The
terms ‘skills, abilities, knowledge and competencies’ are often used
interchangeably to describe the same concepts. In general conversation this is
fine, but when it comes to writing a job description, assessing candidate fit,
or conducting a performance review, understanding the meaning and implication
of each word becomes vital.
Although
the differences can seem small, they have a large impact on how we describe
people in relation to their job and thus their perceived competence. For
example, ‘skills, abilities, knowledge and competencies’ are words that will be
used in an employee review, if used incorrectly, their meaning can be misinterpreted. This could lead
to miscommunication and misunderstandings if there is a difference in how two
different HR professionals understand the terms.
So,
how do all of these words differ from each other? Here are some definitions:
Ability
Ability is an innate quality that one ‘does’
or ‘does not’ possess, ability is not something that can be learned or
developed unless it is there to begin with. Simply, abilities are the qualities needed to perform certain
behaviors and whether someone is able or not is dependent on their
pre-existing qualities. You can think of
this much like potential.
Take,
for example: ‘the ability to organise oneself’. If someone is not able to
organise oneself, it means they have not developed the underlying qualities
necessary to support their ability.
The
definition can become complicated though because there are also degrees of
ability.
Someone
can be extremely able, but then not use their ability. Likewise, someone can
have very little ability to organise themselves, but can work very hard, with
the little ability that they have, and maintain some level of organisation.
If
someone has a high degree of the underlying qualities needed to give them
ability, then that ability can be translated into, and practiced as a skill.
Skill
A skill is something learned through experience. It is used to carry
out complex activities or job functions to achieve pre-determined results. A skill
is not an innate behavior and must be developed and improved with practice. A
skill can be developed through getting specific training or learning as you go,
but always starts off as unfamiliar.
Knowledge
Knowledge
is the level of
education, experience or training that an individual must have at a minimum to
be considered qualified for a role. For example, some job advertisements may
state that they are willing to accept graduates for a role, while others may
state that the applicant must have 5 years of experience in a similar role.
Knowledge can be further described as the theoretical or practical
understanding of a subject, or the ability to apply the information to
different situations.
Competence is different from the other
terms that we’ve covered so far. It is defined as the combination of related abilities, knowledge and skills that
enable a person or organisation to act effectively in a job or situation.
Competencies are described in ways that are observable, measurable and based on
performance.
The
abilities, knowledge, and skills required for someone to be termed ‘competent’
will be dependent on 1, what they are being measured against, and 2, the method
of evaluation.
If
one person is referred to as ‘competent’ at their job, versus being ‘competent’
at a specific function of their job, they are being measured on two different
competencies.
For example, if an accountant is being measure on their competence with working with numbers, this is one measure of competence. If an accountant is being measured on their ‘competence’ in their role as an accountant by a client, this is another separate measure.
For example, if an accountant is being measure on their competence with working with numbers, this is one measure of competence. If an accountant is being measured on their ‘competence’ in their role as an accountant by a client, this is another separate measure.
If two people disagree on whether a person is
‘competent’ or not, within a certain area, it means those two people have
different ways of measuring competence; such as arithmetic ability or client
satisfaction.
Back
to our accountant example: If one person thinks that the accountant is
competent at working with numbers and another person disagrees, we have to look
at how they’re being measured. This is why having an objective measure of assessing
competencies is very important, or, at the very least, making sure to agree on
the abilities, knowledge and skills required
to be competent in in a certain area.
We’ve
covered some very precise distinctions in this article but it’s often that
these misunderstood and misused terms create huge problems when it comes to
assessing new candidates, communicating with your team and conducting employee
reviews.
So,
if you’re feeling competent… What’s the difference between ability, skill and
knowledge?
