Evolv Up

Evolv Up Competency Builder

Better people development starts with knowing what good looks like

Build tailored leadership and functional competency frameworks using guided AI interviews that capture the knowledge and experience of your people.

Powered by technology. Shaped by 20 years of talent and development expertise. Without the cost of hiring a specialist or consultancy.

Build my framework See an example framework
Bespoke frameworks from
£495
Built from the insight of
Your people
Clear standards
Grow capability

Thistlebrook

Homes

Illustration of modern homes on a tree-lined street

Leadership framework

Thistlebrook Leadership Framework

Great leadership, great homes. What it looks like at every level, and how it creates better outcomes for our tenants.

Team leader

Manager

Head of Service

Director

Executive leader

From organisational knowledge to a framework your people can use

Evolv Up Competency Builder turns your people’s insight into a tailored framework that defines high performance, guides development and makes career progression clearer, giving you a consistent foundation for who you hire, how you develop people and who’s ready to take the next step.

  1. 01

    Define expectations

    Create a shared understanding of the skills, knowledge and behaviours needed to succeed.

  2. 02

    Develop capability

    Identify strengths, development needs and progression opportunities across your workforce.

  3. 03

    Strengthen talent decisions

    Build a consistent foundation for recruitment, performance conversations, career development and succession planning.

The challenge

Before you develop capability, define it

  • “Be more strategic.”
  • “Improve communication.”
  • “Take greater ownership.”

Expectations like these leave people interpreting what success means for themselves. Managers can struggle to explain what needs to change, and development plans become lists of courses with little connection to the work.

A competency framework makes those expectations concrete. It describes what people need to know, what they need to do and the behaviours that demonstrate effective practice.

That gives everyone a shared starting point: this is what good looks like here.

Why it's different

Built on real people development expertise.

Anyone can ask AI to generate a list of competencies.

Creating a framework that reflects how your organisation operates, what successful performance looks like and how people can develop is a different challenge.

Evolv Up Competency Builder combines guided AI interviews with a methodology developed through 20 years of practical talent and development experience. It captures insight from the people doing the work and helps turn that knowledge into a structured framework your organisation can review, refine and use.

  • 01

    Built on experience

    Developed using two decades of senior talent and development practice.

  • 02

    Shaped by your people

    Guided AI interviews capture real organisational insight rather than relying solely on generic competency libraries.

  • 03

    Designed for practical use

    Frameworks provide a foundation for performance, development, recruitment and career progression.

You review the emerging themes before the framework is drafted, keeping your judgement central throughout.

Why it matters

Define performance. Develop capability. Build your talent pipeline.

A competency framework does more than describe today's expectations. It helps people understand how to strengthen their contribution and what to develop next.

  • Clear expectations across roles and levels

    Described in language people recognise from their everyday work.

  • Feedback that makes an impact

    A shared language and observable examples for strengths and next steps.

  • Development focused on the real gaps

    Coaching, mentoring and stretch work aimed where it matters, before spending on training.

  • Consistent recruitment and promotion

    Job descriptions, interview questions and promotion criteria from one clear standard.

  • Career pathways people can see

    The difference between roles is visible before someone applies.

  • Stronger succession and talent planning

    A common reference point for aspirations, readiness and potential successors.

Tailored to you

Frameworks shaped around your leaders, functions and sector

Frameworks can be tailored by industry and function.

Leadership

Leadership frameworks

Leaders set the tone for how work gets done. A leadership framework defines what effective leadership looks like at every stage, from team leaders to executive leaders.

  • Consistent expectations of every manager
  • Build stronger leadership pipeline and succession plans
  • Leadership development and coaching with a clear focus
  • Fairer, better evidenced selection and promotion conversations

Functional

Functional frameworks

Every function relies on specialist knowledge and skill. A functional framework makes that expertise visible and shows how it deepens over time.

  • Clear technical standards for each role
  • Career paths that recognise expertise
  • Training spend targeted at the skills that matter
  • Better informed recruitment and onboarding

Sector · e.g. Housing

Sector frameworks

Every sector has its own regulation, safety requirements and customer expectations that generic frameworks miss. A sector framework reflects the realities of the work.

  • Regulatory, safety and compliance expectations built in
  • Customer experience placed at the centre of good practice
  • Language frontline and office teams both recognise
  • Evidence of capability you can point to with confidence

How it works

From your organisation’s insight to a framework you can use

We do the heavy lifting. You stay in control of every decision.

  1. 01

    Define your focus

    Choose leadership or a specific function, then add your organisation’s context and documents.

  2. 02

    Hear from your people

    Invite contributors to guided AI conversations about the work and what effective performance involves.

  3. 03

    Review the findings

    Check the emerging themes and confirm what matters most to your organisation.

  4. 04

    Make it yours

    Review and edit your framework, with the option to map expectations to roles.

  5. 05

    Put it into practice

    Download your branded booklet, ready to support feedback, development and career conversations.

What you receive

A framework that’s ready to put to work

Not just a document to file away.

Your completed competency framework creates a practical foundation for setting expectations, identifying development needs and supporting more consistent people decisions.

  • Competencies tailored to your organisation
  • Clearly defined levels, from Foundation to Expert or Team leader to Executive leader
  • Practical behaviour examples at every level
  • A downloadable booklet with your logo and colours
  • Space to reflect, ready for feedback, development and career conversations
See the full example

HR and People framework · Thistlebrook Homes

Advising and influencing managers

Gives clear, credible people advice that helps managers make sound decisions and gives them the confidence to act on it.

Foundation

Learning the essentials

  • Gives accurate guidance on policy and procedure in straightforward situations.
  • Knows where to find the right policy, precedent or specialist advice.
  • Asks clarifying questions to understand the manager's situation before advising.
  • Keeps clear records of the advice given and the next steps agreed.
  • Recognises when an issue is complex and escalates it promptly.

Developing

Growing confidence

  • Explains the reasoning behind advice so managers understand their options.
  • Handles routine employee relations cases from start to finish with light-touch support.
  • Adapts their communication to the manager's experience and confidence.
  • Spots patterns across queries and flags them to the wider HR team.
  • Follows up to check that advice has been acted on and has worked.

Skilled

Fully effective in the role

  • Tailors advice to the context, weighing risk, fairness and business need.
  • Challenges managers constructively when an approach conflicts with policy or values.
  • Coaches managers to hold difficult conversations themselves.
  • Manages complex cases, including grievances, capability and long-term absence.
  • Uses data and case evidence to support recommendations.
  • Builds trusted relationships so managers seek advice early.

Advanced

Shaping practice beyond own work

  • Influences senior managers on sensitive, high-risk people decisions.
  • Anticipates the people implications of change and advises before issues arise.
  • Shapes policy and guidance using insight from casework.
  • Develops HR colleagues through coaching and case review.
  • Balances legal, ethical and operational considerations with confidence.

Expert

Recognised authority

  • Is sought out by executive leaders for judgement on the most sensitive matters.
  • Sets the organisation's approach to employee relations and people risk.
  • Represents the organisation with external advisers, bodies and regulators.
  • Brings in leading practice from other sectors and adapts it to the organisation.
  • Builds a culture where managers take ownership of people decisions.

Reflect and plan

Where I am now

My evidence

My next step

Written from 14 contributor interviewsPage 7
Open the example

Packages

Choose the right package that fits your people strategy

Specialist expertise. Tailored frameworks. Without traditional consultancy costs.

A guided process from your first document to a finished, branded booklet, with expert support built in at every step.

Single Framework

£495

Leadership across the whole organisation, or one priority team

  • One framework
  • Up to 15 contributors per framework
  • Up to 5 documents per framework
  • 12 months of access from purchase
Get started

Five Frameworks

Most popular

£1,995

Five frameworks for multiple functions

  • 5 frameworks
  • Up to 15 contributors per framework
  • Up to 5 documents per framework
  • 12 months of access from purchase
Get started

Organisation

£3,999

Fifteen frameworks for more complex organisations

  • 15 frameworks
  • Up to 20 contributors per framework
  • Up to 10 documents per framework
  • 12 months of access from purchase
Get started

Every package includes 12 months of access from purchase. Contributor and document allowances apply separately to each framework. Completed booklets remain available to download after your access period ends. Package details

Why Evolv Up

Specialist expertise,
made more accessible

The usual route

Creating a credible competency framework usually means months of specialist time: an experienced talent leader, or a bespoke consultancy project.

With Competency Builder

More than 20 years of talent and development expertise, at your fingertips. Gather insight from your own people, capture it in their words and turn it into a credible framework in weeks, not months, without the cost of hiring a specialist or consultancy.

The expertise behind it

Developed by people development expertise. Made accessible through AI.

Evolv Up Competency Builder was created by Anneka Spence, founder of Evolv Up, drawing on 20 years of experience in learning, talent development and organisational capability.

The approach brings together established people development practice and modern AI technology, making tailored competency frameworks more accessible to organisations without dedicated internal expertise.

Confidence

Your organisation’s insight. Your framework. Your decisions.

Get started

Give people development a clear starting point

Before you hire, review performance, plan succession or launch a leadership programme, define the capabilities that matter to your organisation.

Give everyone a shared picture of what good looks like, for hiring, feedback, development and progression.

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