Best examples of competency matrix examples for employees in 2025

Real examples of competency matrix examples for employees

Let’s start where most people get stuck: What does a competency matrix actually look like in practice? Here are concrete, role-based examples of competency matrix examples for employees you can borrow.

Instead of using numbers here, we’ll talk in terms of levels (Basic, Working, Advanced, Expert). You can convert these to your preferred rating scale (1–4, 1–5, etc.) in your HR system.

Example of a competency matrix for software engineers

For a mid-level software engineer, a simple competency matrix might group skills into four buckets: technical, quality, collaboration, and business impact.

Technical skills

• Programming proficiency
  • Basic: Can complete well-defined tasks with guidance; relies on existing patterns.
  • Working: Delivers small features independently; code follows team standards.
  • Advanced: Designs components; mentors juniors on code quality and structure.
  • Expert: Shapes technical direction for a service or system.

• System design
  • Basic: Understands how their service interacts with adjacent systems.
  • Working: Can design small services or features end to end.
  • Advanced: Anticipates scalability, reliability, and observability needs.
  • Expert: Leads architecture decisions across multiple teams.

Quality & reliability

• Testing discipline
  • Basic: Writes unit tests when asked.
  • Working: Consistently writes tests; uses code coverage reports.
  • Advanced: Designs test strategies; improves flaky tests and CI pipelines.
  • Expert: Influences org-wide quality standards.

Collaboration & communication

• Code review behavior
  • Basic: Responds to review comments; limited feedback to others.
  • Working: Provides constructive feedback to peers.
  • Advanced: Spots design issues early; helps unblock others.
  • Expert: Sets norms for review quality and tone across the team.

Business impact

• Product understanding
  • Basic: Knows what their feature does.
  • Working: Understands how their work affects key product metrics.
  • Advanced: Proposes technical tradeoffs aligned with business goals.
  • Expert: Partners with product to shape roadmap.

This is one of the best examples of competency matrix examples for employees in tech because it moves beyond “can code” into how engineers collaborate and impact the business.

Customer service: examples of competency matrix examples for employees

Customer-facing roles benefit a lot from explicit behavior-based expectations. Here’s an example of a competency matrix for a contact center agent.

Customer interaction

• Active listening
  • Basic: Asks customers to repeat information; occasionally misses key details.
  • Working: Reflects back customer needs; clarifies before acting.
  • Advanced: Anticipates unspoken concerns; reduces repeat contacts.
  • Expert: Coaches others on listening techniques; improves scripts.

• Empathy & tone
  • Basic: Polite but scripted.
  • Working: Adjusts tone to customer’s emotional state.
  • Advanced: De-escalates tense calls reliably.
  • Expert: Handles the most complex escalations and trains peers.

Process & accuracy

• System navigation
  • Basic: Uses core tools with support.
  • Working: Navigates multiple systems without delaying the customer.
  • Advanced: Spots data inconsistencies and corrects them.
  • Expert: Suggests workflow improvements that reduce handle time.

Performance metrics

• First-contact resolution
  • Basic: Resolves straightforward issues.
  • Working: Resolves most contacts without escalation.
  • Advanced: Identifies root causes behind repeat issues.
  • Expert: Partners with operations to remove systemic pain points.

These real examples show how to turn vague values like “great customer service” into observable behaviors that managers can rate consistently.

HR generalist: example of competency matrix tied to 2025 skills

HR work has shifted in 2024–2025 toward analytics, change management, and employee experience. Any modern example of a competency matrix for HR employees should reflect that trend.

Employee relations

• Policy interpretation
  • Basic: Applies policies as written.
  • Working: Adapts policy application to context while staying compliant.
  • Advanced: Spots policy gaps and drafts improvements.
  • Expert: Advises senior leaders on policy implications.

• Conflict resolution
  • Basic: Escalates most conflicts.
  • Working: Facilitates simple disputes between employees.
  • Advanced: Manages sensitive, multi-party conflicts with minimal escalation.
  • Expert: Designs conflict management training.

Data & analytics

• HR data literacy
  • Basic: Reads standard HR reports.
  • Working: Interprets trends in turnover, engagement, and hiring.
  • Advanced: Builds simple dashboards; recommends actions based on data.
  • Expert: Partners with analytics teams; influences workforce strategy.

Authoritative bodies like the U.S. Office of Personnel Management publish competency models for HR and other roles that you can adapt into your own matrices (opm.gov). These public frameworks are some of the best examples of competency matrix examples for employees in government and large organizations.

Sales team: examples include behavior and outcomes

Sales competency matrices work best when they balance soft skills with measurable outcomes.

Prospecting & pipeline

• Lead qualification
  • Basic: Follows a script; qualifies by surface criteria only.
  • Working: Uses open-ended questions to assess fit.
  • Advanced: Quickly disqualifies poor-fit leads and focuses on high-value prospects.
  • Expert: Refines qualification criteria and trains the team.

Discovery & solutioning

• Needs analysis
  • Basic: Captures customer requirements.
  • Working: Identifies underlying business problems.
  • Advanced: Quantifies impact and ROI with the customer.
  • Expert: Shapes product packaging based on patterns across deals.

Closing & negotiation

• Negotiation skill
  • Basic: Discounts early to close.
  • Working: Trades value for value; protects margin.
  • Advanced: Manages multi-stakeholder negotiations.
  • Expert: Coaches others on complex deal strategy.

This example of a competency matrix shows each salesperson where they stand today and what “next level” performance looks like in the same role.

People manager: examples of competency matrix examples for employees in leadership roles

Leadership competencies are often the least defined and the most argued about. A clear matrix helps.

Coaching & development

• 1:1 effectiveness
  • Basic: Holds infrequent or status-only 1:1s.
  • Working: Holds regular 1:1s with clear agendas.
  • Advanced: Uses 1:1s to coach performance and career growth.
  • Expert: Trains other managers on effective 1:1 practices.

• Feedback culture
  • Basic: Gives feedback only during reviews.
  • Working: Provides feedback after major events.
  • Advanced: Delivers timely, specific feedback; encourages peer feedback.
  • Expert: Builds a team culture where feedback flows in all directions.

Execution & alignment

• Goal setting
  • Basic: Translates top-down goals into team tasks.
  • Working: Co-creates goals with the team.
  • Advanced: Connects team goals to business outcomes and metrics.
  • Expert: Influences departmental or company-level goal setting.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and similar organizations publish leadership competency models that offer real examples you can reference when building your own matrices (shrm.org).

Digital skills: examples of competency matrix examples for employees across roles

By 2025, digital fluency is no longer optional for most knowledge workers. A cross-functional digital competency matrix can apply to marketing, finance, operations, and more.

Data literacy

• Interpreting reports
  • Basic: Reads static reports; struggles with filters and pivots.
  • Working: Uses self-service analytics tools to answer routine questions.
  • Advanced: Builds reports and simple models for others.
  • Expert: Guides the business on metric definitions and data quality.

AI & automation awareness

• Tool usage
  • Basic: Uses AI tools only when prompted.
  • Working: Uses approved AI tools to speed up routine tasks.
  • Advanced: Identifies processes that can be automated and collaborates on solutions.
  • Expert: Champions responsible AI use, including privacy and bias considerations.

As digital skills become part of national workforce strategies, you can pull from frameworks like the EU’s DigComp or U.S. workforce development guidelines to create examples of competency matrix examples for employees that match your industry.

How to design the best examples of competency matrix examples for employees

You’ve seen several real examples. Now, how do you design your own so they don’t become static HR artifacts?

Anchor on observable behavior
Each cell in your matrix should describe what someone does, not who they are. “Handles three concurrent projects without missing deadlines” is clearer than “highly organized.” That makes calibration between managers far easier.

Limit the number of competencies
If your matrix has 40 competencies, no one will use it. For most roles, 8–12 well-chosen competencies are plenty. Use external models (for example, OPM’s competency lists or university career frameworks like those at Harvard’s career services) as a starting point, then trim aggressively.

Use consistent levels across roles
Whether you call them Basic/Working/Advanced/Expert or something else, keep the levels consistent across functions. That makes it easier to compare talent and support internal mobility.

Co-create with managers and employees
Some of the best examples of competency matrix examples for employees come from workshops where HR, managers, and high-performing employees build the matrix together. People are far more likely to use a tool they helped create.

Using examples of competency matrix examples for employees in development plans

A competency matrix is only as valuable as the decisions it informs. Here’s how organizations are using them in 2024–2025.

1. Career development and internal mobility
Employees can see exactly which competencies separate their current role from the next level or adjacent roles. That clarity is a big driver of engagement and retention, a point echoed in many workforce studies from organizations like the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and major universities.

2. Targeted learning investments
Instead of sending everyone to the same training, managers can look at the matrix and prioritize the two or three lowest-scored competencies that matter most to business goals. For example, if data literacy scores are low across finance, you can invest in analytics training that directly addresses those gaps.

3. Fairer performance reviews and promotions
When you use a shared matrix, promotion discussions become less about personality and more about evidence. “Consistently operates at Advanced in system design and collaboration” is a very different conversation than “feels ready for senior.”

4. Workforce planning
Aggregated competency data shows where your organization is vulnerable. If your only Expert-level cybersecurity skills are in one person, you have a clear risk. That insight can feed into hiring plans and succession planning.

2024–2025 trends shaping competency matrices

If you’re refreshing your frameworks now, keep these trends in mind so your examples of competency matrix examples for employees don’t feel dated in two years.

Hybrid and remote work behaviors
Competencies around asynchronous communication, remote collaboration, and self-management are now mainstream expectations. Matrices that still assume everyone is co-located miss real performance differences.

Skills-based hiring and internal marketplaces
Organizations are moving from job titles to skills profiles. A well-maintained competency matrix becomes the backbone for skills-based hiring, internal project marketplaces, and reskilling initiatives.

AI literacy and ethical use
Whether you’re in marketing, finance, or operations, AI tools are part of daily work. Matrices now often include competencies around AI tool usage, data privacy, and bias awareness. Responsible use is increasingly highlighted in guidance from public and academic institutions like NIH and major universities.

Well-being and psychological safety
Leadership and manager matrices are starting to include competencies around supporting mental health, workload management, and inclusive culture. While sites like CDC focus on workplace health promotion, you can translate those principles into observable leadership behaviors.

FAQ: examples of competency matrix questions managers ask

Q: Can you give a simple example of a competency matrix for a small business?
For a 20-person company, start with a single matrix that covers shared competencies across all roles: communication, reliability, problem solving, digital skills, and teamwork. Define three or four levels for each, with plain-language behaviors. Then, add a short role-specific section (for example, “closing skills” for sales, “accuracy” for finance). This gives you a practical example of a competency matrix without overwhelming your team.

Q: How often should we update our matrices?
Most organizations review them annually. However, if your industry is changing fast (for instance, tech or healthcare), you may revisit the digital and regulatory competencies more frequently. Use feedback from performance cycles to refine unclear or unused competencies.

Q: Are there public examples of competency matrix examples for employees we can copy?
Yes. Government and academic sites often publish competency models you can adapt. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s competency library, SHRM’s behavioral competencies, and career frameworks from large universities offer real examples you can translate into matrices for your own roles.

Q: How do we avoid bias when using a competency matrix?
Write behaviors that are as specific and job-related as possible. Train managers with real examples and calibration sessions so they interpret levels consistently. Periodically review ratings data for patterns across gender, race, age, and other protected characteristics, and adjust the matrix or training if you see skewed outcomes.

Q: What’s the difference between skills and competencies in a matrix?
Skills are often task-specific (for example, “SQL querying”); competencies combine skills, knowledge, and behaviors (for example, “data-informed decision making”). Most effective matrices blend both: technical skills plus broader competencies that predict success in the role.

If you use the real examples above as templates, you’ll have examples of competency matrix examples for employees that are specific enough to guide decisions, but flexible enough to grow with your business.