The Progress International Competency Framework

We designed the Progress International Competency Framework having worked with organisations for many years developing frameworks for them. We realised the need for a new, up-to-date framework that every organisation could tap into.

Our framework contains 12 core competencies and covers the key areas of workplace behaviour and skill.

Core Competencies

People Focus
Works with others to deliver results; empowering, motivating and encouraging high quality performance. Creates a climate of support and accountability. Adapts own working style to take account of the needs of others. Team working, support, welfare and well being issues.
Results Focus
Understands what results are important, and focuses resources to achieve them. Delivers financial targets and achieves agreed performance indicators, contributes to success of the business. Actively seeks ways to improve results.
Leadership Focus
Sets clear goals and objectives linked to the business's vision. Encourages, supports and inspires others to develop confidence, capability and to realise their full potential. Makes timely decisions that deliver the desired outcomes. Demonstrates positive characteristics and behaviours such as resilience, ethics and integrity, creativity and innovation.
Communication Focus
Demonstrates the ability to communicate clearly and effectively with a diverse range of people and takes account of their views. Uses well reasoned arguments to convince and persuade where necessary to achieve desired outcome.
Customer Focus
Meets customer's needs; is committed to putting customers first; takes responsibility for delivering customer satisfaction; develops productive customer relationships and customer loyalty; delivers a consistently high quality service to external and internal customers.
Professional Development Focus
Evidences a high level of technical and professional skills/knowledge in job-related areas; keeping abreast of current developments and trends in area of expertise. Demonstrates commitment to personal and professional development.
Resource Focus
Manages resource to deliver organisational objectives. Evidences value for money through resource procurement and utilisation. Plans resource development considering environmental impact and green issues.
Personal Management Focus
The reflective leader, emotionally aware, displays resilience in a range of situations, is open and honest, develops relationships and networks, uses own time effectively.
Creativity Focus
Is able to consider new approaches, challenge existing practice, encourage others to explore future vision. Creative thinking involves re-examining traditional strategies and practices, and proactively looking for new ideas and ways to improve products, services, and work processes.
Analytical Thinking Focus
Challenges established practice and process in order to achieve better results. Analyses data and information to determine root cause of problems and makes recommendations for solutions. Communicates the implications and risks associated with problems and opportunities to make them accessible to others.
Planning and Decision Making Focus
Establishing a course of action for self and/or others to accomplish specific goals; gathering relevant information and data and analysing issues. Making systematic and rational judgements based on relevant information and identifying cause and effect relationships to resolve issues and solve problems.
Innovation and Change Focus
This competency is about creating new and imaginative approaches to work, demonstrating a willingness to question the way things are done, planning and delivering change. The ability to respond & adapt to changing circumstances and to manage, solve problems and provide solutions in a climate of ambiguity.


Specific Competencies

Project People
Working with others to plan the project can ensure buy in and support at all levels. The management of roles and responsibilities is key to creating an environment of collaboration, creativity and high performance standards
Project Planning
The planning stage of project management is the single most significant factor in determining the eventual success or failure of a project. The manager's ability to develop a business case, determine boundaries, set clear objectives and communicate complex issues are all significant in deploying a structured approach to project planning
Project Process
Once a project is underway monitoring progress and the evaluation of results need to be communicated to stakeholders in a timely manner. Results will also need to be considered when adjusting the project plan and the management of risk is a significant element of this project stage
Post project
Evaluating how the project was delivered and analysing performance ensures that learning from each project is shared within the organisation and contributes to the development of best practice guidance
Change and People
The cultural dimensions of change, understanding behaviours adopted by individuals and groups during change, working with and managing negative behaviours, preparing for the positive and negative impacts of change. Working with others to ensure buy in and support at all levels
Planning Change
Much intended change fails to be successfully implemented simply because planning is inadequate or even non-existent. The planning stage of managing change is often the single most significant factor in determining the eventual success or failure of change
Implementing Change
Once a change initiative is underway monitoring progress and the evaluation of results need to be communicated to stakeholders in a timely manner. Results will also need to be considered when adjusting the change plan and the management of risk is a significant element of this stage
Evaluating Change
Evaluating how the change was achieved and analysing performance ensures that learning from each change initiative is shared within the organisation and contributes to the development of best practice guidance
Commercial Awareness Focus
Considers the commercial implications of decision making and applies a structured approach to enabling greater value to be realised from assets, projects, programmes, contracts and service provision.
Financial Awareness Focus
Considers the financial implications of decisions and plans and uses financial data to assess performance. Understands how financial considerations drive the organisation and works with others to understand the financial impact of their decisions and service delivery
Equality and Diversity Individual Focus
The competence set aims to promote best practice and to encourage managers to be sensitive to the specific needs of the different communities which the organisation serves and to build capacity and investment in equality and diversity throughout the organisation
Equality and Diversity Organisational Focus
These competencies focus on building and supporting the development of the organisation's internal capacity to identify and respond to the diverse and changing needs of both customers and the work force
Marketing Effectiveness and Credibility Focus
Demonstrates high levels of commercial awareness and business acumen. Ensures that marketing is clearly defined and understood throughout the organisation and that marketing activity delivers the strategic goals of the business
Wellbeing Focus
Understands and promotes the importance of self-care during periods of high demands and pressure; builds supportive relationships with colleagues and the members of their teams and knows when and where to ask for help when it is needed
Resilience Focus
Encourages others to perform effectively when faced with time pressures, adversity, disappointment, or opposition. Remains focused, composed, and optimistic in difficult situations and bounces back from failures or disappointments
Relationship focus
Maintains a broad network of relationships within the organisation and is well regarded by others as a trusted and credible expert. Is able to develop a rapport with client while keeping the discussions focused on the client's needs and requirements
Consultancy focus
Uses a recognisable, clearly defined and structured consultancy process to deliver results for internal clients. Expertise is sought by internal customers to advise on issues impacting own sector. Is able to provide the client with a realistic assessment of what can be achieved. Takes a 'whole organisation' view of the opportunity/problem and the options to deal with it.