: Essential, basic skills required just to do the job (e.g., specific technical knowledge).
This information is derived from the seminal work Competence at Work: Models for Superior Performance (1993) by Lyle M. Spencer Jr. and Signe M. Spencer. This dictionary is the industry standard for HR professionals, organizational psychologists, and managers developing competency-based job descriptions, interview guides, and performance appraisal systems.
The core philosophy is that competencies are underlying characteristics of a person that are causally related to effective or superior performance in a job.