Questions and Answers   

1.    What are competencies?  How are they different than KSA’s?

Competencies are those measurable or observable knowledge, skills, abilities and other behaviors critical to success in a key job role or function. 

Competencies encompass the more familiar “KSAs” (knowledge, skills and abilities), but are more powerful in that they emphasize a person’s ability to produce an expected outcome. A competency is often a set of related KSAs that work together to produce key outcomes. In other words, excellent performance often cannot be understood only in terms of isolated knowledge, skills, or abilities. Rather, it results from a combination of these attributes working together.

2.   What significance do competencies have in Civil Service Reform?

The ultimate goal of Civil Service Reform is to improve services to the public through modification of the state’s HR rules, systems and processes. Research has shown that organizations can achieve significant productivity increases through effective implementation of integrated competency-based HR systems. 

3. How do organizations and employees benefit from using a   competency-based system?

By providing a more holistic view of all the important attributes for success in a job, a competency approach will improve the understanding of what it really takes to perform well. Using competencies can create a foundation for high-performance HR management programs to attract, develop and retain the talent needed to succeed. 

4.   How do you determine what competencies are important to   a job?
 
Look first at what functions and duties are most critical to a position, then determine what competencies are necessary for effective performance in those areas. This can be achieved through a job analysis process, typically facilitated by an organization’s HR department.

5.   What tools and resources are available to assist agencies and institutions?

The Department of Personnel is providing: 

• A comprehensive master list of competencies for agencies and institutions to use
•  Web-based information and resources
• Training on competencies, determining them through job analysis, and their use in the Performance and Development Plan (PDP)

 6. Will training opportunities be “linked” to the competencies list?
We do plan to pro