organization.

To illustrate, public companies are accountable to their shareholders. In using competency development, the company could better enable its ability to achieve business results, retain a productive workforce, and produce the type of returns that instill stronger confidence from shareholders in company operations. In turn, this sharpened alignment between workforce capabilities and strategic goals demonstrates to shareholders that the company is intentionally investing in sustainable success and long-term value creation.

What Are Competencies?

Think of competencies as the tools in a craftsperson’s toolbox. Each tool represents a skill or behaviour required to address different situations, such as digital literacy, emotional intelligence, problem-solving, etc. The more comprehensive and well-maintained the ‘toolbox’, the better equipped your workforce is to tackle new challenges, innovate, and build lasting value.

And just as a craftsperson invests in sharpening and updating their tools, organizations must invest in developing and refining employee competencies to reskill or upskill them.

Why Should Competencies Matter Now?

With the changing landscape around us, the World Economic Forum predicts that 39% of workers’ skill sets will be disrupted within the next five years (2025). This is a staggering statistic and one that’s not too far in the distant future. When we consider the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), remote work, and shifting global economic and political dynamics, it means that yesterday’s skills can quickly become obsolete. Employees and organizations alike must commit to continuous learning and adaptability to remain relevant.

What are the Key Competencies to Focus on?

Based on leading research and employer surveys, these are the core competencies organizations should prioritize:

Building the Tools: How to Shape Competencies into Your Organization

1. Structured Competency Frameworks

A competency framework acts as the organization’s blueprint, defining the skills, knowledge, behaviours, standards, and proficiency level required for each competency and by each role. Leading organizations use these frameworks to align hiring, succession planning, and career & development initiatives.

Studies show that companies with competency-based strategies experience a 22% increase in employee engagement and a 68% improvement in succession planning (Psico-smart, 2024).

2. Assessment and Feedback

Regular competency assessments provide clarity for both employees and managers and should be completed every couple of years or so. This is not intended to be a punitive exercise, but one that highlights competency strengths, surfaces competency development needs, and informs targeted training plans.

Understanding the collective competence—that is, the combined competency assessment results of an entire team—can be even more powerful in enabling organizations to prioritize their development efforts. For example, Tech Innovators Inc. introduced competency-based evaluations and saw a 50% reduction in turnover and a 30% improvement in project delivery timelines within a year (Psico-smart, 2024).

3. Competency Development Guides

When competencies are being introduced in an organization, the question leaders and HR will likely most often receive from employees is, “How do I develop a competency?” Competency Development Guides provide examples of different learning activities, organized by proficiency level, to help them develop a competency.

Proficiency levels can be described as a natural progression of skills and knowledge in a particular competency and generally are on a 4- or 5-level scale, which I would advise not confusing with other structures, such as compensation. To illustrate an example of how they are used, if an employee or team demonstrates a fundamental level of proficiency in a competency, but the organization needs them to be operating at a skilled level of proficiency, these guides can help leaders and employees decide on which development activities to focus on.

However, it’s important to note that this type of tool should not be treated like a checklist. It should be used as a guidance tool to gain ideas on different development activities for the employee to embark on.

4. Personalized Learning Paths

Just as no two toolboxes are identical, learning must be tailored. New AI-powered platforms are now enabling personalized learning journeys, allowing employees to acquire new role-specific skills and knowledge at their own pace through different options.

Micro-learning, for example, enables employees to experience a mixture of different formats to learn topics, such as reading concise and easy-to-understand snippets, watching a series of short and engaging videos providing instructions (like a “YouTube” video), and engaging in a self-reflection exercise. Personalized learning paths have been shown to increase engagement and accelerate skill acquisition (Oladele et al., 2025)

5. Culture of Continuous Improvement

We need to keep in mind that learning is a marathon, not a sprint. Just like high-performing athletes maintain peak performance through regular training, organizations must consistently strengthen their competencies to stay competitive in a changing environment.

Organizations should encourage a culture that values curiosity, experimentation, and ongoing development. As Gallup (2025) suggests, employees who perceive their organizations as investing in their growth report higher motivation, job satisfaction, and loyalty.

Practical Competency Implementation Steps for Organizations

Another common question I’ll hear from leaders or HR professionals who are thinking about developing a competency program is, “How can we practically implement competencies within the organization?” It’s a great question, and here are a few tips to help get you started:

Examine your current competencies: Understand what competencies the organization currently demonstrates, but also what is needed for the future to enable the strategic direction of the company. You may find that through this exercise, you should retain some of the current competencies but also remove others to keep up with market trends. As highlighted by Marshall Goldsmith’s famous quote: “What got you here won’t get you there.”
Implement a competency framework: As highlighted above, define the skills, knowledge, behaviours, standards, and proficiency levels required for each competency and by each role. Through that, determine if it’s a core competency (which applies to all roles) or a discipline-specific competency (which applies to some roles) within the organization.
Invest in modern tools: If this aligns with your strategic direction, use AI-powered learning platforms, feedback systems, and analytics to personalize and track development. Not quite there yet? No problem. You can still create a set of tools to advance competency development, much of which can be addressed through on-the-job experiences, peer-to-peer learning, job shadowing, and mentorship.
Celebrate a growth mindset: Recognize and reward learning and successful development that increases individual and collective competence to strengthen the organization overall. By promoting a growth mindset, organizations accelerate skill acquisition, adaptability, and the competitive edge needed for success.
Prioritize development: By prioritizing competency development, you equip your workforce to confidently tackle complex challenges and deliver results in today’s ever-evolving environment. It’s a strategic investment, but one that ensures your teams are not only prepared but positioned to drive business growth and exceed performance targets.
Promote cross-functional learning: Break down silos within your organization by encouraging collaboration and learning across departments and disciplines. Doing so can also contribute to building your organization’s overall collective competence.

The Importance of Change Management in Competency Development

Now you may be thinking, “Great, got it. Let’s get started!”. But wait—let’s not forget the importance of change management in competency development. Change management provides a structured approach to guide employees through transitions, addressing the natural resistance that often accompanies new competency models or assessment processes.

By involving employees early, communicating the ‘why,’ and listening to concerns, organizations create buy-in and minimize pushback.

Change management helps us anticipate and mitigate risks associated with new competency models, such as confusion about expectations or the perceived implications of competency gaps.

This proactive approach ensures smoother implementation and greater long-term success. Furthermore, competency development requires visible leadership support and clear communication. Change management helps us guide leaders in modelling desired behaviours, championing the initiative, and supporting teams through uncertainty, while reinforcing the importance of the change.

Without change management, competency frameworks risk becoming “just another HR initiative.” Change management helps you ensure that new competencies are integrated into hiring, training, and day-to-day behaviours. In short, change management enables you to drive adoption and reduce the risk of resistance—making the results of your competency program real and sustainable.

Conclusion: The Competitive Edge

In the end, competency development is not just an HR initiative—it’s a strategic imperative to build an organization’s competitive edge for the future. In an environment where over a third of all job skills will be disrupted within five years (World Economic Forum, 2025), organizations that build, assess, and continuously refine their employees’ competencies will be the ones that lead, innovate, and succeed.

Just as a coach develops each athlete’s unique strengths to build a winning team, organizations should support developing employees’ competencies to create a resilient, high-performing workforce. The investment pays dividends in terms of engagement, innovation, business results, and long-term success.

At Phoenix Rising Consulting Group, our clients choose to work with us because of our deep industry experience, practical approach, and proven ability to turn frameworks into real, sustainable results. I’ve personally helped organizations of all sizes—from small shops to large teams—define the skills and knowledge that matter, facilitated meaningful discussions, and built tools that leaders and employees actually use.

More importantly, my clients value my ability to guide them through change, train their leaders, and ensure that competency development becomes a sustainable, integrated part of their culture. My approach is hands-on, collaborative, and tailored to your needs—because every business is unique, and success is measured by outcomes, not just credentials.

Are you ready to sharpen your organization’s toolbox and build for the future? Contact us today at Phoenix Rising Consulting Group to understand how we can help.