How do you ensure that your team members know what each other’s competencies are and how you can use them? By properly mapping out competencies, your team will work even better and more effectively: the key to progress. We tell you how to map the competencies of your team members in three steps, by means of a competency matrix.
- Create a competency matrix
A team contributes to the mission and vision of an organization. But a team also has a specific goal. The first step is to map out the competencies that the team needs to achieve the goals. This sounds simple, but it can be a challenge. People are often placed in a team because they have a lot of knowledge on an individual basis, but they do not look at what the team should achieve. As a result, teams may not be capable enough to achieve goals. To set up the competency matrix, you can use Bizzdesign.com: world-class enterprise architecture software. Once you have mapped out all the required competencies, you will see what level of seniority you need for each competency. So you create a competency matrix with:
All competencies necessary for the team to achieve goals;
- What level of seniority you need per competency;
- How many people (minimum) must meet the different levels of seniority per competency.
- Fill in the competency matrix
The next step is to fill in the competency matrix. Team members fill in what they think is how well they possess a certain competence. This requires openness, honesty and a certain level of vulnerability. It is important that this is properly facilitated. When all team members have completed this competency matrix, you have a list of the desired competencies and a list of the competencies that are present in the team. This allows you to see at a glance which competencies are covered within the team, but also which competencies are not yet sufficiently covered. You can now discuss with team members in which competencies they (or want to) develop further.
- Development time is also working time
It is not possible to go faster than the slowest. In this case, if teams don’t keep evolving to keep the customer happy, the competitor will run past you. It is therefore essential that your people remain inspired to do what they are good at. But they also need to be able to develop in what they are curious about, in order to create value for a customer. To ensure that completing the competency matrix does not remain a one-off session, you must ensure that time is set aside regularly. This gives you priority. For example, schedule a monthly day, where team members get the chance to do what they want in terms of competences: discover or strengthen. This ensures that it is and remains a continuous process. After some time, the competency matrix can be filled in again by the employees, to see where you stand as a team at that moment.
