A Worksheet for Measuring Competencies

A checklist you can use to rate the competencies of a workplace learner.

________________________________________
Workplace learning competence is the ability to be effective in learning in real time in
workplace settings. Use this instrument to rate the competence of a workplace learner
who is known to you. There is not a scorecard – it is up to you to use this as you best
see fit.
For each competency listed, rate his or her level of perceived competence. Use the
following scale:

1 = Not applicable.
2 = I perceive him or her to be functioning at a less than effective level in his or her
present workplace on this workplace learning competency.
3 = I perceive him or her to be functioning at a somewhat effective level in his or her
present workplace on this workplace learning competency.
4 = I perceive him or her to be functioning at an effective level in his or her present
workplace on this workplace learning competency.
5 = I perceive him or her to be functioning at a highly effective level in his or her present
workplace on this workplace learning competency.
Then, place a number from 1 to 7 to indicate how important you believe it to be for this
person to improve this workplace learning competency. A 1 indicates that taking action to
build this workplace learning competency is of highest priority. A 7 indicates that
improvement on the competency is of lowest priority.

FOUNDATIONAL COMPETENCIES

Reading skill: Read to a level of proficiency appropriate for learning in a workplace

setting.
Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)

Writing skill: Write to a level of proficiency appropriate for learning in a workplace

setting.
Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)

Computation skill: Apply mathematics to a level of proficiency appropriate for learning

in a workplace setting.
Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)

Listening skill: Listen effectively and to a level of proficiency appropriate for learning in
a workplace setting.
Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)

Questioning skill: Pose appropriate questions to others and obtain meaningful and
unambiguous answers to those questions.
Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)

Speaking skill: Speak to individuals or present to groups with a level of proficiency

appropriate for learning in a workplace setting.
Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)
Cognitive skills: Think, draw conclusions, think creatively, make decisions, and solve
problems.
Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)

Individual skills: Demonstrate a willingness to accept responsibility and display self-

esteem.

Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)

Resource skills: Allocate such resources as time, money, people, and information
appropriately to learn in the workplace.
Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)

Interpersonal skill: Work cooperatively with others, carry out formal or informal training
or mentoring of others, and maintain effective interpersonal relations with customers.
Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)

Informational and technological skill: Acquire and analyze data from various sources.
Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)

INTERMEDIATE COMPETENCIES

Systems thinking: View organizations and work from a systems perspective.

Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)

Personal mastery: Show willingness to learn and take pride in learning .

Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)

Mental modeling: Create, communicate, and critique ingrained (and otherwise taken-for
granted) assumptions, beliefs, or values.

Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)

Shared visioning: Formulate, communicate, and build enthusiasm about shared views of
the future.
Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)

Team learning skill: Participate effectively and actively in workplace groups and use
dialogue and other approaches to formulate, communicate, and test ideas generated by
himself or herself or others.

Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)

Self-knowledge: Demonstrate awareness and understanding of self as learner.

Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)

Short-term memory skill: Remember facts, people, and situations for short time spans,
usually about 48 hours or less.
Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)

Long-term memory skill: Remember facts, people, and situations for longer time spans,
usually exceeding 48 hours.
Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)

Subject matter knowledge: Possess a solid foundation of background knowledge on the

issue or subject that he or she sets out to learn about in the workplace.
Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)

Enjoyment of learning and work: Display joy in the learning process itself and in the
work that he or she performs.
Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)

Flexibility: Show a willingness to apply what he or she knows in new ways as conditions
warrant their application.
Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)

Persistence and confidence: Show determination to pursue new knowledge or skill, even
when finding it or mastering it proves more difficult than expected.
Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)

Sense of urgency: Display sensitivity to the importance of time to self and others.

Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)

Honesty: Give information in a straightforward manner, free of deception, and elicit

similar behavior from others.
Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)

Giving respect to others: Defer to others with more experience or knowledge.

Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)

THE PERCEPTIVIST ROLE

Work environment analytical skills: Examine work environments for issues or

characteristics affecting human performance.
Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)

Sensory awareness: Show sensitivity to stimuli received from the outside world based on
the use of any one or all of the five senses.
Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)

Open-mindedness: Demonstrate a willingness to see, to observe, and to internalize what

the world presents and reinterpret it afresh.

Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)

Humility: Display modesty about what he or she does or does not know, a willingness to
listen to fresh perspectives without pretending to know when he or she does not know.

Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)

Analytical skill (synthesis): Break down the components of a larger whole and
reassemble them to achieve improved human performance.
Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)

Intuition: Show sensitivity to stimuli generated by him or her from memory or from the
application of nonverbal logic.
Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)

THE INFORMATION-GATHERER ROLE

Information-sourcing skill: Identify the kind of information needed to satisfy curiosity
and show an ability to locate such information from credible sources.

Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)
Information-gathering skill: Collect information by talking to others, asking questions of
others, facilitating groups to answer questions, and finding information from other
sources.

Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)
Information-organizing skill: Organize or structure information obtained from one or
many sources and categorize it into schemes that permit recall, comparison, or creative
reexamination.
Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)
Feedback solicitation skill: Display an ability to solicit feedback on what he or she has
learned from others.

Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)

THE ANALYST ROLE

Willingness to experiment and gain experience: Show an openness to try out new ideas or
approaches, even when they are untested or their results are unknown.
Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)
Internalization skill: Translate general knowledge or information into specific
information that can be immediately applied or tested.
Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)
Application of new knowledge skill: Use new knowledge or skill in harmony with the
way it was described or characterized from the original source(s).

Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5
How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?
(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)
Ability to adapt knowledge to new situations or events: Use new knowledge or skill in
creative, unusual, or novel ways.
Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)

THE EVALUATOR ROLE

Critical examination of information skill: Reflect on what was learned critically, offering
follow-up questions or new ideas based on the information.
Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important
Learning how to learn skill: Reflect on how he or she acquired new information or
knowledge and find ways to improve the acquisition and application of new knowledge
or skill in the future.
Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5

How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?

(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important)
Self-directedness skill: Display a willingness to be proactive about his or her own
learning, to take action without needing to be directed to learn or to act by other people.
Not applicable: 1
Less than effective: 2
Somewhat effective: 3
Effective: 4
Highly Effective: 5
How important do you believe it to be to improve this workplace learning competency?
(Rate from 1 to 7, with 1 = Most important).