Background

Competency-based management is a widely used practice in the public sector of many developed countries. Its objective is to support the achievement of organizational goals and enhance employee motivation and commitment through systematic and effective human resource management. One area where competency-based management is applied is employee development, which requires understanding employees’ training needs.

This need has become increasingly relevant year by year, as the exercise of public authority depends on society’s trust in public officials. In turn, this trust relies on officials’ professional competence, ethical conduct, and their ability to act in the public interest.

Competency-based management links human resource management with an organization’s strategic objectives. As job tasks and problem-solving become more complex, organizations need employees with the right skills and knowledge. Increasingly, both private companies and public sector institutions have begun to use competency models as one of the main tools of human resource management in order to identify the prerequisites for successful performance in a position and to assess employees’ development needs.
One tool that helps strengthen leadership capability is a competency model. The purpose of the model is to define and describe key competencies and to create a system for assessing them.

Objective

The aim of the study is to describe the role and concept of middle managers in the civil service, update the competency model for middle managers together with self-assessment questionnaires, and develop a new visual representation of the competency model.

Benefits

Updating the competency model for middle managers helps move towards more integrated public governance and harmonize leadership capability across the public sector. The model creates a cross-government framework for the recruitment, selection, assessment, and development of middle managers. The updated competency model supports the development of a shared leadership culture and improves the quality of leadership in the public sector.

Project clients: Minsitry of Finance and the State Shared Service Centre
Project implementer: LevelLab
Study duration: 04/2022 ‍– 12/2022