Performance Evaluation: Competency Proficiency

There are countless ways of evaluating employees on their proficiency in a competency. Weve
identified three options with varying degrees of complexity that will all provide workable results.
In each of the options we use a five-level scale:
Greatly Exceeds Expectations
Exceeds Expectations
Meets Expectations
Occasionally Meets Expectations
Unsatisfactory

Tip:
Good performance management
systems require or at least
encourage supervisors to provide
their own narrative comments to
supplement the competency
evaluation. Employees appreciate
and are more receptive to honest and
constructive comments than they are
to a check mark in a box.

Which Performance Evaluation Option Should I Use?

To a large extent, the evaluation option you choose will depend on how rigorously accurate your
competency assessments need to be. And this in turn depends on how much weight you place on the
competency portion of the overall assessment and how you intend to use the overall assessment.
If your agency uses the competency assessment to reinforce agency values and/or primarily as a
development tool, then the rigor of the assessment is less important. The purpose of the
assessment (particularly when employees do a self-assessment) is to encourage a dialogue
between the employee and supervisor about competency strengths and developmental needs. This
discussion serves as the foundation for the IDP. Option 1 may be sufficient for your purposes.
If your agency weights the components of the performance evaluation, the rigor of the competency
assessment should correspond to its overall weight. For most human services jobs, we believe a
good weight distribution is Objectives: 60%, Competencies: 40%. For weighed components, try
using Option 2.
If your agency is using competency evaluations as the basis for merit pay (i.e., where the
competency assessment carries a greater weight than the performance objectives assessment),
then the competency assessment process must be as objective and rigorous as possible. You may
want to consider using Option 3 below.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Competency Evaluation

Options

Option

Advantages

Disadvantages

Option 1

Requires relatively little effort

to implement

Option 2

Option 3

Relatively easy to implement

but does require that you
identify the key elements of
the competency.

Utilizes Behaviorally
Anchored Rating Scales
(BARS) which minimize the
subjectivity of evaluating
employees on competencies.
Provides both employees
and supervisors with the
common yardstick to use in
evaluating performance.

Doesnt permit specific assessment of the key

elements within the broad competency definition.
Rating Scales dont permit the specific assessment
of the key elements within the broad competency
definition. Consequently, inter-rater reliability
cannot be expected to be high.
Assessing each key element requires supervisors
to spend a bit more time on the evaluation process
since they are expected to give thoughtful
consideration to the ranking of each key element
separately.
The rating scales offer little guidance to the rating
supervisor on how the rating levels differ from one
another.
Developing good BARS can be time intensive and
difficult work.
Evaluators find the evaluation process very tedious.
Even when the statements are concise, reading
through the BARS for four to six key elements for
seven or eight competencies is tedious.
Evaluators may become frustrated by the fact that
concisely-worded BARS still do not accurately
describe observed performance.

Evaluating Competencies Option 1

The simplest evaluation plan involves rating competency proficiency in very
broad terms. The sample evaluation form below requires an assessment
against the broad definition of the competency.

Option 1 Sample Competency Evaluation Form

Communication: Clearly conveys and receives information and ideas through a variety of media to
individuals or groups in a manner that engages the listener, helps them understand and retain the
message and invites response and feedback. Keeps others informed as appropriate. Demonstrates
good written, oral and listening skills.
Greatly Exceeds
Expectations

Exceeds
Expectations

Meets
Expectations

Occasionally
Meets
Expectations

Unsatisfactory

Comments:

Evaluating Competencies Option 2

Option 2 involves rating proficiency on each of the key elements of the
competency. The evaluation form is designed to require the supervisor to
assess each key element on the five-level rating scale as shown below.

Option 2 Sample Competency Evaluation Form

Communication: Clearly conveys and receives information and ideas through a variety of media to
individuals or groups in a manner that engages the listener, helps them understand and retain the
message and invites response and feedback. Keeps others informed as appropriate. Demonstrates
good written, oral, and listening skills.
Greatly
Exceeds
Expectations

Exceeds
Expectations

Meets
Expectations

Occasionally
Meets
Expectations

Unsatisfactory

Key Element
Organization
and Clarity
Listening Skills
Keeping Others
Informed
Written
Communication
Sensitivity to
Others
Comments:

Evaluating Competencies Option 3

Option 3 also involves rating proficiency on each of the key elements of the
competency. In order to minimize subjectivity, you can use Behaviorally
Anchored Rating Scales (BARS) to describe the range of performance
levels for the key elements of a competency, as illustrated in the sample
form below.
Developing good BARS can be time intensive and difficult work. A focus
group of employees and supervisors familiar with the job begins by
describing the range of behaviors observed within each of the key elements
of the competency. Those examples are aligned with the rating scales, and
rewritten into concise statements.

Option 3 Sample Competency Evaluation Form

Communication: Clearly conveys and receives information and ideas through a variety of media to individuals or groups
in a manner that engages the listener, helps them understand and retain the message and invites response and feedback.
Keeps others informed as appropriate. Demonstrates good written, oral, and listening skills.
Key Element

Greatly Exceeds
Expectations

Exceeds
Expectations

Meets
Expectations

Needs
Development

Organization
and Clarity

Conveys thoughts and

ideas so as to avoid
misunderstandings.
Communicates with
needs and expectations of
audience in mind.

Conveys
thoughts clearly
and concisely

Has difficulty
expressing
thoughts.

Listening
Skills

Listens with demonstrated

understanding and
empathy. Thoughtfully
explores topic as
appropriate

Listens actively
and attentively
and asks
appropriate
questions

Fails to listen and

share feedback

Keeping
Others
Informed

Continuously fulfills all

knowledge requirements
of supervisors, co-workers
and others.

Keeps
supervisors, coworkers, and
others well
informed

Fails to share
important
information or
passes on trivia

Unsatisfactory

Written
Communication

Communications are error

free, have positive tone,
and seem professionally
written.

Communicates
well in writing

Written
communications
are unclear,
disorganized, lack
substance; contain
grammatical and/or
spelling errors

Sensitivity to
Others

Continuously tailors
communications to match
the listener/s; uses
appropriate style, level of
detail, grammar and
organization of thoughts
to actively engage the
listener/s.

Consistently
sensitive to
cultural, gender,
educational and
other individual
characteristics
when
communicating
with others

Insensitive to
cultural, gender,
educational and
other individual
characteristics
when
communicating
with others

Comments: