Capability & Competency Resources
Capability and competency defined
Capability and competency describe two distinct but interdependent dimensions of workforce performance.
- Capability is the potential to perform — the knowledge, qualifications, certifications, and experience a person brings to a role. These credentials infer skill and indicate readiness, but they do not in themselves prove performance.
- Competency is the demonstration of that capability in context — the applied knowledge, practical skills, and observable behaviours that show a person can perform effectively and consistently on the job.
In simple terms, capability is what someone could do; competency is what they actually do in real work situations.
A robust workforce system recognizes both — capability as the foundation, and competency as the evidence of performance.
Together they provide a complete picture of both potential and performance in context.
A clear capability and competency framework connects these elements to job roles, enabling organisations to define expectations, assess proficiency, and plan targeted development across all functions and levels.
Why the distinction matters
Many organisations treat training completion, qualifications, or years of experience as proof of competence.
Yet credentials alone cannot confirm whether an individual can apply their skills under real conditions.
This gap between capability and demonstrated competency is often where operational risk, performance variability, and audit exposure occur.
When capability and competency are explicitly defined and connected to job roles, organisations gain measurable insight into workforce readiness.
Managers can distinguish between qualified and competent staff, plan development that addresses real skill gaps, and ensure people are prepared for both current and future responsibilities.
Common problems
Competency frameworks are often static — detailed documents that sit outside daily operations, difficult to update and disconnected from learning and performance systems.
Training data may show attendance or completion, but not proficiency.
Without a single structure linking roles, capability requirements, and observed competencies, organisations face:
- Fragmented or duplicated data across HR, LMS, and audit systems
- Inconsistent standards between teams or locations
- Limited visibility into who is genuinely competent to perform critical tasks
What the right approach delivers
When capability and competency data are managed together in one system, clarity replaces complexity.
A single, live framework links job roles to capability requirements, competency indicators, learning resources, and development plans — giving leaders and staff one consistent view of performance expectations and workforce readiness.
This integrated approach delivers measurable outcomes:
- Clarity of expectations – staff know what “good” looks like in their role.
- Consistency in performance – shared standards reduce variability across teams.
- Stronger compliance – regulated industries can prove that staff are competent and fit for duty.
- Targeted development – managers can close gaps with focused learning and measurable progress.
- Better mobility and succession – validated competence supports internal movement and career growth.
Together, these benefits create a continuous cycle of evidence-based improvement — where capability becomes visible, competency is verified, and workforce development is aligned with organisational goals.
The foundation: a single source of truth
All of this depends on maintaining one authoritative system for roles, skills, and evidence — a single source of truth.
Rather than scattered spreadsheets and disconnected HR or training tools, Centranum provides a unified data model that links capability requirements, competency assessments, and development progress.
This ensures that everyone — from auditors to line managers — is working from the same verified, current information.
For a deeper look at how this works in practice, see Single Source of Truth for Roles and Skills
.
About these resources
his collection provides Centranum’s guides, templates, and research for building, integrating, and operationalising capability and competency frameworks.
Resources include step-by-step methods for creating competency libraries, mapping to job roles, defining proficiency levels, assessing skills, and linking learning to capability gaps.
You’ll also find briefings on framework maturity, AI-assisted model generation, skills-based planning, and measuring ROI.
Together, they show how to move from static frameworks to measurable, actionable workforce capability and competency data.
Competency Management Resources
Below you will find a collection of evidence based, detailed competency management resources covering all aspects. Click on the links to explore.
Recommended Resources
Skills for AI Readiness
Fewer than half of companies believe their workforce has the right skills to make AI investments succeed. This resource looks at the Technical and Core skills needed and Practical steps to build AI readiness. Read Now
Competency Management - the Business Case
Outlines the challenges to implementing competency management systems, what’s involved in getting it right, and 10 key reasons you need one. Competency Management – done right – is the fundamental building block of people strategy. Read More or Download Report
Competency Management - Risk Impact
Since job knowledge and skill are the best predictor of successful performance Competency Management tools are indispensable for organizational risk management. Read More
Competency Management Costs & ROI
Reviews what’s involved in manual competency management and in implementing a competency management system. Outlines typical costs and investment needed for digital competency management system deployment. Shows how to calculate the potential ROI – Read Now
Competency Management Definitions and Terminology
What is a Competency?
A competency combines knowledge, skills, and behaviors demonstrated in real work contexts. This introduction explains the evolution of the concepts and the various types of competency. How they are used to standardize language across roles, assessments, and development plans so expectations are clear and ratings are comparable. Options to get started with competency frameworks and what’s needed for validation. Why competencies are a key business tool. Read More
What is a Core Competency
The origin of the concept of Core Competencies together with examples and notes on their use. The evidence based concept of Citizenship Behaviours from Industrial Psychology. Core competencies can be used to communicate and promote universal behaviors your organization values (e.g., communication, collaboration, ethics). Review examples of core competencies at organizational and individual level. Learn how to define them and how to use them in performance management to promote ‘living the values” in your organization’s mission statement. Read More
What is a Competency Model
A competency model organizes competencies and proficiency levels for roles, job families, or the enterprise. This overview covers model types (core/leadership/technical), and alignment to strategy. The purpose of competency models. The components of a competency, how to go about developing and validating competency models – who should be involved and how to validate the model. Using AI to assist. See how models connect to assessment, learning plans, and succession so the framework becomes operational, not academic Read More
Competence or Competency
Are they the same or are they different concepts? and how should they be used? Competence” is meeting a standard; “competency” is the described capability with indicators. This explainer clarifies the distinction so policies, audits, and reviews can be structured without ambiguity. Why both are important and how to use them to improve business outcomes. Read More
Competency versus Performance
Competency and Performance what is the difference? Competency is about inputs and behaviors; performance is about outcomes. This guide shows where each belongs in goals, reviews, and calibration so you don’t over-weight results or ignore what capabilities are needed to deliver on job expectations. Use it to balance fairness, development focus, and accountability Read More
Certification versus Competency
Certifications verify a person passed a course or exam; competencies verify applied capability on the job. We assume that a certification means that the holder is competent in the subject of the certificate – unfortunately this is often not the case. Explore the key reasons. Learn when credentials are mandatory (compliance, safety) and how to pair them with competency assessment to validate currency and context. Review the concepts as they apply to healthcare credentials. Read More
What are Proficiency Levels
An in depth look at what proficiency levels are – why they are important, and the benefits to staff. Review common proficiency level schemes and an important proviso on their use. How proficiency levels are used to define and communicate job role requirements, run assessments, in skills gap analysis and career development. Learn how to implement them and how a competency management system will help. Read Now
What is Competency Management
What’s involved, why its important, key steps and implementation, software support. Competency management is the discipline of defining, assessing, and developing capabilities across roles. See how it supports hiring, onboarding, development planning, performance, and succession — and why governance (ownership, version control, audit trail) matters. Read More
AI Assisted Competency Modelling
The Centranum AI assistant for competency modelling. AI can draft indicators, map competencies to roles, and suggest learning links — fast. This page outlines safe use: data quality, bias checks, human-in-the-loop review, and version governance. Updated guidance covers prompt libraries and approval workflows so AI accelerates experts without bypassing controls. Learn More
Competency Examples
Core Competency Examples
A curated evidence based ( from Organizational Psychology ) set of core competencies. Example definitions with sub headings and indicators for common core competencies (teamwork, service, conscientiousness and supporting the organization). Use them as a starting point, then tailor to your culture and risk profile. Research shows positive impact on team and organizational effectiveness. Download
Critical Thinking Competency
Critical thinking is the new essential core competency. Learn the 6 key research based elements of critical thinking defined by Cognitive Psychologists. Interpretation, Analysis, Evaluation, Reasoning, Self Reflection with detailed descriptions and multiple unambiguous observable indicators that can be adapted for different proficiency levels. Read Now Get the free competency definitions – download
Competency Management Best Practices Guides
How to develop competency Models - Free Guide
In depth review of what competency models are and how they are used. The process to use for setting up the model – deciding on model structure, from the most simple to the most complex, competency types, measurement and scoring. Who should be involved and the exact steps including validation. . Download
How to define a competency
Complementing the model development guide this e-book sets out in detail how to structure competency statements for different purposes. Includes a proven formula to ensure statements are precise, observable and unambiguous. Includes a list of statement characteristics that can affect rater response and a list of common mistakes to avoid. Download
Competency Assessment - Best Practices
Everything you need to know about competency assessment – making it relevant, components of assessment, who should be involved, timing considerations, administrative issues, how to avoid bias, validation methods and evidence, competency gap analysis and other reporting. How to avoid common mistakes and ensure valid assessments. Download
How to Use Core Competencies to shape Organizational Culture
Organizational Culture is defined as the way we do things. While what we do is defined by role and performance expectations, organizational culture is about the approach we take – behavioral competencies. Explore the research-based elements of behavioral competency, proven to affect organizational outcomes. Review the 5 key steps to defining and refining valid core competencies to promote your unique organizational values and culture. Learn More or Download article
Avoiding bias in Assessment
There are many types of assessment/evaluation in the workplace. This article looks at the assessment process from a cognitive perspective and explores the nature of bias. Common sources of bias are described as well as the strategies needed to minimise them. Read this in conjunction with the material on competency statements that work. Learn More
Making Competencies work
How to ensure your competency initiative is credible with positive outcomes. This guide shows how to make competencies work by starting with clear purpose, tailoring models to each role, validating definitions, mitigating bias, and linking assessment, learning and career pathways. It warns against one-size-fits-all frameworks, summarizes performance-impact research, and introduces AI-assisted tools for faster model development. Learn More
Competency Management - Business Case
Competency Management System excel ROI calculator tool
A practical excel spreadsheet tool to help you assess your current costs of competency management and the estimated costs of deploying a digital system. Plug in your existing activity costs and the investment needed for an online system and see the potential investment and return over a 2 year time line. Download
Best Competency Management Software
An useful infographic of competency management system elements and review of 14 top competency management software platforms – including for each Key Features, Strengths, Limitations and what Context they are most suited for. Explore