Skills Audit: Analyzing Your Audit

Welcome to the third part in this series of implementing a skills audit. Part one covered ensuring that leaders, managers, and employees are aware of, and buy into, the importance of a skills audit. Part two showed how to implement a skills audit step by step.

In the third and last installment of this series I will go into the reporting analytics and output you should strive to achieve during a skills audit, and the questions that should be answered.

Skills Audit Results

The end result of a skills audit is to provide the tools to match a company’s strategic objectives with the skills of its people, to create training and development strategies, workplace skills plans, individual development plans, and performance management interventions, amongst others.

Reports must be stored in a manner that respects the confidentiality of individual employees. It is therefore important to agree on and communicate who has access to skills audit results, and how these people may use the results upfront.

Skills Audit Analytics

Below is a list of common skills audit analysis that we produce for our clients.

Common Skills Audit Reports

Company Talent Analysis
What are the talents of the company—the strengths and weaknesses? How many people have each skill and what is their level of skill? This forms the basis of your skills matrix and helps in employee skills tracking.

Exit Analysis
Which people have key skills in the company? How can we plan for them possibly leaving?

Training Needs Analysis
How can we identify what our highest priority learning and development needs are? This step is crucial in designing an effective training needs analysis aligned with your competency framework.

Individual Skill Gap Analysis
How do we know which employees require development, which skills we should target for development, to meet the company’s strategic objectives. This is the heart of skill gap analysis.

Managers Team Gap Analysis
What skill gaps does a manager have on their team which would prevent them from meeting business goals?

Subject Matter Experts
How can we find out who does what in the company so that we can put the right people on the right project?

Role Analysis
How do we find out who is best suited for each role in the company?

At the end of the day a skills audit will help you execute your business strategies by defining what your core competencies are; and making sure your investment in your peoples’ skills and training, are aligned with your business goals and objectives through a strong competency assessment. Second, you will be able to reduce your costs by identifying actual training needs, thus reducing contractor and recruitment costs. Next, you will be more competitive by developing and retaining a skilled workforce. Lastly, you will increase productivity and better retain employees by properly matching their skills to their job roles.

FAQ

What analytics should a skills audit produce?

A skills audit should produce company talent analysis, exit analysis, training needs analysis, individual skill gap analysis, manager team gap analysis, subject matter expert identification, and role analysis. Together, these reports match strategic objectives with workforce capabilities.

What is company talent analysis in a skills audit?

Company talent analysis identifies the organization's collective strengths and weaknesses by mapping how many people possess each skill and at what proficiency level. It forms the foundation of your skills matrix and provides a clear picture of organizational capability.

How does exit analysis prevent knowledge loss?

Exit analysis identifies which employees hold key skills that are critical to the organization's operations. By knowing who has irreplaceable expertise, leaders can develop succession plans and knowledge transfer strategies before those employees depart.

What is individual skill gap analysis?

Individual skill gap analysis identifies which specific employees need development and in which competencies to meet the company's strategic objectives. It provides the precision needed to create targeted development plans rather than broad, unfocused training programs.

How does a manager team gap analysis work?

A manager team gap analysis evaluates the collective skill gaps within a specific team that could prevent it from meeting business goals. It gives managers visibility into where their team's capabilities fall short and where development or hiring investment is needed most.

How do skills audits identify subject matter experts?

Skills audits map who does what across the organization, making it possible to identify individuals with deep expertise in specific areas. This enables leaders to assign the right people to the right projects and build more effective cross-functional teams.

Who should have access to skills audit results?

Access to skills audit results must be carefully controlled to respect employee confidentiality. Organizations should agree upfront on who can view results and how they may be used, then communicate those policies clearly before the audit begins.

How do skills audits reduce training costs?

Skills audits reduce training costs by identifying actual training needs rather than guessing. When you know exactly which skills are missing and who needs development, training investments become focused and efficient instead of broad and wasteful.

What is a skills matrix and how does it help?

A skills matrix is a structured view of employee competencies mapped against organizational requirements. It serves as the analytical backbone of a skills audit, making it easy to visualize gaps, track skill levels, and make data-driven decisions about workforce development.

How do skills audits support employee skills tracking?

Skills audits establish a baseline of current workforce capabilities that enables ongoing employee skills tracking. Once you know where your organization stands, you can monitor progress, measure the impact of training investments, and continuously align skills development with business objectives.

What business outcomes do skills audit analytics drive?

Skills audit analytics drive four key outcomes: executing business strategy by aligning skills with objectives, reducing costs through targeted training, increasing competitiveness by developing and retaining skilled workers, and improving productivity by matching employee skills to appropriate job roles.