Competency mapping
ORGANIZATION
ServiceSource
ROLES
Organizational Strategist / Instructional Designer / eLearning Developer / Project Manager
LEARNING SOLUTIONS
Core competency matrix
Behavior framework
Interactive Infosource tool
TOOLS
Cornerstone OnDemand LMS
Articulate Presenter
Microsoft Excel
A flexible roadmap for career advancement
PROJECT BRIEF
To improve their cost to serve, remain competitive, and grow their client base, ServiceSource, an enterprise technology reseller, needed a strategy for retaining their top sales talent in the Selling Services division.
To better align with client needs and plan for future business growth, the Next Level Program was developed to differentiate the roles of these front-line reps and ensure the team’s ability to match seller skill sets to specific clients. Through Next Level, the initial four roles with once-a-year performance-based promotions across the division moved to eight roles across three skill levels with differentiated compensation and business-need promotion possible any time of the year.
Learning Solution
The new roles established in the Next Level Program provided reps with a flexible roadmap for career advancement within ServiceSource. The business needed to define a career mapping competency matrix to better understand the differentiated skill sets, tasks, and scope for each role level.
A behavior framework was also required to provide a defined, documented skill progression across the roles and a consistent method for recognizing top performers.
The business goals for the competency matrix and behavior framework were to:
Increase seller engagement and retention
Improve seller performance management
Support career development and succession planning
Define growth and development opportunities
Building the Competency Matrix and Behavior Framework
To begin development, I first performed an analysis of the new job descriptions, roles and responsibilities, and existing competency framework against seller industry benchmarks. I identified the critical competencies and knowledge areas needed and organized them into a structured framework of overarching categories and sub-competencies with clear definitions and objectives for each. In consultation with project stakeholders, I led the process to determine where there were gaps and what updates were still needed.
Collaborating with reps and sales leaders, we differentiated the proficiency levels expected for each role (Beginner, Immediate, and Advanced) and defined specific observable behaviors for each proficiency level to ensure clarity and consistency. Executive stakeholders vetted and approved each project phase before moving on to the next.
Once the competency matrix and behavior framework were finalized, I mapped coursework already available through the company's online learning library to each role level and sub-competency.
Through the company’s LMS, Cornerstone, I built out curriculum paths for each of the employee groups, and these tailored learning plans were added to the seller’s personal course transcripts. To connect sellers to their career and development goals, reps received certification upon completion of their learning plans.
Program Roll Out
Launching the Next Level Competency Framework and Learning Pathways to the greater Selling Services team was carefully planned in consultation with sales executive leaders. I developed several pieces of program collateral to support reps and their managers in adopting the Next Level Program, including an interactive Competency Mapping Infosource.




Competency Framework Infosource