HR & PEOPLE MASTERMIND: How Do You Build a Competency Framework That Actually Works?

When your agency starts to grow, the cracks in your career structure start to show.

People keep asking for promotions. Managers don’t know what “good” looks like. Appraisals turn into guesswork – and eventually, your best people could start looking elsewhere.

That’s where a competency framework comes in; a simple, structured way to show what progress actually looks like.

Rhian Peebles, founder of The Sitch, has helped agencies build frameworks that everyone can get behind. Each role is mapped across three levels – basic, intermediate, mastering.

“It makes development feel achievable,” says Rhian. “And if you’ve got a framework, it takes the emotion out of those appraisal and feedback conversations.

“It’s not personal – it’s just clear.”

Managers suddenly have something solid to point to. People can see what’s next for them, and what’s expected before they make the next big professional jump.

“Once people can see their own progress, the temperature just drops,” says Rhian. “There’s less unknown, and therefore less stress.”

You’ll leave this session knowing exactly how to start – how to map roles, define levels, test the language, and make a competency framework part of your everyday culture.