What is a competency framework?
A competency framework describes the skills, knowledge and behaviours a company expects in each role, with levels that show what good looks like at each stage of a career.
Competency vs skill
A skill is a specific ability, such as building a financial model. A competency is broader: the skills, knowledge and behaviour that together produce good performance, such as commercial judgement. Frameworks are usually written in competencies and assessed through the skills underneath them.
A competency framework example
- Core competencies, for everyone: communication, ownership, collaboration.
- Functional competencies, by department: for sales, discovery, negotiation and forecasting.
- Leadership competencies, for managers: coaching, delegation, hiring.
- Each with four levels described by observable behaviour.
How to build a competency framework
- Start from what your best performers actually do, not a generic list.
- Keep it short: a handful of competencies per role family.
- Write each level as behaviour someone could observe.
- Use one structure as a competency framework template for every role, so frameworks stay comparable.
From framework to learning
A framework only changes anything when it drives assessment and learning. Personalized Learning Platform for Corporations sets the target proficiency for each role and turns the gap between target and assessed level into each person’s learning path.
Last reviewed 2026-11-01.