Do it with One: "Which competencies apply to a Senior Software Engineer, and at which expected level?"
Competencies are the skills, behaviors and knowledge people need to do their job well; in Factorial you define them with levels, link them to jobs in the job catalog, and assess them in performance reviews. Customers also call this a competency framework, competency model or skill matrix. Admins manage competencies in Performance > Competencies.
One can help with competencies
| What One can do | |
|---|---|
| 🔍 Ask | List your competencies, groups and levels; see which jobs have a competency and at which expected level (including inherited ones); find the employees assessed on a competency; show review competency scores next to the expected level; suggest trainings for low scores |
| 👤 Who | Admins with Manage competencies |
| ⚡ Do | — |
| 🚫 Not yet | Create, edit or delete competencies, levels or groups; assign competencies to jobs; turn a score into a level |
Try: "Which competencies apply to a Senior Account Executive?" · "Which employees are assessed on Leadership?" · "How did my team score on Communication in the last review?"
→ Ask One about reviews, feedback, competencies and incentive plans
Before you start
- Competencies are part of Performance, included in the Business and Enterprise plans. If you don't see Competencies under Performance, you don't have Manage competencies.
- Competencies reach people through their job. Each employee needs a job (role and level) from the job catalog in their contract.
Key concepts
| Concept | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Competency | A skill, behavior or knowledge area, with a name and description. | Communication |
| Competency group | An optional category that organizes competencies. | Soft skills |
| Level | A proficiency stage of one competency, with a name and description, ordered from lowest to highest. | Basic → Proficient → Expert |
| Job | A role and one of its levels in your job catalog. | Account Executive Senior |
| Expected level | The level of a competency that a job is expected to reach. | Account Executive Senior → Communication: Proficient |
| Competency assessment | The part of a performance review where reviewers score each competency of the reviewee. | Manager scores Communication 4 out of 5 |
How it fits together
- Build your library. Create competency groups, competencies and levels in Performance > Competencies, or import them from a spreadsheet.
- Link competencies to jobs. For each job, choose which competencies apply and the expected level, from the competency's Jobs tab, from the job catalog, or with Assign jobs in bulk.
- Assess in reviews. Turn on Include competency assessment when you set up a performance review. Each reviewee is assessed on the competencies of their job, with the expected level shown as a reference.
- Read the results. See the scores in the review results, in a radar (spider) chart, in each employee's Competencies tab, and in competency analytics.
Where you find competencies
| Who | Where | What they can do |
|---|---|---|
| Admin with Manage competencies | Performance > Competencies (tabs Company competencies and Groups) | Create, edit, delete, import competencies, groups and levels |
| Admin with job catalog permissions | Job catalog (each role and level) and Assign jobs in bulk | Link competencies and expected levels to jobs |
| Reviewer (employee, manager, peer) | The review questionnaire | Score each competency of the reviewee |
| Admin or manager with See competency assessments | Employee profile > Competencies | See an employee's competency scores over time |
| Employee | Profile > Competencies (when allowed by permissions) | See their own competency scores |
Rules and behavior
- If a competency isn't linked to any job, then nobody is assessed on it in reviews.
- If a review doesn't have Include competency assessment on, then no competency questions appear in it, even if competencies are linked to jobs.
- If an employee's contract has no job from the job catalog, then no job-based competency applies to them.
- Competencies are scored on the review's scoring scale; levels describe expectations and are not scores.
- Competencies are also used outside Performance: you can tag training courses with the competencies they develop. Recruitment (ATS) uses its own separate competency list for AI candidate evaluation; it is not linked to this library.
Limitations
- You can't assess competencies outside a performance review (there is no standalone assessment).
- You can't assign competencies directly to an employee; they always come from the job.
- Factorial doesn't convert a review score into a level automatically.
Troubleshooting
- Symptom: "I can't find Competencies in Performance." → Cause: You don't have Manage competencies, or your company's plan doesn't include Performance (Business or Enterprise). → Fix: Ask an admin to check Settings > Permissions > Competencies and your company's plan (Business or Enterprise).
- Symptom: "Nobody got competency questions in our review." → Cause: Include competency assessment was off, or the reviewees' jobs have no competencies. → Fix: See Competencies in performance reviews.
FAQ
1. Do I need levels to use competencies?
No. A competency without levels can still be linked to jobs and assessed. Levels add a clear expectation per job.
2. Can I use competencies without performance reviews?
You can build the library and link it to jobs and trainings, but scores only come from performance reviews.
3. Can peers assess competencies?
Yes, when Include competency assessment is on and the review includes peer reviewers. See Competencies in performance reviews.
4. Can Factorial suggest competencies for a job?
Yes. When you add competencies to a job in the job catalog, Factorial proposes suggested competencies for that job. See Assign competencies to jobs.
Ask One:
One answers competency questions only for admins with Manage competencies.
- "Which competencies do we have and how are they grouped?"
- "Which competencies apply to a Senior Software Engineer?"
- "How did my team score on Communication in the last review?"
More about One: AI, One & analytics.