What is time to competency?
Time to competency is the elapsed period between a person joining and that person meeting the standard for their role, observed rather than assumed. The measurement needs a standard specific enough to observe and a dated record of the person meeting it. It is the figure a learning function is judged on, which is why it is so often reported as an estimate.
Also called: Time to proficiency
Why the reported figure comes from the induction design
Ask a learning function for its time to competency and the answer usually arrives from the induction design rather than from the floor. The design says six weeks, so six weeks is reported, and nobody has compared that against the point at which supervisors actually stopped checking the person's work. An honest figure requires a standard specific enough to observe and a record of the date it was met, which most organisations do not hold. Measured properly, it tends to be longer than the planned figure and far more variable between locations.
- The figure drives headcount planning, so an estimate propagates into a budget.
- Variation between locations usually exceeds the average anyone reports.
- A measured figure identifies which objectives are actually holding people back.
- Supervisors already know the real answer and are rarely asked for it.
How time to competency works
- Competency for the role is defined as observable behaviours with a threshold.
- Each new joiner's start date and training assignments are recorded against them.
- Assessment and observed performance are captured at stated points after joining.
- The date the threshold is first met is recorded by the person who observed it.
- Elapsed time is reported with its distribution rather than as a single average.
- Objectives correlated with a long ramp are revised in the induction content.
How time to competency is evaluated
Time to competency is only meaningful alongside the standard it was measured against and the spread behind the figure. Examine the following for each joining cohort:
- median and ninetieth percentile elapsed days to the threshold
- variation between locations and between supervisors
- share of joiners with an observed competency date recorded
- error rates in live work before and after the threshold
- attrition among joiners yet to reach the standard
Limitations, risks and common failure modes
- The standard is defined too loosely to observe, so supervisors sign off on impression.
- Competency dates are recorded in arrears at the end of a quarter.
- An average conceals a long tail of joiners who never reach the standard.
- Shortening the reported figure becomes a target, and the standard quietly falls.