Competencies in people resourcing

The emergence of contemporary HRM, with its emphasis on strategic HR approaches and recognition of people as the organisation’s most important resource, paved the way for the development of competency management. Competency management reflects a change from a job-based to a person-based approach to people resourcing and grew, in the 1980s, out of an economic context of greater globalisation and increasing competitiveness in world markets, the emergence of a knowledge-based service eco- nomy, flatter organisational structures and greater decentralisation, more emphasis on teamworking, and the need for both functional and personal flexibility within organ- isations. Organisations in both the private and public sectors are adopting competency frameworks which are designed to reflect the missions and goals of the organisation and to integrate organisational and HR strategies both horizontally and vertically. Competency management is not without its difficulties, although its benefits are widely acclaimed. This chapter examines the debates surrounding the concept and describes the ways in which it is currently used in people resourcing.