Skills matrix: what it is and what it means

The skills matrix is a team mapping tool that lists in columns the skills needed for the business to run and shows in rows the level held by each team member. The accepted levels are: none, basic, independent, expert. Its value lies not in the precision of the level assigned but in the overall visibility: which skills are covered by only one person (concentration risk), which by no one (an actual gap), which are redundant (a potential lever for development). The grid is read by column, not by row: once the threshold is set at the independent level, each column falls into one of four outcomes — gap, concentration, coverage or redundancy — depending on how many people are above that threshold.

Distinctive: overall visibility
Distinctive: concentration risk
Essential: skills needed for the business to run
Essential: level held by each team member
Constant: an actual gap

Glossary

Skills matrix

A team mapping tool that shows, for each team member, the level they hold in every skill the business needs, making gaps, concentrations and redundancies visible.