Competence management

Do you know if everyone in your company is in the right place?

Leadership Hanken SSE Low Res

Companies' capability and skills needs are changing rapidly. As part of the organisation's strategy, a vision of capabilities is needed as a differentiator of competitiveness, regeneration capacity and the ability to act as part of expanding ecosystems. The development of personnel emphasises the need to utilise everyone's expertise and potential.

It is not self-evident that your employees are in the very roles in which they are best placed to succeed and support your business. That's why it's important that you recognize your capabilities at the organizational level and build a plan to develop them. This will give every employee and team the support they need to develop towards their best.

Investments in competence management can be seen not only in the well-being of employees, but also throughout the company: by harnessing the know-how correctly, your company's ability to grow and renew multiplies.

A good partner is irreplaceable in this job. We map your company's expertise, find future competence needs and highlight your company's hidden talents. Together, we create policies and structures that ensure that every employee of yours can shine in their work – in the right place.

Competence management implements strategy

The central task of supervisors and management is to ensure the renewal and continuous learning of the organisation.

How to identify skills that support competitive advantage and competitiveness? How to put these skills needs into practice at individual and team level? How to support the self-driving of personnel in competence development and how to train supervisors to act as enablers of competence development?

Competence needs must be taken to everyday life and day-to-day operations, as goals for teams and individuals.

In our competence management coaching, we help supervisors and management to understand how they can strengthen expertise that supports the strategy and the continuous development of teams and individuals.

Competence management coaching themes

  • Competence and performance management based on strategic capability thinking and competences
  • The relevance of the job and the role of the manager in supporting it
  • Supporting self-driving in learning: individual responsibility for their own development and how the supervisor supports it
  • Supervisor's own development plan for continuous renewal of his/her own competence
  • Development and competence discussions

Do you lead and develop your organisation's competence?

What is competence management?

Competence management ensures that an organisation can maintain competitiveness and deliver on its customer promises even when circumstances change. The strategy is to identify and anticipate what strategic capabilities are needed in the organisation to develop its capabilities.

In practice, competence management means working with employees and their potential and ability to benefit the organisation. It requires the organisation to know what skills are needed, what skills the staff already has, and how they can be developed.

If the necessary skills are unavailable, people within the organisation may be willing to learn new things and develop their skills. This is where you should turn to first. If necessary, the organisation must also consider recruiting a suitable person. So it's about hiring the best employees and keeping them in the organisation.

Positive social interactions and continuous learning are key

Competence management is often associated with the concepts of interaction and dialogue. In practice, interaction means that goals are set and decisions are made together. Interaction requires an open and respectful dialogue, which is at its best listening, thinking together, seeking solutions and learning together. Good interaction improves team spirit and boosts the commitment of employees to work and achieve goals. People who are heard feel important.

Two other items that are emphasised in competence management are self-directedness and learning. As the nature of work and the working environment change, it is essential to provide every employee with the opportunity to act independently, take responsibility for their work and learn new things. Continuous learning and embracing skills and knowledge outside of one's area of ​​expertise are essential skills of the future that will allow people and companies to thrive in changes.

The manager facilitates favourable working conditions

Managerial skills include competence management. Its goal is to help employees do their work in the best way and to encourage them to learn. The manager supports, encourages and gives constructive feedback. However, competence management is not only the duty of the manager. All members of the organisation must assume responsibility for it.

Typically, the manager's work includes mapping skills and planning skills development together with the employees. The manager ensures the implementation of onboarding and mentoring and presents opportunities to develop work and train, considering the employees' ideas and needs. The manager provides an opportunity for each of their employees to be heard in development discussions, for instance.

The work requirements are constantly changing, and they require staff to update their skills in a process-like manner. The skills of employees are a significant competitive advantage in the market. Therefore, competence management is an integral part of strategic personnel management. Supervisors and management must realise how they can strengthen the skills and know-how that support the strategy and the continuous development of individuals and teams.

Competence assessment, skills maps and 360 assessments

Do you know where the skills that are central to your organisation's future are?


The competence in the organisation must be identified, yet the identification should not be based on subjective assessment, but the current state of competence must be collected in several ways:

  • Company-specific competence maps based on strategic competence, which serve as a basis for competence assessment. Competencies can be assessed on a heat mapping basis: management creates a common picture of the current state of competence and a common vision of the target state of competence, identifying potential skills gaps, and creates an action plan to strengthen competence.
  • Individual-level competence is assessed with tailored competence-based 360 assessments, giving the person feedback from their supervisor, colleagues and team members and/or stakeholders on the current state of competence. Based on the evaluation results, the person draws up a personal development plan with the professional coach, either strengthening their strengths or focusing on skills that need to be acquired further.
  • 360 review of supervisors
  • Talent profile. Based on the customer's strategic competencies, we draw up a criterion and assess the person's potential through versatile personnel assessments in relation to the tailored criteria. Based on an in-depth talent profile, it is natural to continue the coaching process, which ensures that the individual's potential and strengths are realised in the best possible way.
Leading competencies enabled a new way of discussing the strategy
Hanken & SSE carried out a project with MTC Flextek focusing on business-oriented competence management, which provided a common language and concrete management tools for building future competitive advantage.
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Mari Tasanto
Growth Area Director, Customised Solutions
+358 40 048 8004 mari.tasanto(a)hankensse.fi