Linking Competency Models to Modern Learning Strategies By Matt Donovan With the rise of digital disruptions and "next generation" talent management strategies, nearly all HR and learning and development (L&D) teams are being pushed to work in concert together to create seamless employee learning, performance and development experiences. I truly believe that this is a great thing - the real beneficiary here is the employee/learner/performer (whichever term you prefer). However, the collaborative efforts between HR and L&D have brought out some long-standing differences between the two functions. | 44 One of the pain points across these two similar yet different functions has been around the incorporation of competency frameworks in modern learning experiences. While HR teams have historically seen the value of strong competency models, performance improvement consultants and learning professionals have struggled with seeing how competency models support the design and development of relevant, modern and learner-centric curricula. The result is a passionate debate over how to link research-based competency maps into the design of authentic and valid performancecentric learning curricula. Two Views on the Performer Essentially, competency models and learner/performer-centric outcomes are two paths to define and benchmark the same performer population. To better understand the different paths, it is important to grasp the fundamental premise for each. Figure 1 (see page 46) compares features of a competency