Managing employee competency and training in Effivity

Posted By Effivity Team

on Jul 23, 2026

Improve Workflow &
Profitability with Superior
Integrated Management
System Software

Managing Employee Competency and Training in Effivity

ABSTRACT

Competency management is the process of defining the skills, knowledge, and experience an employee need for a role, measuring what the employee currently has, and closing the difference through training. In Effivity, this is handled through five linked modules: Designation, Ideal Competence, Employee, Competence Evaluation, and Training. Together they let an organization define role requirements once, evaluate every employee against those requirements, plan and record training, and keep a permanent history of how competency changes over time. Organizations use this process to meet ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, and similar standard requirements for competence, training, and awareness, and to ensure employees are qualified for the work they perform.

Section 1: Setting up Designation Competency Requirements

Overview

Before any employee can be evaluated, the organization must define the ideal (required) competency for each designation. This is done through two modules: Designation, where job titles are created, and Ideal Competence, where the required skills and their expected levels are mapped to a designation.

Step 1 - Open the Designation module.

Go to the main menu and select HR > Designation. This opens a list of all designations already created in the system, such as ISO Manager, Sr. Executive, CEO, and President.

Figure 1.1: Designation list showing existing designations and their approval status.

Step 2 - Create or confirm a Designation record.

Click Add New to create a new designation. Enter the Designation Name and submit. Do this so the designation is available for selection when mapping competencies.

Note: The Designation form only stores the job title and optional supporting files. Competency requirements are not entered here. They are entered separately in Ideal Competence module.

Step 3 - Open the Ideal Competence module.

Go to HR > Ideal Competence and click Add New.

Step 4 - Select the Designation.

Choose the designation for which you are defining requirements, for example Sr. Executive.

Step 5 - Define the Required Competencies.

Click Add More under Ideal Competencies. For each competency, enter:

Competence Type - choose from Education, Experience, Functional, Operational, or Technical.
Description - describe the specific competency, for example "ISO 9001:2015 Internal Audit Techniques.
Ideal Value - the expected level, entered as a numeric rating. By default, will be rated out of 10.

Figure 1.2: Ideal Competence form showing a technical competency mapped to the Sr. Executive designation

Step 6 - Save the configuration.

Click Submit. The record is saved and becomes the reference standard used automatically during every future competency evaluation for employees holding that designation.

Important: Every employee assigned to this designation is measured against the same Ideal Value. Update the Ideal Competence record whenever job requirements change.

Tip: Add one row per competency. A single designation can have multiple competency types, for example one Technical and one Experience requirement.

Section 2: Evaluating Employee Competency

Overview

Once ideal competencies exist for a designation, the actual competency of each employee holding that designation can be evaluated and compared automatically.

Step 1 - Open the Competence Evaluation module.

Go to HR > Competence Evaluation and click Add New.

Step 2 - Select the Employee.

Choose the employee to evaluate. The Designation field fills in automatically based on the employee's record, and the ideal competencies mapped to that designation load automatically into the Competence Evaluations grid.

Step 3 - Record the actual competency.

For each competency row, complete:

Current Description - a short account of the employee's actual, observed competency.
Current Value - the employee's assessed level, on the same scale as the Ideal Value.
Remarks - any assessor comments or recommendations.

Figure 2.1: Competence Evaluation form showing Ideal Value pulled from the designation alongside the fields used to record the employee's Current Value.

Click Submit. Effivity calculates the Percentage Rating automatically as Current Value divided by Ideal Value.

Section 3: Identifying Competency Gaps

Overview

The Percentage Rating on the Competence Evaluation record is the built-in gap indicator. It shows briefly how close an employee is to the required competency level for their designation.

Step 1 - Compare employee competency against designation.

Open HR > Competence Evaluation to view the list. Each row shows the employee, their Percentage Rating, designation, and department.

Step 2 - View the competency gap.

A Percentage Rating below 100% means the employee has not yet reached the ideal competency level. In the example below, Steve Rogers scored 50%, meaning his Current Value (2) was half of the Ideal Value (4).

Figure 3.1: Competence Evaluation list showing a Percentage Rating of 50, indicating a competency gap for Steve Rogers against the Sr. Executive designation.

Step 3 - Understand the gap indicator.

A rating of 100% means the employee fully meets the requirement. A rating below 100% signals a training need. There are no fixed system-enforced threshold organizations should define their own acceptable minimum, for example 80%, as an internal policy.

Section 4: Planning Training

Overview

Once a gap is identified, training is planned and recorded through the Training module. A single Training record covers identification of the topic, the trainer, the schedule, and the list of trainees.

Step 1 - Open the Training module.

Go to HR > Training and click Add New.

Step 2 - Capture Training details

Enter the Training Topic - Type a clear, specific topic, for example "ISO 9001:2015 Internal Audit Techniques." This should directly address the competency gap identified earlier.
Select the Training Type - Choose Classroom, Online, or On the Job, depending on how the training will be delivered.
Assign the Proposed Trainer - Enter the name of the person or organization who will deliver the training.
Set the Planned Date - Use the calendar picker to select the intended training date. This becomes the due date the organization tracks against.
Select Employees (Trainees) - Expand the Trainees section and click Add More. Select the Attendee Name from the employee list. Repeat for each employee who needs the training.

Figure 4.1: Training Module

Note: Multiple trainees can be added to a single Training record. Each trainee has an independent set of competency and attendance fields.

Step 3 - Recording Pre-Training Competency

Overview

Before training is delivered, the trainee's competency level at the time of nomination is recorded in the Trainees grid. This becomes the "before" baseline used later for comparison.
Open the trainee row - In the Training record, within the Trainees section, locate the row for the selected employee.
Enter the Pre-Training Competence value - In the Pre-Training Competence field, enter the employee's competency level as assessed before the training, for example 2. This is usually the same figure captured in the employee's most recent Competence Evaluation.

Figure 4.2: Trainees section

Section 5: Recording Post-Training Competency

Overview

After training, the trainee is re-assessed. The result is recorded in the same Trainees row, alongside details of who evaluated the employee and how.

Step 1 - Select the Evaluator.

In the Evaluated By field, select the person responsible for assessing the trainee after training.

Step 2 - Enter the Post-Training Competence value.

In the Post-Training Competence field, enter the employee's new assessed level, for example 4.

Step 3 - Record the Evaluation Date and Methodology.

Set the Actual Evaluation Date using the calendar picker, and describe the Actual Evaluation Methodology, for example "Written test and practical mock audit assessment.”

Step 4 - Add Evaluator Remarks.

Summarize the outcome, for example confirming the gap is closed.

Figure 5.1: Trainees section

Step 5 - Submit the Training record.

Click Submit. The Training record's Evaluation Status updates to reflect completion.

Figure 5.1: Training status

Section 6: Viewing Employee Competency History

Overview

Effivity keeps every prior version of a competency record, giving a complete audit trail of how an employee's competency changed over time.

Step 1 - Update the Competence Evaluation after training.

Open HR > Competence Evaluation, select the employee's record, and edit the Current Value, Current Description, and Remarks to reflect the post-training result.

Step 2 - Compare before and after.

Before training, the record showed a Percentage Rating of 50%. After updating it to match the post-training result, the Percentage Rating recalculates automatically. Click the row menu and select History. This opens a read-only view of the record as it existed before the most recent edit.

Figure 6.1: Competence Evaluation list before training

Figure 6.2: Competence Evaluation list after training

Important: History cannot be edited or deleted. They exist purely as an audit trail, which is essential evidence during ISO surveillance and certification audits.

Section 7: Reports and Tracking

Overview

Effivity provides employee-level training reports that consolidate competency and training activity for review, audit, and management reporting.

Step 1 - Open the Reports menu.

Go to Reports > QMS > Training.

Step 2 - View the Training Report by Employee.

The report lists the employee, department, designation, and all training records associated with the employee, including the training topic, planned date, and trainer details. The report can be further customized based on the user's requirements.

Figure 7.1: Training Report by Employee

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Where do I define the competency required for a job role?

In the Ideal Competence module, under HR. Select the designation and add one or more required competencies with an Ideal Value.

2. Does the Designation record itself store competency data?

No. The Designation record only stores the job title. Competency requirements are stored separately in Ideal Competence.

3. How does Effivity calculate the competency gap?

It divides the employee's Current Value by the designation's Ideal Value and expresses the result as a Percentage Rating.

4. Can one employee have multiple competencies evaluated at once?

Yes. The Competence Evaluation form loads every Ideal Competence row mapped to the employee's designation, and each can be assessed independently.

5. What is the difference between Competence Evaluation and the Training module's competency fields?

Competence Evaluation is the employee's master competency record used for the competency matrix. The Pre-Training and Post-Training Competence fields inside a Training record capture the specific before/after result of one training event.

6. How do I record that an employee attended a training session?

Tick the Attended checkbox in the Trainees section of the Training record.

7. Who records the Post-Training Competence value?

The person entered in the Evaluated By field, typically the trainer or a qualified assessor, after conducting a post-training assessment.

8. How can I see an employee's full training history?

Go to Reports > QMS > Training

9. Is there a dedicated Competency Matrix screen?

Not as a separately named screen. The Competence Evaluation list serves this purpose, showing every employee's designation, ideal competency, and current rating.

10. Can I see what an employee's competency record looked like before it was updated?

Yes. Use the History option from the record's row menu to view previous versions.

11. What happens if an employee does not reach 100% after training?

The Percentage Rating simply reflects the updated Current Value. The organization should plan further training or coaching and re-evaluate later.

12. Can I attach training certificates or attendance sheets?

Yes, using the Support Files section at the bottom of the Training record.

13. Does updating a Competence Evaluation after training overwrite the pre-training data permanently?

No. The previous version is preserved and accessible through History, even though the current view shows the updated values.

14. What competency types can I choose from when defining Ideal Competence?

Education, Experience, Functional, Operational, and Technical.

15. Should I update the Ideal Competence record if job requirements change?

Yes. Since every employee in that designation is measured against the Ideal Value, it should be kept current with actual role requirements.

Relevant Articles