TYPES OF COMPETENCIES

The three types of competencies are behavioural competencies, technical competencies and NVQs and SNVQs.

Behavioural competencies 

Behavioural competencies define behavioural expectations, ie the type of behaviour required to deliver results under such headings as teamworking, communication, leadership and decision-making. They are sometimes known as ‘soft skills’. Behavioural competencies are usually set out in a competency framework. 

The behavioural competency approach was first advocated by McClelland (1973). He recommended the use of criterion-referenced assessment. Criterion referencing or validation is the process of analysing the key aspects of behaviour that differentiate between effective and less effective performance.

But the leading figure in defining and popularizing the concept of competency in the USAand elsewhere was Boyatzis (1982). He conducted research that established that there was no single factor but a range of factors that differentiated successful from less successful performance. These factors included personal qualities, motives, experience and behavioural characteristics. Boyatzis defined competency as: ‘capacity that exists in a person that leads to behaviour that meets the job demands within the parameters of the organizational environment and that, in turn, brings about desired results’. 

The ‘clusters’ of competencies he identified were goal and action management, directing subordinates, human resource management and leadership. He made a distinction between threshold competencies, which are the basic competencies required to do a job, and performance competences, which differentiate between high and low performance.

Technical competencies 

Technical competencies define what people have to know and be able to do (knowledge and skills) to carry out their roles effectively. They are related to either generic roles (groups of similar jobs), or individual roles (as ‘role-specific competencies’). 

The term ‘technical competency’ has been adopted fairly recently to avoid the confusion that existed between the terms ‘competency’ and ‘competence’. Competency, as mentioned above, is about behaviours, while competence as defined by Woodruffe (1990) is: ‘Awork-related concept which refers to areas of work at which the person is competent. Competent people at work are those who meet their performance expectations.’ Competences are sometimes known as ‘hard skills’. The terms technical competencies and competences are closely related although the latter has a particular and more limited meaning when applied to NVQs/SNVQs, as discussed below.