12/6/2009
HR consultants working to help clients develop performance management systems should consider the concept of competencies--the collection of related knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics that combine to produce outstanding performance in a given area of responsibility.

Competencies correlate with performance on the job, can be measured against well-accepted standards and can be improved through training and development.

Once adequately defined, a competency-based approach to HR can have far-reaching implications across all functional aspects of human resources and provide a firm foundation on which to build a fully integrated performance management system.

Find out more about competency models in the latest Briefly Stated series from SHRM Research:

Competency Models Series Part I: Competency Models - An Overview

Competency Models Series Part II: Competency Methods and Uses

Competency Models Series Part III: Competency-Based Performance Management