Employee Skills Matrix: Free Template + Guide

Published on:
July 19, 2024
Updated on:
November 6, 2024
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Dream teams don’t emerge out of the blue, building one requires a lot of effort. Each step of achieving a dream team status needs to be carefully crafted. To do that organizations should work on their full employee life cycle.

Today, we are deep diving into the employee skills matrix to nurture employees during their talent development stage. By boosting productivity and developing employees’ skills, you can transform them into dream team members.

And we have an Employee Skills Matrix Template Excel ready for you in this article, so let’s roll out the drums!

Benefits of employee skills matrix infographic
4 benefits of employee skills matrix

What is an Employee Skills Matrix?

An Employee Skills Matrix is a visual tool used to map and monitor employee skills, qualifications, and competencies. It not only identifies areas for improvement at work but also enhances talent management capabilities.

The employee skills matrix works like a personalized matchmaker for resources and employees. It helps organizations pair the right resources—whether it’s training, tools, or responsibilities—with each team member.

Optimal resource allocation yields more streamlined processes and improved outcomes!

The benefits of using an employee skills matrix are:

  • Identifies skill gaps effectively
  • Facilitates the creation of upskilling initiatives
  • Supports the development of targeted career development plans
  • Helps to develop a targeted recruitment strategy

What should be included in a skills matrix?

A comprehensive employee skills matrix includes detailed information to assess and manage employee skills and competencies effectively.

  • Organizational needs

Think about your dream team: what skills and competencies do they have? Conduct research and list them. Even better, work on benchmarks and set goals.

  • Employees’ skills and their interests

Map out employees’ skills and competencies, including everything—whether technical or soft.

Gather them under specific skill categories that are relevant to the organization’s needs.

Narrow their skills and competencies down to fit your list. These are the focus points.

To find common ground consider including employee interest if they want to improve themselves in the subject.

  • A scaling method

Use a defined scale to assess and document the proficiency levels of each employee for each skill category. The scaling method should be able to provide a clear reasoning behind the result.

Common scales for assessment include the proficiency scale, which ranges from beginner to advanced, and the numeric scale, grading from 1 to 5.

How to create a skills matrix?

Creating an employee skills matrix is a key move for any organization that’s all about continuous improvement. This guide will take you through the process step by step, making it easy to map out the skills and strengths of your team.

Following these steps makes it easier to spot development areas and skill gaps, allowing you to create targeted initiatives and optimize resource allocation.

Ultimately, there is much potential that an effective staff skills matrix can unlock to create more capable and productive teams.

We know that to build an employee skills matrix, there should be a document or a list of organizational needs, employees’ skills and interests, and a scaling method for assessment.

Now let’s get into details to learn how to create an employee skills matrix template:

Define the purpose and the scope

Determine why you are creating a skills matrix like identifying skill gaps, planning training programs, workforce planning. Decide the scope, such as whether it will cover the entire organization, specific departments, or roles.

Identify Key Skills and Competencies

List all relevant skills, qualifications, and competencies required for the roles within the scope. Consider both technical skills and soft skills.

Choose a Proficiency Scale

Create a proficiency scale to assess the level of each skill. The scaling method of your choice should provide solid measurements to enable clear decision-making.

Common scales include proficiency descriptors and numeric scales, but it is possible to customize your scaling method as long as it’s clear and measurable.

Gather Employee Data

Collect information on employees’ skills and competencies through performance reviews, competency assessments, self-assessments, manager evaluations and peer reviews.

The important thing here is to ensure the data is accurate and up to date. Regularly conduct reviews and assessments to sustain a constant flow of current data.

Create the Skills Matrix Template

Start with data categorization, in general an employee skills matrix template includes:

  • Employee names and/or roles
  • List of skills and competencies
  • Proficiency levels for each skill
  • Employees’ level of interest for each skill (optional)
  • Additional notes or comments (optional)

Place the Skills Matrix

Input the collected data into the template, assigning proficiency levels to each skill for every employee. Use a consistent format to ensure clarity and ease of use.

Analyze the Skills Matrix

Review the matrix to identify skill gaps, strengths, and areas needing development. Look for patterns that indicate training needs or opportunities for upskilling.

Plan Development and Training Initiatives

Based on the analysis, create targeted training programs to address skill gaps. Develop career development plans for employees to enhance their skills and competencies.

Implement and Communicate

Share the skills matrix with managers and employees. Explain the purpose and how it will be used to support development and growth.

Regularly Review and Update:

Collect regular reviews and conduct assessments to keep the employee skills matrix updated. Include employee and manager feedback to improve the skills matrix over time.

Creating an employee skills matrix is not a one-time task; instead, it’s part of the competency framework and requires close follow-up and continuous improvement to fulfill its purpose.

Download a Free Skill Matrix Template!

Free employee skills matrix template
Download employee skills matrix template Excel

Empower your team with our employee skills matrix template. Whether you need a training matrix template or a competency matrix template, our template is customizable to fit your organizational needs and assess skills.

This Excel skills matrix template simplifies tracking skills, and it can act as a tool to develop strategic development and resource planning.

Download our skills matrix template Excel now to enhance your team’s performance and development!

Creating Competency Frameworks in Microsoft Teams

This may sound like a far-fetched idea, but we assure you it’s not. All you need is to use the right career management software for your organization.

When it comes to Microsoft Teams, the best career management platform you can use in order to create competency frameworks is Teamflect.

Teamflect is an all-in-one performance management software integrated with Microsoft Teams with a strong Career module that uses AI to scan your organizational chart and help you create descriptions and competencies for each role. With Teamflect, you can:

1. Build Competency Frameworks Based On Your Organizational Chart

As an official Microsoft Partner, Teamflect accesses your org-chart through Entra ID, eliminating the need for any set-up.

You can use Teamflect’s AI to scan your organizational chart and create details on role profiles, including role descriptions, levels, key responsibilities, and competencies.

You can even add expectations to competencies, outlining specific responsibilities or tasks associated with each competency.

2. Define Potential Next Roles

Based on your organizational information, you can view potential next roles for employees and create career development plans that align with these opportunities.

This allows your employees to visualize how their careers can progress in your organization. Seeing the potential for upward mobility and the competencies expected of each role clearly helps employees see a future in your organization, boosting retention rates.

3. Use Competency-Based Review Questions

When it’s time to conduct your performance reviews, you can not only consult your competency framework and skills matrix in order to revisit what is expected of your team but also include competency-based performance review questions inside Teamflect’s performance review templates.

This makes it easier for leaders and direct reports alike to clearly visualize employee strengths and areas of improvement in performance appraisals.

In Conclusion

To wrap up, an employee skills matrix is a visualization tool for nurturing talent development. It is important to fit it into an organizational competency framework to achieve optimal resource allocation and high success.

Remember, employee skills matrices need regular updates and continuous improvement. There’s a high chance of transforming your workforce into a high-performing dream team when you commit to an employee skills matrix and follow best practices.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an employee skills matrix?

An employee skills matrix serves as a visual tool for mapping and monitoring employee skills, qualifications, and competencies and helps organizations to identify development areas for employees.

Why is a skills matrix important for organizations?

Employee skills matrices enable organizations to idenftify skill gaps, facilitates targeted initiatives and strategies.

How do you create a skills matrix?

Simply put, to create a skills matrix define objectives and scope, list employee skills and competencies, choose a scaling method and gather data.

What are the different types of skills included in a skills matrix?

The types of skill in a skill matrix depends on organizational structure and needs. A thorough research on identification will provide exact types of required skills but these could range between technical skills to soft skills.

How often should a skills matrix be updated?

Skill matrices should be tracked closely, and depending on the organization’s needs and changes in employee skills or roles, updates can range from quarterly to annually.

Can a skills matrix help in employee development?

Yes! Identifying areas of improvement for employees and allocating resources can help employees’ career development within organizations.

How can a skills matrix improve hiring processes?

Skills matrix can help defining job criteria, and provide efficient candidate screening based on predefined skills. This helps interviews to focus on essential questions.This structured approach enhances decision-making, aligns candidates with organizational needs, and improves overall team fit.

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