Skill matrix explained simply: definition, advantages and automation in shift planning

Table of content

1. What is a skills matrix?
2. Differentiation from skill matrix and competence matrix
3. Areas of application and advantages of a skills matrix
4. How is a skills matrix normally structured?
5. Advantages and disadvantages of a skills matrix with Excel
6. Typical stumbling blocks in the implementation of qualification matrices
7. How does automation simplify the use of qualification overviews in shift planning?

What is a skills matrix? 

A qualification matrix (also known as a skills matrix) is derived from the qualifications of employees and the required areas of work in a company.

This data must be analyzed, reviewed and possibly expanded at regular intervals. Traditionally, many companies map their skills matrices in spreadsheet programs such as Excel.

Differentiation from skill matrix and competence matrix 

Skills matrix vs competency matrix:

The skills matrix is often used in HR departments. Even though the term is often used synonymously with skills matrix, the two terms mean different things. In contrast to the skills matrix, the skills matrix looks at individual people or teams and takes into account factors such as methodological skills and social skills in addition to specialist skills.

The focus is often on interdisciplinary, company- or project-specific skills that are closely linked to the company structure. It is used to assess the competence level of teams or departments and to plan long-term development strategies.

Qualification matrix vs skill matrix

Skill matrix and qualification matrix mean the same thing.  Both terms describe matrices that systematically record the qualifications of employees. They are particularly important in production environments in order to identify qualification gaps and training needs. In short: the qualification matrix (or skills matrix) manages certificates and formal qualifications, while the skills matrix is more behavior-oriented and often includes interdisciplinary skills.

Areas of application and advantages of a qualification or skills matrix 

A qualification overview for employees, as presented in a qualification matrix, is an important tool for ensuring that the right resources and skills are available in a company at all times. It provides a structured overview of employees' existing qualifications and enables them to be systematically matched with the requirements of a position or process.

Important areas of application for a skills matrix:

• Production companies: skills matrices help to comply with legal and operational requirements (e.g. ISO 9001 or IATF 16949) by documenting necessary certificates, expiring qualifications and planned further training.
• Companies with shift work: Qualification matrices ensure that each shift is staffed with sufficiently qualified personnel, and thus make it possible to avoid interruptions to operations.
• Multi-site companies: Standardized administration prevents qualifications from being defined and handled uniformly across locations, so that no errors occur even when staff move locations or are hired out.

Important areas of responsibility and benefits: 

• Shift planning: Ensuring that each shift is staffed with sufficiently qualified employees to avoid operational interruptions.
• Resource utilization: Optimum assignment of employees to tasks or machines based on their skills.
• Proactive training planning: Clear and simple planning of scheduled qualifications - i.e. qualifications that have an expiration date and need to be renewed at a specific time.
• Long-term personnel planning: Ensure that critical positions can be covered by qualified employees in the medium and long term.
• Compliance: Proof of certifications and qualifications, e.g. for standards such as ISO 9001.
• Quality assurance: Ensuring that only qualified employees take on critical tasks.

The integration of modern qualification management tools can avoid media disruptions between Excel, SAP and other systems. Automated qualification matrices provide a central, transparent and always up-to-date overview that not only saves time, but also reduces administrative effort.

How is a skills matrix normally structured?

Many companies rely on Excel tables to create a skills matrix. The structure of these tables can vary depending on the specific requirements and needs of the company. Typically, however, the skills matrix is structured according to a specific scheme:

The main columns of the table include the name of the employee, the associated department, the specific qualifications the employee has, the expiration date of the qualifications, any remarks or comments and the current status of the information.

General and specific qualifications

For organizational and clarity reasons, a qualification matrix can be divided into general and specific qualifications.

The general (i.e. company-wide) qualifications represent recurring qualifications, such as the “first aider” or the “fire safety officer”. However, they can also be general qualifications that are required for certain activities.

Specific qualifications are required for certain positions, e.g. department-specific qualifications such as operating or setting up certain machines.

Advantages and disadvantages of a skills matrix with Excel 

Excel has long been regarded as the tool for creating and updating a skills matrix for personnel requirements planning. The spreadsheet software offers certain advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages

There are many reasons why companies have been using Excel to create their skills matrix for many years.

• Popular program:
  Excel is widely used and the function and handling are familiar to many. The tabular structure also makes it easier to organize employee qualifications.
• Customizable criteria:
  The qualifications in the skill matrix can be flexibly adapted to the individual requirements and needs of the company.
• No additional license costs:
  Many companies rely on Excel as the program is already pre-installed on most computers. There are therefore no additional costs for special software.
• Immediate use:
  Normally, no special knowledge is required to create or expand a skills matrix in Excel. Employees can use the tables immediately. There are also free online templates that companies can use as a template for their personnel planning.

Disadvantages

However, there are also disadvantages to using an outdated program such as Excel for a complex task such as creating a qualification matrix. These are:

• Manual data maintenance:
  Every name, every skill, every single piece of information has to be entered by hand and updated accordingly. This requires a huge amount of resources and harbors a high potential for errors.
• Lack of standardization:
  Different Excel templates and inconsistent data structures mean that each department has its own standards. This complicates the cross-system data flow and makes it difficult to maintain a consistent overview of qualification data throughout the company.
• Lack of automation and integration:
  Excel does allow for a limited amount of automation through the use of formulas - however, integration with other software solutions to automatically update data is not possible.
• Data protection and data security issues:
  Data protection is often not guaranteed as data can be easily copied and shared. This poses a significant security problem, especially for sensitive information.
• Limited scalability
  In smaller companies, qualification management with Excel may be manageable. However, the larger the planning scope, the greater the complexity and the potential for errors. We therefore strongly advise against using Excel as a qualification management tool for companies with 100 employees or more. Especially in industry!
• Duplicate data entry:
  In many companies, data is recorded in SAP, but has to be re-entered in Excel in order to use the qualification matrix. This results in redundant data entry and loss of time.
• No global reporting:
  Excel's reporting functionalities are severely limited. For example, Excel cannot be used to create global reporting that maps the qualifications of employees across locations and positions.
• No rights and version management
  In Excel, it is almost impossible to control access to qualification matrices or to track who has made which changes. In addition, tables often circulate in different versions.
• High potential for errors
  If rows with important functions are accidentally overwritten, entire tables or large parts of them often become unusable.

Typical stumbling blocks in the implementation of qualification matrices 

The creation and use of qualification matrices is often more demanding than it initially seems. Companies face typical challenges that can affect their efficiency and accuracy:

• Gathering information: Gathering employee qualifications and competencies is time-consuming, especially in large organizations. Checks and reviews need to be carefully planned to ensure complete and accurate data.
• Maintenance and scalability: In many companies, qualification matrices are kept in Excel. However, Excel quickly reaches its limits when employees acquire new skills or the company grows. Manual maintenance becomes time-consuming, clarity suffers and errors accumulate.
• Acceptance within the company: In order for qualification matrices to be used successfully, both employees and managers must understand their benefits. Without clear communication and training, acceptance often remains low.
• Data protection: The management of employee data requires high standards of data protection. Inadequate security measures can pose legal and internal risks.
• Quality management & compliance: Regulations such as ISO 9001 or IATF 16949 require granular documentation of qualifications. When introducing qualification matrices, companies should ensure that the chosen method meets the requirements of all relevant standards.