Review and Assessment of Personnel Competencies and Job Description Models and Methods

2016; Institute for Defense Analysis, IDA; Belanich, J.; Franklin, M.; Lall, P.

Organizations are always looking for new ways to acquire, manage, and retain the talent needed to reach their goals. To achieve this goal, some government and private organizations emphasize the need to better understand personnel and occupational information and data for improved competency management. Competencies and detailed job descriptions generally are recognized for their value to enhance organizational management. The Department of Defense (DoD) defines a competency as "an (observable) measurable pattern of knowledge, abilities, skills, and other characteristics that individuals need in order to successfully perform their work" (Department of Defense 2008, 8). The terms in DoD's definition are comparable to many others' definitions. However, there is variability in how organizations use competencies for human capital management. What this means and how these terms are applied in practice are inconsistent within job fields and across organizations.

Contract: HQ0034-14-D-0001

DTIC: 1021552

Download Publication