Unlocking Your Potential: The Great Eight Key Competencies

The 2020s have presented thousands of challenges that are changing how people work, live in society, and take care of their well-being. From the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic to the growing impact of technology, succeeding in this new decade demands specific skills.

This article intends to point out eight important skills you need to manage these changes. It will also explain which skills are important for your job and which ones help you take care of yourself. Plus, it will discuss whether employers should spend resources to help their employees improve these skills.

What Are the Great Eight Key Competencies?

The "Great Eight Key Competencies" are a set of eight vital skills that are essential to your success in both your personal and professional lives. These skills are:

1. Digital Literacy

Being able to find, assess, and use information on digital platforms. Digital literacy is a skill you need for most jobs, and it is becoming essential in every profession.

2. Emotional Intelligence

Having the ability to know, manage, and express your feelings and handle relationships with understanding and care. Emotional intelligence is necessary for a successful career and for taking care of yourself.

3. Resilience

Being able to recover from tough times and adjust when things change. Resilience helps you take care of yourself, and it is also becoming more important for doing well at work.

4. Cross-Cultural Competency

Understanding, communicating with, and building a good relationship with people from distinct cultures is a valuable skill. It is crucial for doing well at work, especially in diverse environments where there are people from all around the world.

5. Adaptability

Being able to quickly and effectively change when things are becoming different. You need it to do well at work and to take care of yourself, especially knowing how the world is changing so fast.

6. Critical Thinking

Thinking clearly and logically and understanding how ideas connect is a key skill. It is not only important to perform well at work, but it also helps you make good personal decisions.

7. Self-care and Mental Well-being

Taking an active role in looking after your own well-being and happiness, especially when things get tough, is important. It is for your personal benefit, but it also indirectly helps employers because it can boost productivity and reduce absenteeism.

8. Sustainability Awareness

Knowing how your actions affect the environment and society and making responsible choices is key. This awareness matters both for your job and for taking care of yourself because it impacts both how companies act responsibly and how individuals behave.

Why Assess Employee Key Competencies?

Assessing employees' skills and abilities helps you know what they are good at and where they can improve. This information helps you support their professional growth and find potential candidates for promotion.

Conducting regular assessments of your employees' skills helps you see how well they can communicate, think critically, and be innovative. By giving them job experience, training, and performance evaluations, they will get better at these skills over time. As an employer, you want your team to keep learning and improving. This helps your company stay competitive in your industry.

Monitoring How Employees Improve Their Skills over Time

Employers must continuously monitor and support their employees’ professional growth.  Conducting key competency assessments can help in this process. It all starts with an initial assessment upon hiring, which sets a baseline for measuring progress using a scale such as basic, intermediate, or advanced.  Then continue conducting reassessments every 6-12 months, considering factors such as further education, certificates, getting better at job tasks, positive feedback from managers, and mentoring from colleagues.

When you compare the first and subsequent assessments, you can find areas where employees may need improvement and make plans for their development. This way, it makes employees see how they are moving up in their careers and helps the organization thrive and succeed.

What Are the Responsibilities of an Employer?

Employers have a significant role in the growth and progress of their employees. They must create a safe and valued workplace for everyone. To do this, employers need to do essential things, such as giving employees the right tools and training and treating them fairly.

Aside from creating a good workplace atmosphere, employers must also help their employees grow in their jobs, pay them right and on time, and address problems when employees do not get along. These days, employers often collaborate with employees, but however they do it, they must do these things for work to go well.

In a nutshell, surviving the challenges of the 2020s demands a mix of skills and abilities for both personal and professional success. People must work on these skills, and employers must help their employees develop them. This benefits the organization and society in the long run.