High performing employees are probably the most valuable assets in business. The skills of successful employees are amongst the critical building blocks for success. In most instances, highly talented people display their talents as a skill. All business leaders and entrepreneurs are in agreement about the fact that a general scarcity of skills compromises the success and growth of their businesses. Skillsgrid is an automated system that enables employers to better understand the individual and collective skills of their employees, the skills gaps they face as well as training and development interventions necessary for optimal workforce success. It also informs the recruitment process with a match between the applicant and the skills profile related to each job.
The Shadowmatch Team has developed Skillsgrid as an intelligent system to enable the Human Resources function in a business to largely improve on the way people are optimally deployed to jobs in an organisation. Skillsgrid is an internet based software solution helping businesses to improve their quest for optimal recruitment and placement of employees and new recruits. The work starts with creating a Job Specific Skills Benchmark. This is done by the top performers in the job. They answer 25 skills related questions and they also compile a framework of how important each skill is for the job. This takes a benchmark individual maximum 30 minutes to do. The system then generates a visual outline of the skills needed for the job as well as the level of skill applicable to the job. It consolidates the answers of the top performers to reflect the most balanced skills profile for the job.
Skillsgrid Business Applications
Employees
The Workplace: A skills-in-practise-environment.
Matching
Match individual employees to the benchmark relevant to the job they are doing and visually see on which skills they are either over-skilled or not adequately skilled. This informs performance discussions, skills development initiatives and propensity of the individual to successfully do the practical part of the job in a smooth and efficient way. Multimatch Match an employee to multiple skills benchmarks in the business to determine the optimal skills match to possible alternative jobs in the business. This information enables the business to redeploy employees if and when divisions shrink, close down or when individual employees struggle to perform optimally in their current jobs. It is much better to successfully redeploy people than to replace them.
Skills gap audits
Once every employee is on the system and all jobs have skills benchmarks, an export of the data can be done. This export will indicate the skills employees lack for their respective jobs. This is critical for skills development reporting as well as possible analysis of the data to determine generic and specific skills development programmes that will improve the success of the business.
Find people skilled for specific jobs in the business
By using the skills benchmark, the system can search and find people in the business with skills for a job even if they currently work in other divisions in the business. It happens from time to time that companies decide to recruit internally to fill vacant positions in the company. This function enables the business to scientifically identify people most skilled for the job where a vacancy exists.
Skills development support
The system will highlight the skills where an employee needs development for the current job. Training programmes can be sourced to immediately support employees in their quest for success.
Recruitment
The Workplace: A skills-in-practise-environment.
Matching
Match job applicants to the Job Skills Benchmark and determine the individual’s propensity towards success in the job. This radically reduces the risk of recruitment processes based on gut feeling and in some instances thin processes.
Multimatch
Match a well qualified applicant to multiple Job Skill Benchmarks in the business to determine optimal placement for the applicant in the business.
Large Numbers
Ease of use: Work easily with large numbers of applicants for one job as well as large numbers of applicants for multiple jobs. The system is systematised and fully automated, working with large numbers of employees, applicants and jobs are easy.
Skills gap
Identify skill gaps amongst applicants before they start working. This enables the business to immediately embark on specific skill development initiatives for new recruits. This is especially valuable where companies operate in an environment where skills shortages compromise optimal recruitment initiatives.
Database
Build a database of applicants for future recruitment initiatives if and when vacancies become available in the business. This is a normal recruitment practice. Get the data of applicants on the system and contact them when their skills match a Job Skills Benchmark in the business
Additional Benefits
The Workplace: A skills-in-practise-environment.
Every employee’s skills can be captured onto the system in one day. If properly planned, a full skills audit of any size business can be done in one day.
The automation level of the system enables a business to capture the skills of employees and manage the availability and allocation of skills in the business.
The system is web-based and can thus be accessed from anywhere,
The business will always have an updated skills register of all employees. The system has an automated function to remind employees every six months to update their Skillsgrid Profile so that when new skills are learned, the data is continuously updated.