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How to Manage Competencies

Let's walk through managing competencies: from building your framework to mapping specific competencies or skills to roles. 

Overview

Think of competencies as building blocks that connect skills or capabilities to roles, power employee development plans, and inform personalized insights.

As an admin, you’re able to select, manage, and map competencies to job profiles so employees can chart meaningful development paths. 

 

🧭 Overview of Competency Management 

Competencies are the foundation of: 

  • Growth Areas in employee development plans 
  • Career Vision assessments 
  • Manager insights and coaching tools 
  • Role-based exploration in tools like Job Explorer 

Admins can choose to use Quantum Workplace’s best practice competency library, add custom competencies, or combine both. 

Not sure where to start? Let’s walk through our recommended path first. 

 

✅ Step 1: Choose or Create Competencies 

🟢 Option 1: Use the QW Competency Library (Recommended) 

Quantum Workplace provides a curated library of proven competencies you can use out of the box. 

To use these: 

  1. Go to the Competencies section in Admin Settings. 
  1. Click Library. 
  1. Select the competencies you want to include. 
  1. Click Import. 

📝 Once imported, QW competencies can be edited to match your organization’s language or needs. Think of this like getting a head start out of the gate. It’s a no-brainer, right? 

 

🔵 Option 2: Add Custom Competencies 

Sometimes, organizations have their own competency or skilld framework, and you can also implement this directly in Growth. 

To add a custom competency: 

  1. Click Add New in the Competencies section. 
  1. Enter: 
  • Competency Name 
  • Description 
  • Theme (used for grouping) 
  1. Optional: Check Apply Org-Wide to assign this competency to every job role. 

You can also bulk upload custom competencies: 

  1. Click Import. 
  1. Download the provided template. 
  1. Add your competency details to the spreadsheet and save. 
  1. Upload the file to import back into QW. 

 

🟡 Option 3: Combine QW and Custom Competencies 

You can always start with QW’s library, and layer in your own custom competencies afterwards. 

Have your own company values? Start with QW’s competency library and then add your values as custom competencies. You can mix and match approaches as needed, and update competencies at any time. 

📎 Optional: Link Learning Resources to Competencies 

You can enhance each competency by adding links to relevant learning materials. 

To do this: 

  • Go to the Learning Resources tab within each competency. 
  • Add links to courses, documentation, videos, or LMS content. 

These resources will appear to employees when they add the competency as a Growth Area on their Growth Plans, ensuring each employee has easy access to personalied learning resources 

Maybe your company has a manager training on Communication; you can link that directly within the competency to encourage your employees’ growth and development. 

🧠 Step 2: Map Competencies to Job Profiles  

Once you’ve added your competencies, the next step is to assign them to relevant job roles. This ensures that employees see appropriate growth areas based on their current role or target roles. To do this, navigate to Administration > Growth > Job Profiles.  

Mapping Options 

✅ Option 1: Use AI Competency Mapper (Easiest) 

This is the fastest and most scalable option. 

To map competencies using AI: 

  1. Select the jobs you want to map.  
  • If you’re starting from scratch, all jobs will be categorized as “New” and you can map them in bulk by selecting all! 
  1. Click ✨Map Competencies. 
  1. Choose how many competencies should be assigned per job (5-7 is a great starting place). 
  1. Click Generate Mapping File. 
  • ⏱ Don’t be alarmed: file generation can take 30–180 minutes. 
  1. Once ready, download the file. 
  1. Review the details to make sure everything looks good to go. 
  1. Upload the file via Import > Import Competency Mapping File. 

💡 Reminder: Job Descriptions are optional but improve AI mapping quality. 

 

📥 Option 2: Manually Import Competency Mappings 

Some organizations may have a predefined mapping of competencies to roles. If that’s you, use this option! 

  1. Click Import > Import Competency Mapping File. 
  1. Download the template and follow the instructions (found on the second tab of the spreadsheet template). 
  1. Fill in your mappings. 
  1. Upload the completed file. 
  1. Fix any validation errors flagged during upload. 

 

✍️ Option 3: Manually Add or Edit Competencies by Role 

Manually adding individual competencies is ideal for small teams or targeted updates. 

  1. Go to Job Profiles. 
  1. Click Edit next to the role you want to update. 
  1. Add or edit competencies directly. 
  1. Click Save. 

✅ Competencies can be mapped to jobs in any state: New, Active, or Excluded. Only competencies mapped to Active Job Profiles are visible to employees using the platform. 

 

🔄 Keeping Competencies Up to Date 

As your organization grows, you may need to update competencies, add new ones, or adjust mappings. 

Here are some best practices: 

  • Use bulk import tools whenever possible to scale updates quickly. 
  • Update your Learning Resources as content evolves. 
  • Occasionally revisit your competency framework to make sure it’s still aligned with your company’s development needs. You can always edit individual mappings within the Competencies landing page. 

 

❓Frequently Asked Questions 

Do I have to use Quantum Workplace’s competencies? 
No, you can use your own, QW’s, or a combination of both. Starting with QW’s library is recommended as a great way to save time by homing in on expertly-defined competencies. 

Can I edit QW competencies? 
Yes. Once imported into your account, QW competencies are fully editable. 

Are job descriptions required for mapping competencies? 
No, but they do improve the accuracy of AI-based mapping, so we do recommend them! 

How many competencies should I map per role? 
We recommend mapping 5–7 core competencies per role to maintain focus and clarity. 

Can I change competencies after mapping them? 
Yes. You can update competency assignments at any time via manual edits or new imports. Do be mindful of making changes though as this will have if competencies have already been applied to Growth Plans.