The Capability Editor is your central hub for managing capabilities (also known as competencies) across different roles in your organisation. This guide will walk you through setting up capability frameworks, updating them as your roles evolve, and understanding how they appear in performance reviews. You'll learn how to add new roles, edit capability descriptions, and apply optional weightings to reflect what matters most.
What are capabilities and how are they used?
Capabilities are the skills, behaviours, and competencies that define what's expected in each role. In Performance Leader, they appear in two key ways:
Read-only views: Users can browse and understand the capabilities associated with their role profile during reviews.
Rating views: Users (and their reviewers) can rate themselves against each capability, helping identify strengths and development areas.
Capabilities are dynamic and tied to role profiles, so when someone's role changes, the relevant capabilities automatically update in their view.
Setting up roles and capability headers
Before you can populate the Capability Editor, you'll need to establish your roles and capability headers in the system's Attributes section.
To set up roles and capabilities:
From your Admin Panel, navigate to Settings, then click Attributes
Review the list of roles – these should match your organisation's role profiles (e.g., Partner, Senior Associate, Associate)
Review the list of capability headers – these are the competency categories you'll use (e.g., Client Management, Technical Expertise, Leadership)
To add a new header, simply type the capability name in the field provided
To edit an existing header, click the pencil icon next to it
To delete a header, click the delete icon (note: this will remove it from all roles)
Drag and drop capability headers to reorder them – this affects how they appear in reviews
Once your roles and capability headers are in place, you're ready to populate the Capability Editor.
Accessing the Capability Editor
The Capability Editor displays your capabilities in a table format, with capabilities on the left and roles across the top.
To access the editor:
From your Admin Panel, find Capability Editor on the left sidebar under Settings
You'll see a table showing all capability headers (rows) and roles (columns)
Empty cells indicate where you need to add descriptions
Adding a new role to the editor
If you've added a new role in the Attributes section, you'll need to add it to the Capability Editor so you can populate its capabilities.
To add a role:
At the top of the Capability Editor, click Add role
Select the role from the dropdown – the system will only show roles that haven't yet been added
The new role column will appear in the table
You'll now see empty cells under that role, ready for you to populate
Adding or updating capability descriptions
This is where you define what each capability means for each role. Descriptions should be clear, specific, and written in language your people will understand.
To add or edit a capability:
Click into the cell where the capability (row) meets the role (column)
Type or paste your capability description – be specific about what's expected at this role level
If you'd like to add a weighting, enter a percentage value in the weighting field (this is optional and helps show which capabilities matter most)
Click Save to confirm your changes, or Cancel to discard them
Your capability is now live and will appear in reviews for users with that role profile.
Removing roles or capabilities
If a role or capability is no longer relevant, you can remove it from the editor.
To remove a role:
Locate the role column you want to remove
Click the red X icon at the top of the column
Confirm the removal – this won't delete the role from your system, just from the Capability Editor
To remove a capability header:
Locate the capability row you want to remove
Click the red X icon next to the capability name
This will remove the capability from all roles
Using weightings (optional)
Weightings allow you to signal which capabilities are most important for a given role. For example, "Client Management" might be weighted at 30% for a Partner, but only 10% for a Junior Associate.
To add weightings:
When editing a capability description, look for the Weighting field
Enter a percentage value (e.g., 20, 30, 15)
Click Save
Weightings are optional – if you don't need them, simply leave those fields blank.
How capabilities appear in reviews
Once you've set up your capabilities, they'll automatically appear in performance reviews based on each user's role profile.
Read-only view:
Users see a list of their role's capabilities with descriptions
They can click through to read and understand what's expected
This view helps set clear expectations before a review conversation
Rating view:
Users and reviewers can rate performance against each capability
Clicking the eye icon reveals the full capability description
If weightings are set, they'll be factored into overall scores
Best practices
Write for your audience: Use language that resonates with your firm's culture – avoid overly formal or generic descriptions
Be role-specific: Tailor descriptions to reflect the level of responsibility and complexity expected at each role
Review regularly: Revisit your capability framework at least annually to ensure it stays relevant as your firm evolves
Test before rolling out: Preview how capabilities appear in a test review to ensure the wording and weightings make sense
Keep it concise: Aim for 2-3 sentences per capability – enough to be clear, but not overwhelming
If you have questions about setting up capabilities or would like guidance on structuring your capability framework, please reach out to your Customer Success Manager. We're here to help you get the most out of Performance Leader.