How does your company track employee skills?
The modern workforce is a dynamic and constantly evolving environment. The challenge of keeping employees motivated, technically proficient, and highly skilled is one companies face in all industries. According to Gartner, 64% of managers don’t think their employees can keep pace with future skill needs. While the traditional functions of payroll and other HR-related activities remain essential, the lack of...
The modern workforce is a dynamic and constantly evolving environment. The challenge of keeping employees motivated, technically proficient, and highly skilled is one companies face in all industries. According to Gartner, 64% of managers don’t think their employees can keep pace with future skill needs. While the traditional functions of payroll and other HR-related activities remain essential, the lack of a comprehensive skills management system can leave a company significantly behind its competitors.
A survey found that 82% of companies still rely on in-house customized solutions when tracking their employees’ skills, often utilizing suboptimal tools such as Excel spreadsheets.
Although these methods can provide insight into employee skill sets, they don’t always provide comprehensive and accurate data. That’s why more and more companies are turning to specialized software to track their employees’ skills.
Let’s take a closer look at the methods of tracking employee skills and how modern skills management software can help improve accuracy and efficiency.
Common approaches to skills trackingCopied
Many companies lack a formal system to keep track of their workers’ skills, yet the need for appropriately skilled employees is critical for success.
Almost 40% of businesses fail to monitor skills, and rely on informal methods like estimating skill demand or availability. As a result, organizations miss out on crucial opportunities without up-to-date knowledge about who brings what expertise to the table.
Traditionally, a company might use one (or a combination) of the following methods to track their employees’ skills:
Spreadsheets
Spreadsheets are commonly used by companies who do not have access to specialized software or HR systems. However, manually entering and tracking data with spreadsheets is highly time-consuming and prone to errors due to manual entry mistakes or outdated information.
Paper records
Paper records are still used by many companies to track employee skills and competencies. However, this method is incredibly inefficient and lacks scalability when dealing with large numbers of employees or frequent changes in skill sets.
Intranet pages
Many larger organizations opt for intranet pages to list employee skills. However, this method makes it difficult for managers to monitor and effectively update individual employee information.
Online forms
Some companies opt for online forms to track new hires and existing employees’ skill sets. However, this method does not provide consistent updates regarding changes in an individual’s skill set over time, nor does it allow managers to easily compare multiple employee profiles, side-by-side.
Performance reviews
Performance reviews can be an effective tool for assessing an individual’s current level of expertise. However, they do not provide detailed data or long-term trends regarding an individual’s development over time, or allow comparison between different individuals within the company itself.
Siloed departmental tracking
Companies that use siloed departmental tracking systems can also miss the big picture regarding employee skills. Without a single source of truth for skills management, departments might have inconsistent or overlapping records.
Many companies use specialized software to track employee skills and competencies to increase accuracy and efficiency. Skills management software allows users to accurately assess and monitor an individual’s skills at any given time, and compare them with their colleagues. This will enable companies to identify skills gaps and quickly fill any that may exist, giving them a competitive edge.
Why invest in a skills tracking software?Copied
A comprehensive skills management system is essential for companies looking to remain competitive in today’s rapidly changing market. Here are some of the key benefits of investing in a skill tracking software:
Increased efficiency
A company can reduce the time and resources required to manage employee skills by automating the skills tracking process. This results in increased efficiency and reduced errors.
Better decision-making
A skills tracking software provides managers real-time data on employee skills and competencies. This enables companies to make informed decisions about employee development, promotions, and transfers.
Improved employee engagement
Skills tracking software provides employees with a clear understanding of their skills and competencies and opportunities for further development. This leads to increased employee engagement and motivation.
Enhanced performance
With accurate and up-to-date tracking of employee skills, a company can accurately assess an individual’s current performance level and identify potential areas for improvement. This helps to increase productivity and efficiency.
Cost-effective
By streamlining the process of tracking employee skills and competencies, companies can save money by eliminating extraneous paperwork and manual data entry.
Features of skills and training tracking softwareCopied
When selecting skills and training tracking software, it is vital to consider the most critical features of your company. Some of the key elements of these systems include:
- Real-time data. The ability to access real-time data on employee skills and competencies is critical for making informed decisions about employee development and promotions.
- Employee self-assessment. The ability to conduct self-assessments online saves time and increases accuracy.
- Performance review. Skills tracking software provides the ability to conduct performance appraisals online and store the results for future reference.
- Reporting and analytics. Robust reporting and analytics features enable managers to easily track employee skills and competencies.
- Compliance and regulations. Skills tracking software keeps track of employee progress against those rules, ensuring businesses remain on top of their obligations and keep up with changing standards.
With skills tracking software, companies can easily track employee skills, ensure they remain current and appropriately organized with organizational goals, and make informed decisions about resource management.
AG5 skills tracking softwareCopied
AG5 software is a comprehensive skills tracking solution offering all the features necessary to effectively manage employee skills and competencies. Our software is designed with a user-friendly interface, intuitive navigation, and powerful reporting capabilities. It provides an effective way to track employee progress against organizational goals and keep up with changing compliance and regulations standards.
Schedule your free live demo today to learn how AG5 can help your business become more efficient and competitive.
