Employee Core Competencies All Managers Should Know

Core competencies refer to the skills, specialized knowledge, and abilities required to complete tasks in the workplace. Your team members’ range of competencies is what allows your organization to attract and retain skilled team members, produce high-quality work, and develop new services for your customers.

Core competencies can also serve as useful tools for managers to evaluate employee performance. By identifying the essential skills, knowledge, and abilities for a specific role, managers can establish clear expectations for workers and identify areas for improvement.

This guide will provide an overview of various competencies, explain why they’re important in the workplace, and deliver strategies to develop these competencies in your organization.

Interpersonal competencies

Interpersonal competencies are skills and behaviors that enable business professionals to interact with other team members in the workplace effectively. This knowledge is essential for building relationships, communicating about shared goals and objectives, and increasing productivity.

The following competencies are skill sets your workers should have to improve their interpersonal interactions within your organization.

Communication skills

Communication skills enable individuals to convey important information to other team members clearly and concisely, either through verbal communication or written documentation. It also enables workers to actively listen to others, understand differing perspectives, and respond appropriately.

An example of an effective communication skill involves using simple and clear language to explain complex topics, company objectives, or protocols to other workers. Additionally, strong communicators are open to receiving feedback, concerns, or suggestions from other team members.

Managers should promote effective communication among team members both in person and in a remote team environment. Lead by example through clear communication via email, instant messaging, and face-to-face interactions and by encouraging relevant feedback.

Your organization can also provide courses or seminars that offer techniques to enhance the communication skills of your team.

Teamwork and collaboration

Company teamwork and collaboration involve working with other members to achieve a specific task or shared goal. Collaboration in a remote work environment may involve scheduling regular meetings to discuss action items or using project management software to encourage communication among team members and to track overall progress.

Collaboration plays a crucial role in your organization’s success as it promotes innovation and creativity, and can lead to new product and service developments. In addition, teamwork promotes a positive work culture by building trust, respect, and strong working relationships among team members.

To encourage collaboration in the workplace, you should ensure the team has a clear understanding of their goals, assign tasks based on individual strengths and expertise, and provide opportunities for team members to communicate and share ideas.

Leadership competencies

Effective leadership competencies among team members can be a significant asset to your company. These skills enable workers to envision long-term goals, motivate others to stay productive, and achieve desired results.

The following effective leadership skills can promote innovation and guide change in the workplace.

Decision making

Decision making refers to the process by which team members choose the best course of action to take in a given situation. Effective decision making involves gathering relevant information, evaluating the consequences of each option, and making a decision based on this analysis.

For example, your team may need to choose a vendor to collaborate with on a project. By assessing factors like each vendor’s cost, quality, and reputation, an effective decision maker should be capable of choosing a vendor that aligns with the company's values and meets the project requirements.

Having team members with effective decision-making skills is crucial for your organization to mitigate negative consequences and choose options that result in positive outcomes and success.

To improve decision-making skills in the workplace, consider creating detailed plans that outline how you and your team can collect relevant information for informed decisions. Additionally, you can establish deadlines to ensure team members make decisions in a timely manner and with a sense of urgency.

Strategic thinking

Strategic thinking in the workplace is a skill that enables individuals to think critically about business operations and organizational goals and use forward thinking to anticipate the consequences of pursuing new opportunities.

Team members who can think strategically often question conventional thinking, strive to understand patterns and trends, and foresee future issues.

For example, if your business needs to increase its sales, a strategic thinker will conduct research to identify customer preferences and develop an action plan to cater to their needs.

This skill is important for your organization to consider long-term goals and identify potential obstacles to, and opportunities for, increased business success, productivity, and sales.

Encourage strategic thinking in your company by providing training and development options to teach your workers problem-solving and decision-making skills. You should also recognize and reward employees who demonstrate strong strategic-thinking skills, which encourages others to develop and apply these skills in their own work.

Emotional intelligence competencies

Emotional intelligence competencies include the ability to identify, understand, and manage emotions in the workplace.

This enables workers to adapt to changes and become more effective team members and leaders, even when faced with challenging situations. The following are some specific examples of emotional intelligence competencies that can be applied in the workplace.

Self-awareness

Self-awareness is the capacity to monitor your own emotions and reactions to situations. It also involves understanding how your subsequent behavior impacts other team members.

Everyone needs to learn to remain level-headed in a variety of situations. For instance, if a manager needs to coach a team member for poor performance, they need to remember to focus the conversation on specific performance-related examples without showing frustration or attacking the person’s character.

At the same time, as a team member receives constructive criticism—or if a manager receives a complaint from a customer—they should refrain from becoming defensive or upset and instead use the feedback to improve.

By having self-awareness, you can your team can also recognize your own biases and prejudices and work to overcome them, leading to a more inclusive and diverse workplace culture.

Encouraging self-awareness in the workplace can prevent impulsive reactions and promote deliberate and productive decision making among workers. To promote self-awareness in your organization, consider practicing, and encouraging your team to practice:

• Mindfulness, paying particular attention to your emotional state
• Evidence-based, guided meditation‍
• Journaling, focusing on negative outcomes that were caused by a lack of awareness, and how a similar situation can be improved in the future

These empowering techniques can help workers to identify areas for improvement, enhance their interpersonal skills, and contribute to a more positive and productive work environment.

Empathy

Empathy refers to an individual’s capacity to identify and understand others’ emotions and experiences in their personal and professional lives. Being empathetic involves recognizing colleagues’ diverse backgrounds and identities and working to create an inclusive and supportive work environment.

An example of empathetic leadership in the workplace could involve a manager agreeing to adjust a worker’s schedule to accommodate their child's medical appointment. This demonstrates the leader’s understanding of the importance of family responsibilities and their impact on work-life balance.

Undoubtedly, being empathetic promotes a sense of support and unity among team members, ultimately improving communication and productivity in the workplace.

Foster empathy in your organization by engaging in discussions with leaders to ensure they lead by example. They must recognize and validate their colleagues’ emotions and experiences.

Consider promoting team-building activities or community volunteering programs, as these can help cultivate a sense of empathy, employee engagement, and social responsibility among workers.

‍

Technical competencies

‍

Technical competencies refer to specialized knowledge and skills that are valuable in a specific industry or type of work. These competencies may include expertise in specific software or equipment or problem-solving abilities in a particular field.

By mastering the following technical competencies, individuals can perform their job functions more effectively and contribute to an organization’s success.

Industry knowledge

Having industry knowledge means having a deep understanding of the processes, practices, and technologies specific to a particular industry.

For example, a skilled software developer can produce high-quality software products and offer guidance to colleagues on technical issues and best practices for software development. Their industry expertise also allows them to identify new tools and technologies that can enhance the team's workflow and efficiency.

Industry knowledge helps team members offer valuable insights and guidance to other workers and stakeholders. Individuals with industry knowledge are often better equipped to identify new opportunities to generate growth and innovation within the business.

Your business can foster industry knowledge by providing opportunities for employees to attend conferences and workshops to learn about the latest industry developments. You can also promote cross-functional training and mentorship programs to facilitate the transfer of knowledge between experienced and newer team members.

Problem-solving

Problem-solving is a technical competency that requires the ability to analyze complex problems, identify challenges, and develop and implement effective solutions. This skill involves using technical knowledge and expertise to address specific problems within an industry or workplace.

For example, in a manufacturing company, a team may be responsible for identifying and resolving issues related to product quality or production efficiency. Team members may use their technical knowledge of the manufacturing process to identify bottlenecks or inefficiencies and develop solutions to improve productivity.

Having strong problem-solving skills in the workplace is important because it helps increase productivity, efficiency, and overall success. Companies with workers who possess strong problem-solving skills are better equipped to overcome obstacles and adapt to changing market conditions.

Consider offering training programs to improve workers’ problem-solving abilities and enhance their technical knowledge and analytical thinking skills. Additionally, creating an environment that encourages collaboration and knowledge-sharing can also foster problem-solving skills among employees.

Organizational competencies

Organizational competencies refer to the collective skills, knowledge, and abilities required by all team members to ensure the overall success of an organization. These specific competencies are critical because they enable companies to achieve their strategic objectives and compete effectively in their respective markets.

The following section includes examples of specific types of organizational competencies that are essential to any business’s success.

Adaptability

Adaptability is an organizational competency that refers to an individual's ability to change their thoughts, behaviors, and strategies to adjust to environmental changes in the workplace. It involves being flexible, open-minded, and willing to learn new skills to cope with changing circumstances.

For example, a marketing professional tasked with promoting a new product may need to adapt their marketing strategy if they encounter unexpected competition or market changes. This could involve changing the messaging or targeting a different audience to achieve the desired results.

Adaptability is crucial for the success of any business because it enables organizations to respond effectively to changing circumstances and customer needs. It also encourages team members to work efficiently in different roles and situations, increasing productivity and job satisfaction.

You can foster adaptability in your organization by empowering workers to take risks and try new ideas while also providing a safe environment where failure is seen as an opportunity to learn and improve. This approach helps create a workforce that is adaptable, resilient, and ready to face challenges.

Time management

Time management is an essential competency that refers to an individual’s ability to organize tasks within an allotted time frame to achieve maximum productivity. It requires prioritizing tasks, planning, and scheduling in a way that enables team members to meet deadlines.

For example, a project manager who is assigned a task must be skilled in time management. This involves breaking the project into smaller, more manageable units, setting achievable milestones, and allocating resources effectively to meet the deadline.

Effective time management skills are crucial in the workplace. They enable team members to optimize their productivity and meet deadlines, resulting in increased productivity and better performance management. They also help reduce stress and improve work-life balance, which can lead to higher employee retention rates.

To improve your team’s time management skills, consider encouraging your team members to use productivity tools and software to stay organized and focused. These can include calendars, task managers, and time-tracking apps.

Next steps

Core competencies are the fundamental skills, knowledge, and behaviors that are essential for an organization to achieve its objectives and maintain its competitive advantage.

Your business leaders should focus on developing these core competencies through training programs, workshops, and mentoring. In addition to improving current employees’ skills, hiring skilled workers with industry expertise is equally important.

If you want to add skilled workers to your team, consider hiring experts on Upwork. With access to a global network of top-rated freelancers, Upwork makes it easy to find and hire talent with the specific skills and expertise your business needs. Sign up on Upwork today and start building your dream team.