Part of building a successful organization is understanding the human resources within that organization: who they are, what skills they bring to the table, and how to allocate those skills in the most effective way. And one of the best ways to gain that understanding? Skills mapping.
Skills mapping gives you a clear picture of the skill sets available within your organization (and where there might be skills gaps that need to be filled)—and the most advantageous way to utilize those skill sets to hit company objectives.
But what, exactly, is skills mapping? How does it work? And how can you use skills mapping to empower your team and drive sustainable results for your company?
What Is Skills Mapping—And Why Is It Important?
Definition
Before we jump into how to effectively map skills, let’s quickly touch on what, exactly, skills mapping is.
“Skills mapping is the process of identifying, documenting, and analyzing the soft and hard skills present within a team or organization to help achieve future goals,” says Kristie Tse, a psychotherapist with experience in organizational dynamics and founder of Uncover Mental Health Counseling. “It helps match the right talent to the right roles and highlights gaps where training or hiring may be needed.”
Benefits
This practice offers a host of benefits for the organization.
“For the organization, skills mapping enhances operational efficiency, identifies future leaders, and ensures preparedness for upcoming challenges[—what we also refer to as resilience],” says Tse.
Moreover, skills mapping “ensures employees are aligned with roles that match their abilities,” says Tse—which offers additional benefits to the organization, like increased productivity, employee engagement, and morale.
Plus, “it allows organizations to be more agile by being able to quickly upskill or reskill employees depending on organizational needs,” says Sara Green-Hamann, owner of Tallwood Human Resources Consulting.
Skills mapping also offers major benefits to employees.
“For employees, it fosters career growth, increases job satisfaction, and builds confidence by showcasing clear pathways to advancement,” says Tse.
How To Map Skills: A Step-By-Step Process For Creating A Skills Matrix
Clearly, employee skill mapping can be extremely beneficial—both from an organizational and a talent perspective. But how do you actually do that?
With a skills matrix.
“An employee skills matrix is a visual tool that displays the skills of team members alongside the skills required for specific roles or tasks,” says Tse.
“This would usually be in the shape of a list of skills on one axis and the employees on the other,” says Lucas Botzen, CEO of hiring and talent management company Rivermate. “This way, HR professionals and managers can see how skills are distributed across teams.”
An employee skills matrix also helps leadership in “identifying skill gaps and informing decisions around training, recruitment, and succession planning,” says Botzen.
So, how do you create a skills matrix—and map your team’s skills to take them to the next level?
Step 1: Identify Objective And Skills
First things first. “To create a skills matrix, an organization first needs to identify their objective,” says Green-Hamann.
For example, are you using the skills matrix to understand the totality of talent across your organization—and how to manage that talent? Are you developing a hiring strategy? Staffing an upcoming project? Whatever it is, having a clearly defined objective will help you make the most out of the matrix.
Once you’ve defined the objective for your matrix, it’s time to “identify the key skills needed for roles or projects in your team or [organization],,” says Tse.
For example, let’s say you’re using an employee skills matrix to expand your HR team. In that situation, you would define all the skills you need to build an effective and competitive HR department—for example, sourcing, interviewing, learning and development, and people management. Keep a running list, which you’ll use to actually build the matrix (more on that in a bit).
Step 2: Assess And Document Current Employees’ Skills
The next step is to “assess and document the current abilities of each team member,” says Tse.
Make a list of all relevant team members—and then list all of their skills. There are a variety of ways to do this. You could ask managers to submit lists of their employees and their corresponding skill sets, have employees self-report their skills (and then have those skills confirmed by their manager), have HR take over the project…whatever makes the most sense for your organization.
Step 3: Create The Matrix
Once you have your matrix objective, your target skills, and your current employees’ skills, it’s time to actually create the matrix.
“Create a grid, aligning employees’ skills with the required ones for specific roles/tasks,” says Tse.
Generally, the matrix would feature “a list of skills on one axis and the employees on the other,” says Botzen. “This way, HR professionals and managers can see how skills are distributed across teams.”
You’ll also want to set some rankings, both for the importance of each skill and each employee’s level of expertise in said skills; that way, you can easily see what skills you need the most and which employees are most skilled in that area—and plan accordingly.
Arguably, the simplest way to create a skills matrix is with a spreadsheet, listing employees in the first column and their soft and hard skills in the first row (as well as your ratings)—and then mapping out each employee’s skills.
Step 4: Analyze The Matrix—And Use That Analysis To Drive Decisions
Creating the matrix is important. But once it’s made, it’s time to “analyze it to find gaps and determine where training, upskilling, or hiring may be needed,” says Tse.
Let’s use the HR team expansion example again. In that scenario, you might look at your employee skills matrix to see which of your needed skills are already covered by existing team members and where there are gaps—which, in turn, you could use to drive your hiring strategy.
Or let’s say you’re using the matrix to staff a project. Seeing what skills are available—and what employees can bring those skills to the project—can help you figure out the most advantageous way to assign project tasks and avoid skill gaps and redundancies.
Step 5: Continue To Update
Finally, if you want to make the most of your employee skills matrix, you need to do more than just use it, you need to keep evolving it. “Treat the matrix as a dynamic tool, updating it regularly to reflect changes,” says Tse.
For example, if you hire a new employee, add them—and their skills—to the matrix. If your current employees expand their skill set, make sure to update the matrix to reflect those new skills. Updating your matrix can also help you keep your finger on the pulse of the talent and skills within your organization—as well as understand which skills are required for which roles.
The point is, your skills matrix is only as valuable as it is current—so make sure to continue adding to and changing the document to reflect your current team.
Skills Mapping Best Practices
Looking for more tips on effective skills mapping? Make sure to keep these best practices in mind:
Get Your Team Involved
No one knows your employees’ skills better than your employees. So, if you want to create the most accurate skills matrix? It’s important to get them involved.
“Collaborate with employees when assessing skills to ensure accuracy and trust,” says Tse.
That collaboration can take many forms; for example, you might send out a survey asking team members to list their skills or incorporate skills reporting into management 1-on-1’s or performance reviews. However you approach it, just make sure to ask your employees about their skills—and to ask them on a regular basis.
Don’t Forget Soft Skills
Hard skills—like data analysis or proficiency with a certain software—are important. But so are soft skills, like creativity and empathetic listening. “Don’t underestimate the value of soft skills—they’re foundational to team dynamics and leadership potential,” says Tse.
As such, these skills should be on your skills matrix.
When creating your skills matrix, make sure you’re including both hard and soft skills; this will ensure that your team (and organization!) has everything they need to succeed.
Drive Employee Learning And Development
As mentioned, a skills matrix can be a helpful way of identifying talent gaps—and staffing accordingly. But that’s not all it’s good for.
“Skills mapping is also about identifying potentials,” says Botzen. “It is not merely about closing gaps or weaknesses; instead, it should be seen as a way to uncover growth and opportunities.”
For example, mapping skills can help you identify learning and development opportunities for your team—opportunities that not only help them grow, but also help you move the needle on your organizational goals.
“Skills matrices can also be combined with learning management systems (LMS) to create personalized learning paths for employees that are aligned with upcoming business goals,” says Green-Hamann.
For example, let’s say you have a new hire that clearly has management potential. You can use the skill matrix to identify the areas they need to develop before they can step into a management role—and then design a development plan to get them there in the next 6 months. Then, once they complete the plan, they can take on the management role—and lead their team to higher levels of success.
Bottom line? A skills matrix isn’t just for identifying what skills your team has now. It’s about identifying growth opportunities for your team—and then fostering that growth through training and learning programs.
Also read: Skills Management: Unleash Your Employees’ Full Potential
How Talkspirit Can Help
In order to get the most out of skills mapping, “employers should leverage technology,” says Green-Hamann.
Technology like Talkspirit.
Talkspirit offers a number of features that make skills mapping easier and more effective, including:
- The org chart helps you easily map out key roles in your organization, along with their responsibilities and required skills. This clarity helps you understand the skill levels needed for each role, making it easier to spot gaps and take action.
- The library allows you to make skills mapping documentation and skills evaluation best practices available to the entire organization. This creates consistency in your processes and ensures everyone is aligned when assessing skills.
Want to learn more about how Talkspirit can help you more effectively map skills within your organization—and build the teams needed to hit your goals? Request a demo today!
Use Skills Mapping To Take Your Team To The Next Level
Skills mapping is an effective tool in understanding the skills that already exist within your organization, identify talent gaps, and driving strategy for hiring, project staffing, and other company objectives. And now that you understand how to navigate the process and create a skills matrix, all that’s left to do? Get out there and start mapping your team’s skills using tools like Talkspirit!
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