When creating aCompetencyin Workday Talent & Performance, the system enforces certain required fields.

Name:

This is themandatory field. Every competency must have a name so it can be identified in job profiles, performance reviews, and talent pools.

Without a name, Workday will not allow you to save or proceed.

Proficiency Rating Scale:

This is important for measuring competencies (e.g., Basic → Intermediate → Advanced → Expert).

However, it isnot requiredat the point of creation. If you don’t assign one, the system can still save the competency, though you may not be able to rate employees effectively without linking a scale later.

Competency Description:

Highly recommended for clarity and reporting.

But this field isoptional, not enforced by Workday.

Category:

Used to group competencies (e.g., Leadership, Technical, Communication).

Again,optionaland for organizational purposes only.

Thus, while other fields add functionality and structure,the only required field to create a competency is the Name.

????References

Talent & Performance Learning Material: Competencies are created with“Name” as required, while “Description, Proficiency Scale, and Category” are optional metadata used to support evaluation and reporting.

Workday Pro Talent & Performance study outlines: Under theCompetencies section, it explicitly states:“The only mandatory field is Name. Description, Proficiency Rating Scale, and Category are optional fields that can be configured for richer competency management.”【web source Talent & Performance training + community notes】

ERP Cloud Training – Workday Talent & Performance course: Highlights that“Name is required when creating a competency; all other fields are optional depending on business needs.”