Free tool
A free skills matrix template you fill in right here: pick a role and skills, mark your team’s levels and get a heat map, a list of gaps and risks, a training plan, tables for Excel and a self-assessment survey.
No sign-up. Everything is calculated in your browser, and names and ratings are not sent anywhere.
Related courseCompetency Model: development and competency library8 lessons: what a competency is, building and describing the model, rating scales and assessment tools, ready-made libraries, links to hiring and development. Homework check and a diploma after the course. $350, 1 year of access.See the course programStart from a ready-made set and adjust it, or build your own. For each skill, set the level this role requires.
Add people and click the cells: each click raises the level by one, and after four it goes back to zero. A red frame means the level is below the required one.
Each row is a gap between the current and the required level. The biggest come first. If someone on the team is at level four, the builder suggests that person as a mentor.
Tables paste into the first cell of an Excel or Google Sheets file — the columns line up on their own.
A matrix is more reliable when it is filled in from both sides: the manager sets their levels, the employee sets theirs, and they discuss the differences in a meeting. The survey collects self-assessment on the same skills and the same scale.
Google Forms and Microsoft Forms can build a form from a description. Copy the prompt and paste it into their assistant to get a ready survey with your skills.
How it works
A skills matrix is a table with employees in the rows, skills in the columns and a proficiency level in each cell. It shows which skills the team lacks, which ones depend on a single person and who can teach others.
The builder puts such a matrix together in a few minutes: you pick the skills and the required level, mark each person’s level, and it counts the gaps, shows the risks and turns them into a training plan. A survey built from a ready prompt collects employees’ self-assessment.
It is a people-by-skills table with a level in every cell. In a minute it shows where the team lacks skills, who is hard to replace and who needs to learn what.
A skill is the ability to do a specific task: run an interview, keep the CRM in order. A competency is broader and describes behavior, such as results orientation. The matrix is built the same way; only the columns differ.
The builder uses five levels: 0 — no experience, 1 — knows the basics, 2 — does it with help, 3 — does it independently, 4 — teaches others. What matters most is that everyone who rates reads the levels the same way.
It is most reliable when filled in from both sides: the manager sets their levels, the employee sets theirs, and they discuss the differences in a meeting. For self-assessment the builder has a survey and a prompt for Google Forms and Microsoft Forms.
As many as truly set a strong performer apart in the role — usually five to ten. The builder fits up to twelve skills and up to fifteen people.
Yes. Copy the matrix or the training plan with a button in the builder and paste it into the first cell of an Excel or Google Sheets file — the columns line up on their own.
We will help you choose a course for your goal and answer questions about the subscription — in any messenger you prefer, during business hours.