It is widely acknowledged that individuals’ skills go hand in hand with the ability to perform in one’s workplace. Some skills are attained beforehand, and if skill gaps are found, the training activities can be addressed through the training process. However, the concept of competence is more nuanced than just possessing skills. The traditional theory introduces three elements of competence: knowledge, skills, and attitude. In my opinion, attitude is the most interesting – and fluctuating – element, bringing the human factor into the equation.
Humans aren’t solely driven by logic. Humans have free will and emotions interrupting logical decisions. We find motivation through individual goals and preferences. Companies can provide training to enhance skill levels, but only with the right attitude does the training turn into competence and a productivity asset in a workplace. This raises the question: How do we define competence and ensure its effective utilisation to maximise organisational efficiency?
I managed to research the concept of competence defining and management process in the educational field where adequate knowledge and versatile skill levels are known to be the most important assets in business. As these two elements are widely researched, it gave an opportunity to investigate the factor of attitude and, surely, motivation. In the research, it was found that multiple other factors have its impact on the journey of this kind of project. The main question on competence defining and increasing productivity was expanded by the attitude’s influence on challenges with attaining research answers and willingness to assess oneself. I learned about human complexity through a demanding but highly interesting way.
It seems that increasing one’s productivity in a workplace is not just a matter of efficient training methods and possibilities, but employees will, goals, drivers, and wellness. The right ingredients of a suitable ratio for training procedures and employee willingness need wider research but are surely an intriguing starting point for the full potential of organisational efficiency and employee productivity through a competence perspective.
For full research, please visit https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202404096053.