How to create a competency model rapidly when there are no high performers

During our ATD webcast on how to create a competency model and perform a competency assessment, Peter, Dana, and Michael asked, “How do you use the rapid competency model development process for new, emerging roles for which you can't identify 4-6 expert practitioners or for a role that doesn’t yet exist?

Creating a competency model for a role with few people in it

If you have 1-2 people in the role, while they may not yet be high performers, use them to create the base model. This is particularly important if additional people are going to be hired for it – since it will become the initial blueprint that can be used for helping new hires get up to speed. We’ve done this a lot in fast growing companies. Because they have fumbled around a bit to create the role, they actually have some great best practices you can capture.

Creating a competency model for a new role

If no one is currently in the role, you want to find high performers who do similar things. If you’re taking an existing role, and splitting it into more specialized roles, might you have people who are high performers in those other roles that can focus on only the nuances of the new role.

Alternatively, you might have 1-2 people in the organization who are experts in this new area, who can participate in the process to create the initial model. Remember that all models should remain “in beta” – so they are reviewed 1-2 times/year as people actually take on the new role, and they can then shape the model.

A third option is to consider standard competency models (if they exist). These are industry standard roles that define what the new role looks like at a typical organization. And you can then customize the model based on what this role must do or not do in your organization. It’s a rapid “quick start” to a role-based competency model.