While some organizations do make the investment to strategically integrate competencies throughout their business processes, it is not all that uncommon for competencies to be referenced twice - ok maybe thrice a year in performance management processes - and that's about it.  They may be dusted off at the beginning of the year in the development of goals, possibly referenced during a mid-year review, and used as a checklist of sorts in an annual review.

The irony is that people and organizations actually like talking about what they know and what they can do.  They take pride in their capabilities and are, more often than not, interested in learning about how they can further develop and leverage their competencies.

Benefits - If well defined and effectively communicated, integrated competencies can also be used to:

• Paint a tangible picture of career progression - a powerful:
  
  • Strategic retention tool - particularly for motivated talent
    
  • Talent attraction tool supporting recruiting strategies
    

• Develop and deliver actionable and objective feedback - with clarity
  

• Accelerate development - particularly with the growing popularity of self-directed learning strategies
  

• Select, promote, recognize, and reward talent with greater precision
  

• Provide a common language:
  
  • Connecting what an organization does with what its people do and with what its customers/clients experience
    
  • Catalyzing formal and informal coaching dialogue
    
  • Bridging gaps among departments and between levels of management by cross-pollinating a tangible understanding of what others do
    
  • Supporting redeployment decision-making with an "apples-to-apples" platform for discussing capabilities
    

• "Glue" together what can otherwise become disparate activities, processes, and events (e.g. the "recruitment to retirement" life cycle)
  

• Align individual efforts with organizational objectives:
  
  • Bringing strategic initiatives to life by defining a "piece of the action" for everyone
    
  • Serving as a North Star in the performance of day-to-day work
    
  • Focusing and streamlining activity
    

• Define and describe expectations - e.g. what does behavior consistent with an Ethics initiative/policy really look like?
  

• Inspire and facilitate knowledge sharing
  

• Understand and anticipate organizational bench strength:
  
  • Informing investment decisions in learning and other development strategies
    
  • Supporting succession and strategic planning efforts 
    

Actions - Critical success factors include:

• Leadership and championship - if leaders aren't excited about competencies, no one else will care either.
  

• Language - competency definitions should be clear, concise, and engaging.  They really need to resonate.
  

• Relevance - competency material should be kept current and forward-looking.
  

• Manageability - less really is sometimes more.  Throughout my material, I highlight one of the biggest and most common mistakes organizations make:  diffusing focus by overpopulating competency dictionaries - often with things that are not really competencies.
  

• Easy to access - "in your face" without being "in your face"
  

• Integration - competencies should be carefully integrated throughout talent life cycle activities and with related business processes.  To some degree, they may even ultimately organically integrate themselves if they are embraced throughout an organization.
  

• Communication - most of the benefits highlighted are also of interest and benefit to individuals/employees.  Making those important connections via engaging and appealing communications can further enhance employee commitment, satisfaction, and retention.