Employee Skills Matrix

A Skills Matrix is rightly known as a Competency Matrix as well. It is a visual instrument that allows an HR professional to observe, analyse and map out the various skills and competencies of the employee in an organisation. This matrix is essentially used to find out the required and available skill-set of the employees. For curating a team for any specific project, a skills matrix comes in very handy. For an HR professional with a data-driven mindset, this proves to be an important tool.

In a properly framed skill matrix, namely, three aspects are shown. These are the required set of skills in the employees, the existing set of skills in the employee, and the skill set that is missing in the employees. Ideally, it is used for a small or medium-sized group or team. However, it can be potentially expanded.

Whenever utilized accurately, the Skills Matrix offers a solid review of the information and aptitudes accessible inside a group. It can let you know whether you have the right stuff important to complete explicit errands. In the event that the group is inadequate in certain important aptitudes, we call this an abilities hole. This makes it a basic instrument for any human asset supervisor putting together their choices with respect to the information.

In the left side of the matrix, the required skills in the employees are listed. In the top row, the names of the employees are mentioned. In the intersection of these rows and columns, the proficiencies and skills of the employee are mentioned by level.

Skills Matrix Levels

As mentioned, proficiency and interest are two important parameters of the Skill matrix. “Proficiency” means an employee’s existing credibility in a field. “Interest” shows his/her drive to learn more and develop. High proficiency is no wonder a positive parameter but it is only useful when it comes with a high level of interest. Following described are a few levels in the Skill Matrix:

Proficiency level 0

An employee with a zero level has no skill in an area and cannot be put to activity. The focus is on the introduction of basic concepts to the employees.

Proficiency level 1

An employee with a proficiency level of 1 only possesses the basic concepts of a skill. The focus for this employee would be on the development of those basic skills.

Proficiency level 2

At this level, the employee, not only has basic concepts of skill but also has some practical knowledge about the same in the professional field. At this point, the focus is on acquiring new experiences and extensive training.

Proficiency level 3

Level 3 employees are experts of middle-order. They have the relevant knowledge, skills and experience. Hence they can carry out the activities on their own with average competence. Occasionally, intervention from professionals might be needed. There is however room for development and new experiences.

Proficiency level 4

Employees marked at this level are experts in their field. They do not need help from other professionals. In fact, they are the ones who help other employees with queries and developmental needs. They generally focus on strategic management and problem-solving in their respective domains.

Proficiency level 5

Employees at this level are highly skilled. They work in strategic management. They are experts in problem-solving, coaching and helping other employees.

Interest

Interest has a binary level. It is either 0 or 1. 0 signifies that an employee has no drive or motivation for development and learning. 1 signifies that an employee is highly driven to develop his skills and increase his core competencies.

Skills Matrix Benefits

A skill or competency matrix has varied uses. Also, it does not just benefit the team that it is applied to. It also benefits the organisation, the individual employee, the final stakeholders/clients etc. Below described are the benefits of a skill matrix:

Team

The matrix is most beneficial to the team it is being applied to. With the help of the matrix, all the members of the team are on the same page. It effectively showcases the missing skills which can be attended to by hiring new employees or extensive training of the current spots. It shows the team its strengths and weaknesses and how they can impact the productivity of the team.

Organisation

On a broader perspective, the Skills Matrix analysis benefits the organisation. It gets a clear picture of the Human resource it possesses. It also helps the organisation to allocate its resources for the required training and development process.

Individuals

The skills matrix provides a two-fold benefit to the employees in the team. TO begin with, it makes the employee aware of his/her strengths and weaknesses. The awareness makes it a starting point for a learning process. Also, the requirements shown in the matrix makes the individual employee clear as to what the team/organisation expects or demands of him as output.

Stakeholders/Clients

The increased productivity and efficiency of the team means better output in terms of service. In that sense, it ultimately benefits the stakeholders of the organisation, be it internal or external.

Steps to Create Skills Matrix

The framework of a competency matrix is specific and requires some systematic steps to its creation. The steps are described as following:

Assessment of required skill-set

A Skills Matrix is generally created by an HR professional to assess and increase the productivity of a team. It is also done to prevent intra-team mishaps like conflicts. Hence, the first step would be to list down or assess the required skills necessary for a particular project. These skills would be the foundation upon which current employees would be assessed, new employees would be hired and training and developmental programs would be undertaken.

Assessment of the employees’ current skill-set

The second step in the creation of the matrix is very important and comprehensive. It includes the assessment of the current skill-set of the employees. This can be done by taking direct information from the employee or by asking his colleagues, supervisors, examining reports, etc. Since only asking the employee might not provide an accurate result due to bias, the 180 degree or 360-degree feedback method is used. Upon assessing the skill and experience of the employees, they can be divided into the levels of proficiency as decided by the organisation.

Assessing the interest of the current employees

Based on the skills of the employees, they will be assigned tasks. High proficiency would not ensure high output. The employee must also be interested to implement and develop his skills in his activity in the organisation. Hence assessment of the employees’ interest is very important upon which they will be divided into a 2-point interest scale in the matrix.

Incorporation of the insights

Once all the data has been gathered, they should be incorporated into the template of the matrix and analysis has to be made of the same.

Responding to the result

The last step is the evaluation of the matrix. Here the HR should analyse the data related to each employee. The employees should also be given a chance to make suggestive inputs. If there is any error, they should be rectified immediately. The fact that each employee is assigned to the right job should also be evaluated.

A skill or competency matrix has emerged to be an important tool in a data-driven workplace scenario. In a situation where analytics are taking over rough data, a skills matrix has proved to be a boon to the HR scenario. It has not only benefitted the employer but also the employees as well as the final clients. The multiple benefiting nature and technical approach of this analysis is what had made it so relevant and important in recent times.