Competency Assessment Tools

Reflecting on your skills in the workplace and overall work performance, particularly in management, is necessary to continue learning. Assessment is a way of reflecting and helps you to grow professionally. When assessment is used to look earnestly at strengths and learning gaps, competency becomes a work in progress. Competency assessment tools can be used to gauge growth, learn from missteps and problem-solve to avoid future mistakes.

Competency Assessment Inventory

Assessment inventories are tools for reflection. They can encourage greater competence if the follow-up involves new planning and adjusted direction. As a guide for development, assessment inventories overview what resources are needed to become more confident and build new skills. Workers rate themselves in categories such as “Acceptance by others as your supervisor” and “Actively attempts to solve problems.” If ratings are low, they’re identified as areas for improvement.

Competency Checklist

The competency checklist uses criteria similar to an inventory, but no rating or judgment is involved. For example, each category on the checklist lists actions necessary to reach the objectives, such as “Supplement continuing education programs with rigor.” Objectives and standards are checked off as they’re acted upon, such as “Demonstration of new objectives” or “Video review for data management competencies.”

Competency Self-Questionnaire

Self-assessment questionnaires are designed to evaluate and analyze training protocols, interventions, strengths and weaknesses. Because questions force us to think, analyze and dig for answers, the self-assessment questionnaire is a powerful assessment tool. Attitudes, policies and regular practices are considered when testers develop questions for the questionnaires and when responses are analyzed. Questions focus on opportunities, group differences, team interaction, team strengths and any workplace social problems.