Competency Lists™

One of the main challenges for any organization is to get the right knowledge to the right people. Static libraries typically deliver the same books to every individual in the organization, be they the CEO or the junior sales person, the marketing staff or the finance staff, the TQM project members or the strategy team.

Clearly different groups of people need different sets of knowledge depending upon their levels in the organization and their job responsibilities. And these knowledge needs can change year-to-year, and even month-to-month. Knowledge is dynamic and context-sensitive.




getAbstract Competency Lists™ are bookshelves or reading lists that are infinitely configurable, by person, by group, by time, by...you name it! Unlike other systems which offer one fixed bookshelf, getAbstract has no limit to the number of bookshelves or reading lists.

And, these competency lists can be served up via one of getAbstract's Advanced Delivery™ options, directly to your browser, as PDF downloads, RSS feeds or Podcasts, making them available where and how you want them.

By selecting from an enormous library, you can create competency lists that provide up-to-date, relevant expert knowledge to each member of your organization. The selected book summaries can be easily integrated into intranet portals that are instantly available to the intended group.
On the right, an example of the integration of the Summary of the Week in a corporate intranet is given.

The result: Usage of getAbstract and your intranet grows quarter-by-quarter as staff members experience the value of continuous learning in such a direct, specific fashion.

Competency Lists™ in Action

The Board of Directors has asked the CEO how the company is developing its management talent. It would like to see a plan for all levels of the organization: executive, business unit managers, managers of managers and new managers.

A list of key skills - or competencies - is developed for the various management levels. Then, using getAbstract's Competency Builder™, a set of competency lists is created for each management level. Assuming that we are dealing with an international company, one of the topics of concern, given the global changes, is how to manage more effectively in four culturally diverse regions: the U.S., Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Hence the competency list for managers may include the topic "Managing across Cultures".

The book summaries on the left show the books selected for Managing across Cultures, along with their corresponding getAbstract ratings.

Different companies require different competencies; the Competency Builder™ tool allows you to address the individual needs of your enterprise.