Employers are at risk when making team changes – even minor changes, without correct processes in place. The Skill Matrix reduces this risk.
There are a number of areas of high risk for employers when it comes to HR Management – one of which is considering changes to employee roles without the foundation of knowledge and consideration of the bigger picture.
The employee skill matrix provides the structure of information required to make sensible moves – whether they be temporary or permanent.
Putting correct, structured processes and communications in place during any shift in employment is the other side of the high-risk equation. Where personal grievances are upheld in court, it is almost always due to a lack of correct procedure being followed rather than the actions taken.
Every alteration of an employee’s work environment requires documentation and written consent from both parties for every aspect.
The role of the Employee Skill Matrix
The Skill Matrix is a grid that tables the skills, experience & training an employee has and matches them against the skills & experience required for each role, often also taking into consideration the relative importance of the role to the business & the relative time of accumulating the required level of expertise & training for any given role replacement.
When you conduct a skill matrix for every employee and you also detail the skills required to do any job in your business well, it becomes apparent where you have overlaps and where you have gaps.
It will also become apparent if you have gaps in your succession plan in covering key and core capabilities – and you will see the requirements for training and development in some areas.
It can happen that in considering moving one person from one role to another, that you plug one hole and in doing so, create another hole. Employees with overlapping key and core skills become relatively more important to your business overall.
There is value in letting employees become aware of their importance – this instils a sense of pride. It is equally important that they see you putting in place the necessary steps to replace them if required to do so – if for no other reason than to have adequate cover should any key employee become ill or require leave.
A strategically planned HR Strategy takes the future direction for the business into consideration and identifies priorities for the process of building skill and capability for the future – allowing business owners to build experience and trust in the most impactful areas.
Restructuring or temporary restructuring
On any occasion where a business owner needs to respond to an emergency or unforeseen situation (such as a pandemic limiting business functionality), an equally planned and measured approach must be put in place.
The bird’s eye view of an external party such as ourselves is extremely valuable in this situation, as we look at skills and capability as much as (if not more than) anything else – and we are somewhat more removed from the stress of the emergency situation to hand.
In every business situation, employee skills, experience and aspiration to a degree must be considered before all else – even in emergency planning situations.
To create an Employee Skill Matrix, the 4 pillars for success are as follows:
- List the roles in the business (the positions)
- Nominate the key skills required for each of the positions, the relative level of experience or competence required, and the relative importance of the skill to your business. Key roles require a robust succession plan to be in place.
- Rate each employee against each of the required skills for each role (regardless of the role they are presently in, taking into account the level of skill and level of experience.
- This should give you your map of where you need to increase resources and where you may be able to release or redeploy some.
Please give us a call to discuss further if you need some expert advice or if you feel you are getting caught up in the details.